Current News

You will be aware by now that the minimum statutory holiday is going to be increased throughout the United Kingdom and this will also apply to temporary workers on contracts for services (except the excluded sectors – see the REC Legal Guide) . These changes are due to the Working Time Regulations 1998 being amended by the Working Time (Amendment) Regulations 2007. The minimum statutory leave entitlement will therefore be as follows:

Minimum statutory leave per annum
From now until 30 September 2007 - the existing 4 weeks statutory leave (20 days for full-time workers) will continue.
From 1 October 2007 = the minimum annual leave will be increased to 4.8 weeks (24 days for full-time workers).
From 1 April 2009 = the minimum annual leave will be increased to 5.6 weeks (28 days for full-time workers).
REC contracts have been amended to reflect these changes and are in the process of being uploaded onto our website before Monday 1 October. They will be available under the “What’s New – Legal Update” section and also next to the existing contracts which will be available until 30 September after which they will be removed, leaving only the amended contracts.

Temporary workers
There is an amended contract for services to be issued to temporary workers who begin assignments on or after 1 October.
There is a letter entitled “Increased holiday: variation of contract for services from 1 October 2007”. This contains a letter to members informing them how to handle the transitional process. This document also contains a letter to temporary workers and explains the changes. Further, the document contains a clause which amends the existing holiday clause on the contracts they have already been issued with.

Employees

There will be a new “written statement of particulars of employment” and also a new contract of employment to be used from 1 October onwards.