When recruiting an apprentice, there are a few things that might seem relatively small but can be quite important.
One of these elements is holiday entitlement for apprentices, and how it should be handled by employers.
Holiday entitlement is confusing at times, especially when apprentices work in part-time arrangements or when they need to be away for off-the-job training.
This guide is written to help you and your HR teams ensure that you are managing the holiday entitlement in compliance with the UK laws and regulations.
Holiday entitlement for apprentices
It is important to understand a few things before you recruit an apprentice.
Apprentices are legally classified as employees. This means they have the same rights and entitlements as employees.
This means that apprentices are entitled to statutory annual leave, and they are based on whether they work full-time or part-time.
Full-time apprentices have the right to 28 days of paid leave per year, just like regular employees are.
If they work part-time, the amount of holiday they earn is based on a pro-rata calculation.
If you as an employer decide to offer your employees more holidays than the statutory minimum, then the apprentice holiday allowance should reflect this.
This means that, ultimately, how many days holiday an apprentice gets depends on how many days the rest of the employees receive.
How to calculate apprentice holiday
For full-time apprentices it is fairly simple.
If they work 5 days a week, they are entitled to a minimum of 20 days of holiday, with the addition of 8 days for bank holidays.
For part-time apprentices, we must make a calculation. Let’s imagine that the apprentice works 3 days a week:
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The apprentice is entitled to 28 days, based on 5-day work week.
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We should learn how many days the apprentice is owed based on a 3-day work week.
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The calculation we make is 28/5x3, resulting in 16.8 days, which rounds up to 17 days of annual leave.
How does off-the-job training impact holiday entitlement?
Typically, apprentices are required to spend around 20% of their hours on off-the-job training. This training might take place in a classroom setting or workshop. Even online training and courses qualify for the 20% off-the-job training.
However, it is important to note that these training hours also count as work hours.
This means that the apprentice is still building holiday entitlement during these hours, just like they should receive pay during training days.
As such, these training days need to be considered in any calculations for holiday entitlement.
The apprentice can also take their holiday entitlement during these training hours, which means that the apprentice might be on annual leave during some scheduled training.
For them to do this, they do need to get sign-off from the employer, as the time off needs to agree with their scheduled plans.
Do apprentices get holiday pay?
As apprentices are effectively enjoying the same rights as regular employees, they should also earn holiday pay at the same rate as employees.
Typically, this apprentice holiday pay should reflect the regular earnings the apprentice would have made during the requested time off.
It should include the basic agreed salary and the regular payments the apprentice has a right to. Bonuses and potential overtime compensation are not included in this calculation, as they are not guaranteed.
For part-time employees, the holiday pay should be calculated pro rata based on the hours worked. If your employees get their holiday pay before the holiday, known as rolled-up holiday pay, then your apprentices should be offered the same.
Do apprentices get bank holidays off?
Apprentices do get paid time off during bank holidays, as these are typically included in the minimum number of days they get off during the year.
If you offer extra days or more time off to your other employees, for example around the Christmas bank holiday, your apprentices should have the same right to these extra days off.
Employer responsibilities and advice for apprentice annual leave
As an employer, you have certain responsibilities towards your apprentices, and as a result towards the company.
You must ensure that you have communicated holiday policies very clearly to the apprentices, ideally in their contracts before they sign them. This can help avoid any unexpected issue.
Make sure that when you take on a part-time apprentice, that their contract includes the amended, pro-rata hours they can expect to take.
You must be fair when considering when to grant the apprentice leave. They do have a right to request time off during scheduled training. That means it might be beneficial to talk to them early in the apprenticeship to discuss any upcoming holiday they might take. This way, training conflicts can be avoided.
Finally, just like with any other employee, it is important to pay the apprentices their deserved salary, regardless of whether they have taken their holiday leave or not.
You are legally responsible to track and pay holiday correctly.
How Total People can help manage apprenticeships
At Total People, we are experts when it comes to working with your company to ensure that apprenticeships are going smoothly for both parties.
After all, when the apprenticeship starts off right, it has the most benefits for both the employer and the apprentice themselves.
We can help you find the right apprentices for you, provide them with the training they need to succeed and advise & support you on the best ways to manage your apprentices.
Interested? Reach out to us and let’s discuss how we can help.
