# Bank holiday treatment for part-time staff



## gilboy

Suppose I employ somebody on a part-time basis, e.g. Thursday & Friday each week.

When a bank holiday(on a Monday) arises am I expected to give this member of staff either Thursday or Friday off or how does it work?

Regards


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## Havana

AKAIK they are entitled to either an extra days pay or a paid day off (within a month I think, not necessarily that same week). See http://www.citizensinformation.ie/c...leave-and-holidays/public-holidays-in-ireland


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## WaterSprite

I think they are entitled to 1/5 of a week's pay for the bank holiday if they don't normally work it.  

From that link:

_*"Part-time employees*

 If you have worked for your employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday and you are due to work on a public holiday you are entitled to that day off as paid leave or one of the alternatives as listed above. If you are not required to work on that particular day you should receive one-fifth of your weekly pay instead of the actual day's leave. Even if you may never be rostered to work on a public holiday you are entitled to one-fifth of your weekly pay as compensation for the public" holiday._


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## Armada

If they are working 2 days a week they are entitled to 2/5 of a days pay etc..


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## brewster

Can we get confirmation of this? 2 day week = 2/5, 3 day week =3/5 etc


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## Armada

*Taken from  Payroll Software Thesaurus.*

*"PUBLIC HOLIDAYS*


The Organisation of Working Time Act provides the
following nine public holidays:


a) Christmas Day,
b) St. Stephen’s Day,
c) St. Patrick’s Day,
d) Easter Monday, the first Monday in May, the first
Monday in June and the first Monday in August,
e) the last Monday in October,
f) the 1st of January.
In respect of each public holiday, an employee is entitled to
either:
(a) a paid day off on the holiday or
(b) a paid day off within a month or
(c) an extra day’s annual leave or
(d) an extra day’s pay
as the employer may decide.


If the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee
normally works, the employee is entitled to a paid day off for
the day.




If the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee
does not normally work, the employee is entitled to one fifth
of his/her normal weekly wage for the day or to either (b) or
(c) above as the employer may decide.


If the employee is asked to work on the public holiday, the
employee is entitled to (b) (c) or (d) above as the employer
may decide.


There is no service requirement in respect of public holidays
for whole time employees. Part time employees qualify for
public holidays entitlement provided they have worked at
least 40 hours during the five weeks ending on the day before
a public holiday.
(Note this Act refers to 'public holidays' not 'bank
holidays'. Not every official bank holiday is a public holiday
though in practice most of them coincide)."

Is n't 2/5 of a day for eg: for a 2 day week the same amount as 1/5 th of a week?​


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## Gervan

To refer back to the OPs scenario,  if the part time worker works ON the public holiday, they would get paid less than in a normal week. 
Whereas if they don't normally work that day, they get extra. Is that right?


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## Berni

No, they get the extra day's pay either way.


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## WaterSprite

Berni said:


> No, they get the extra day's pay either way.



That is not the case.  If they normally work the day, they get a full day's paid holiday.  If they don't normally work the day, they get 1/5 of a week's wages, which will be less than a full day's pay.

In the case where they normally don't work the public holiday, they do get paid more for the week than if they normally come in on the holiday day, but they work more time too.

For example, Joe works 3 days a week, normally Tues, Thurs, Fri and gets paid €900 per week for those days.  He doesn't normally work on a Monday.  For a bank holiday Monday, Joe works his three days as normal but gets paid (€900 + €180) = €1080 for the week.  If St. Patrick's day falls on a Tuesday, Joe gets paid €900 for that week and only works two days.


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## A.J

I have been working a "Part Time" arrangement for a couple of years. Monday - Thursday so my scheduled day off is Friday, therefore some Bank holidays have fallen at Christmas and Easter on that day.

This following is the way it is worked out;

When a public/bank holiday falls on a part-time employee's scheduled working day - they get the benefit by getting that day off, on normal monthly salary.

When a public/bank holiday does not fall on a part-time employee’s scheduled working day – they are entitled to a payment based on *one fifth of their normal weekly pay**.  

Full-time            37.5 hour week
4 day week        30 hour week                 one fifth of this week is 6 hours
3 day week        22.5 hour week              one fifth of this week is 4.5 hours
2 day week        15 hour week                 one firth of this week is 3 hours

*In the case of job sharers who work a 50/50 job share arrangement, ie. 3 days one week, 2 days the next – the payment is based on one tenth of the amount paid for the last two working weeks before the public/bank holiday.


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## Gervan

AJ I think you have a generous employer. 
My reading of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 leads me to understand that when the normal working day of the part time employee falls on a public holiday and they do *not* work, the pay arrangement is the same as for the other part-timers i.e one *fifth *of their weekly pay, which is therefore less than they would otherwise receive.


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## JP1234

> My reading of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 leads me to understand that when the normal working day of the part time employee falls on a public holiday and they do *not* work, the pay arrangement is the same as for the other part-timers i.e one *fifth *of their weekly pay, which is therefore less than they would otherwise receive.



That is how my employer works it out. I work Mon - Wed at present as I am on a short working week, if I take a Bank Holiday Monday off I only get paid for 4.5 hours for that day (1/5 of my contracted 37.5 hpw), if I chose to work it I get paid the full 7.5hrs plus I get to take off 4.5 hours in lieu of the bank holiday.


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## Maread

Hi,
I work a 3 day week, Tues, Wed and Thurs.  On weeks where there is a bank holiday Monday I get paid 3/5 of a day's pay extra.  I think this is the legal requirement.  I'm not sure what happens if a bank holiday falls on a working day


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## GenieMac

As a part time worker working Wed, Thurs & Fri can I request time off instead of 1/5 of my weekly wage?


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## Nutso

You can request it but the company can opt to pay it.


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## Gervan

Help! What is the postion with a formerly full-time employee, who has been on 3 days for some weeks now, due to downturn, who worked an actual 4 days last week, when May 4th was a bank holiday. 
My reading is that he is entitled to one fifth of a normal working week's pay, but is that the normal 3 day week he had  been working, or the previously normal week of 5 days, which he would have worked that week, had Monday not been a public holiday?
Any opinions?


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## Nutso

In that case it is one fifth of the average pay calculated over the preceding 13 weeks.


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## crazysimone

Hi there!!

My fella normally works a 5 day week full time, on bank holidays the business closes, so they have a sunday and a monday off... they then have to work thier normal 5 day week, his boss is trying to say that this is taken off his holidays... this don't seem fair does he have to give him a lieu day for this as he aint getting an extra day off????? He is saying that he can only have 20 days holiday instead of 28 days coz he gets bank holidays off!!


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## Nutso

Do you mean that he normally works Mon-Fri but on a week including a bank holiday he works Tues-Sat and therefore gets no benefit for having the bank holiday?  If he is not getting paid for the bank holiday he is entitled to an extra paid day off in lieu of the bank holiday in addition to normal holidays. If however, he is getting paid for 6 days on a week including the bank holiday, his employer is correct.


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## vector

*>"one fifth of their normal weekly pay"

*I don't have a normal weekly figure, I am paid by the hour (EUR 10ph )
some weeks I could do 35 and other weeks 15 or anything in between


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## Nutso

Then as stated above it is one fifth of your average weekly pay calculated over the preceding 13 weeks.


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## invest-or

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/e..._and_holidays/public_holidays_in_ireland.html says



> If you do not normally work on that particular day you should receive one-fifth of your weekly pay. Even if you may never be rostered to work on a public holiday you are entitled to one-fifth of your weekly pay as compensation for the public holiday.
> 
> In all of the above situations your employer may choose to give you paid time off instead of pay for the public holiday.



If the employer chooses to give you "paid time off" instead of pay, must they give you *one-fifth of your weekly hours*, or a *full day* off?


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## Nutso

One fifth of your weekly hours.


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