Leap year work, pay and holidays explained – check if YOU get paid for a perk

EMPLOYEES will be keen to know whether the leap year will have any impact on their shifts, pay and holiday entitlements.

This year, February 29 falls on a Thursday, which means there will be 254 business days on weekdays, instead of the 253 we're used to.

For many workers this means an extra day of work without any pay, but some workers could get more pay and even more vacation.

We spoke to Jayne Harrison, head of employment law at Richard Nelson LLP, to find out what your employment rights are this leap year.

Here's everything you need to know.

I am an employee: what does this mean for me?

If you work full-time for an annual salary, you unfortunately don't have to work the extra day for nothing.

Jayne said: “For employees who receive the same basic pay for each month or pay period worked, they will not be entitled to additional pay for an additional day of work this year.

“This is because they receive a fixed salary throughout the year, with that salary paid at regular payment intervals, regardless of how many days there are in each month.”

“As a result, the additional leap year day will already have been factored into their total annual income.”

Some employees may have a clause in their contract that says they are entitled to extra pay in a leap year, but Jayne says this is quite unlikely.

It may be worth double-checking your contract, or speaking to your HR department if you're unsure.

If you have a very low income, it is possible that the extra day will put you below the minimum wage.

Although the minimum wage is paid hourly, you may be underpaid if your annual salary is based on this and the extra day is not included.

It is illegal to pay British workers less than the minimum wage, so in this case your employer would have to make up the shortfall.

I work shifts – what does this mean for me?

Jayne said how you get paid this leap year will depend heavily on whether you get paid hourly, weekly or daily.

Jayne said: “If an employee earns an hourly wage and works an additional eight hours on February 29, they are entitled to an additional eight hours of pay.

“Simply put, extra work equals extra pay.”

However, she noted that employees should check their shift pattern and pay period.

She added: “So if an hourly employee is paid weekly, he doesn't get any extra pay because his pay period hasn't changed; he's still working the same hours that week.”

“However, if the number of days in the pay period has increased because they are paid monthly, then employees should see a pay increase so that they are working because they are working 21 days instead of 20.”

What are my leap year holiday entitlements?

Do you work in shifts or do you have a zero-hours contract? Then the extra day worked also counts towards your holiday accrual. This allows you to build up your total allowance.

But for an employee this does not mean that you will receive an extra day of holiday pay.

Jayne said: “An employee can ask their employer to take time off on February 29 and this request will be treated like any other holiday requested.

“There is no legal right to take February 29 as paid leave without this being deducted from the employee's holiday entitlement.”

In the meantime, we explain how the leap year will affect your Universal Credit payments.

What's more, The Sun has revealed the exact code to see if your benefits will be paid out at the start of this month.

Do you have a money problem that needs to be solved? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

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