Additional leave compliance rules and complexities

Annual leave

A full-time working week is considered to be 40 hours, or 8 hours a day. Anything in excess of this is considered overtime, which is paid at 150% of the employee’s regular pay. Once they’ve worked in a role for 6 months, employees are entitled to 25 days of paid annual leave each year. This extends to 30 days each year if the employee works for the same employer for 25 years.

Sick leave

Sick leave entitlement is calculated by the length of employment. It ranges from 6 weeks for 1 year of employment, to 12 weeks for more than 26 years of employment. Social security covers any sick leave beyond the statutory entitlement.

Maternity and paternity leave

Maternity leave pay is also covered by social security, and it’s based on the employee’s average earnings for the 3 months before the leave begins. Maternity leave is set at 16 weeks. It can start as early as 8 weeks before the expected due date. Male employees can take up to 1 month of unpaid paternity leave, which they can take any time before the child’s second birthday.