WFM UK: Holidays: Allowance Calculations for Flexible Employees

Overview

This article provides an overview of the flexible employment type available within Fourth's Workforce Management solution and the rules that affect the holiday allowance for these employees.

For information on full and part-time employment holiday calculations, please see - WFM UK: Holiday Allowance Calculations for Full and Part-Time Employees

At the bottom of this article you will find some troubleshooting tips.

Flexible Employment Type

Definition

• • A 'flexible' employee is an hourly-paid permanent worker, who does not have a standard weekly working pattern
  • Their hours may fluctuate throughout their employment, as they are scheduled to work as per business demand

Holiday Allowance

• • The number of paid holiday days available for an employee to take during a holiday year
  • Flexible holiday allowance is calculated using the employee's average days worked over the previous 52 weeks (or since their employment start date if less than 52 weeks) and the number of weeks holiday allowed as per their job title. Typically this is 5.6 weeks, which equates to 28 days
  • For flexible employees, this is specified by their job title, which is configured by their employer in the HR module - HR > Company Admin > Job Titles > select Job Title > drop-down arrow > Edit Default Holidays > Holiday Settings For Flexible Staff
  • Holiday allowance for flexible employees is determined by the actual days they have worked. Therefore the allowance can change throughout the holiday year depending on employees' working patterns
  • Flexible holiday allowance is calculated upon submission of every schedule

The total days allowed for each employee are displayed on the Holidays screen in their Employee Summary.

• From the side menu, go to HR > Employees > Employee List
• Search for and select the required employee
• See under 'Holidays and Absences' > 'Holidays Allowed'

This is calculated as follows:

For employees with a start date in the previous holiday year:

Average days worked per week over the previous 52 weeks or as long as they have been employed (displayed in their HR Holidays screen)
x
number of weeks holiday allowance specified in their job title

For employees with a start date in the current holiday year:

(number of days between employee start date and end of holiday year ÷ number of days in holiday year 365)
x
average days worked per week since employee start date
x
number of weeks holiday allowance specified in their job title

Here, 'average days' includes days worked and paid holiday days but excludes absence days unless configured otherwise.

Holiday Accrual

• • Holiday accrual allows employees to earn paid holiday as they work, up to their annual allowance
  • If an employee leaves their job, they are paid for any accrued holiday that they have not taken

For employees who started before the start of the current holiday year:

(number of days between holiday year start date and current date ÷ number of days in holiday year 365)
x
days allowed

For employees who started during the current holiday year:

Holiday Pay

• • For every holiday day taken, flexible employees will be paid at the day rate displayed in the Holidays screen in their employee record
  • The day rate is calculated using an 'average summary rate' and the employee's normal hourly rate

The 'average summary rate' is calculated as follows:

(total pay over previous 52 weeks ÷ total number of days worked in the previous 52 weeks or as long as they have been employed, if less than 52 weeks)
 ÷
hourly rate of pay

Here, 'total pay' refers to the payment for hours worked only - not including additional elements that might appear in the employee's payslip, i.e. tronc, SSP, holiday pay, etc.

The day rate calculation is as follows:

holiday days taken in current pay period
x
average summary rate
x
hourly rate of pay

Examples

Troubleshooting Guide

Fig.1 – Holiday Settings for Flexible Staff settings

Fig.2 – Flexible Holiday Override details