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Teacher holiday pay accrual during long term sickness absence?

Hi All,

I have been asked about holiday pay accrual for a teacher who has been absent due to sickness and has now resigned.  I know this is something support staff get, is this the same for teachers does anyone know?  I have looked in the Burgundy Book, but there is no reference in there.

Thank you!

Naomi

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  • In my school (not burgundy book as we're independent) we pay holidays in full throughout. That was on the advice of our solicitors, as our contracts didn't limit the holiday entitlement to statutory.
  • In reply to Nina Waters:

    Thank you Nina,
    This is more about paying for the holidays she hasn't taken due to being absent, so an additional amount over and above her normal salary.
  • Teachers T&Cs do not mention holiday nor do our contracts - in the absence of this you should default to the statutory entitlement - so teachers should get 5.6 weeks holiday pa.

    As teachers have 13 non-working weeks each year that are paid in full, you can allocate two years' entitlements into this period e.g. 5.6 weeks for current year and another 5.6 weeks into the remaining 7.4 weeks, thus, no additional pay is due. We use this particularly for teachers returning from maternity leave.

    If a teacher doesn't return from LTS or maternity leave, we pay the 5.6 weeks and prorate where applicable.
  • First, employees who are off sick still accrue holiday at the normal rate.

    So if an employee who is off sick resigns, they are entitled to be paid an amount equal to any accrued, untaken holiday. Now, if you offer a greater-than-statutory amount of holiday (as most schools do) then they have a *statutory* right to receive an amount equal to their accrued statutory holiday. They have a *contractual* right to receive an amount equal to the accrued contractual holiday. In principle, they have a right to whichever is higher, but the latter carries a slightly higher burden to prove and enforce in law.

    However, employees who are sick are still *allowed* to take holiday. Of course, in some cases this is neither practical nor sensible. But it is still technically possible to be off sick and on holiday simultaneously. Note that someone cannot receive both sick pay and holiday pay, though. Generally, one pays whichever is higher.