Annual leave and sick pay
Payroll Manager works out annual leave under the Organisation of Working Time Act (OWTA) and statutory sick pay under the Sick Leave Act, pays them on the payslip, and shows every employee what they have left.
The employer's leave policy
On the Payroll page, choose Leave policy. The policy applies to every employee of this employer unless an employee has their own rule.
- Leave year starts: the month the leave year begins (January = the tax year).
- Entitlement:
- Statutory (auto): the statutory leave only, worked out each period from the hours: the best of 8% of hours worked, 1/3 of a working week per month with 117 hours, or 4 working weeks after 1,365 hours (OWTA s.19).
- Contract days: the days in the employment contract, or the statutory leave when that is more. The law is a minimum.
- Days a year (for contract days) and Most days a year, an optional cap. A cap limits days above the statutory leave; it never takes an employee below it.
- Unused leave carries over to the next leave year: tick it to allow carry-over, then set Use carried days within (months; by law 6) and Most days carried. Untick it and unused leave is lost at the end of the leave year: it must be taken within the year.
Choose Save policy. The policy is shown on every payslip.
An employee's own rule
In the employee form, Tax instructions tab, set Leave rule to Statutory (auto) or From the contract with Contract days, instead of As company policy. Use it for a director with a different contract or for hourly staff on statutory leave only. See Add and edit employees.
Record leave and sick days
In the payroll grid, type the days in Leave and Sick for the current period. See Run the payroll.
- Leave days are paid as holiday pay at the employee's normal rate and appear on the payslip as Holiday pay (2 days). The review warns about employees who have not yet had 2 unbroken weeks of leave in the leave year (OWTA s.19(3)).
- Sick days (certified) are paid as statutory sick pay: 70% of normal daily pay up to the daily maximum, for up to the statutory number of days a year (Statutory sick pay (1 day)). Days left are shown as Statutory sick days left this year.
Where to see it
- Employee page: the payslip preview shows Annual leave (entitlement, statutory so far, taken, Remaining to take) and Statutory sick days left this year. See The employee page.
- Payslip: the same, for the employee.