Amendments / Updates to HR in-a-box

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The following updates have been made to HR in-a-box products. If you require further details, please contact Practical HR on 01702 332160 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it


April 2009

1.    Holiday Entitlement

The minimum holiday entitlement is now 5.6 working weeks (28 days if an employee works five days per week). For further information please see our holiday update on our website www.practical-hr.co.uk

Your contracts / holiday entitlement should be amended as appropriate.

2.    Flexible Working

The right to apply for flexible working has been extended to those with parental responsibility for children under 17 (rather than under 6).

Your flexible working policy should be amended accordingly.

3.    Disciplinary & Grievance

From 6 April 2009, the statutory dismissal procedure will be repealed.

Employment tribunals will decide cases on the basis of what is ‘fair and reasonable’ and a revised ACAS Code of Practice and non-statutory guidance on disciplinary and grievance procedures will establish the principles of what an employer and employee should do.

Employment tribunals will have discretionary powers to adjust awards by up to 25% if an employee or employer has acted unreasonably in not following the principles in the new ACAS Code.

A revised disciplinary and grievance procedure are now available from Practical HR.

4.    Accrual of Holiday Entitlement During Long Term Absence

A recent European Court ruling Stringer v HMRC  (Jan 2009) decided that a worker who is on sick leave for the whole of an annual leave year is entitled to paid annual leave, despite the fact they are not actually at work.

The UK House of Lords will now decide weather the paid leave can be taken during that year or whether it should be carried over to another year, but either way the employee is entitled to be paid at some point.

In addition the case concluded that the right to paid annual leave is not extinguished at the end of a leave year if the worker was on sick leave for the whole of that year, or if he was absent on sick leave for part of the year and was still on sick-leave when his employer terminates his employment.

Any reference to non-accrual of holidays during long term absence should be removed from contracts of employment.