All employees are entitled to annual leave, including full-time, part-time, temporary and casual workers.

Should I be paid by my employer while I am on annual leave? Annual leave is paid time off work. Holiday pay must be paid in advance at your normal weekly rate. If your pay changes from week-to-week (for example, because of commission or bonus payments), your holiday pay is the average of your pay over the 13 weeks before you take holidays.

How much annual leave am I entitled to? The statutory leave year runs from 1st April to 31st March. Most employers use the calendar year (January to December) to calculate your entitlement for administrative reasons, but this does not affect your statutory leave entitlements. If you have worked at least 1,365 hours in a leave year, you are entitled to the maximum of four working weeks’ paid annual leave. You cannot use this method if you changed employment during the leave year. Calculate one-third of a working week for each calendar month in which you worked at least 117 hours. Calculate 8% of the hours you worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of four working weeks (applies for part-time workers). When calculating your holiday entitlement, your employer should include all the hours you worked, including time spent on annual leave, maternity leave, parental leave, force majeure leave, adoptive leave or the first 13 weeks of carer’s leave.

Can my employer force me to take annual leave? Your employer decides when annual leave may be taken, but must take into account your family responsibilities, as well as the available opportunities for rest and recreation.

What if I get sick while on annual leave? If you are sick while you are on annual leave, you should get a medical certificate from your GP to cover the days you were sick. Give the medical certificate to your employer as soon as you return to work. Your employer cannot make you to take annual leave for time you were on certified sick leave.

What happens my annual leave if I leave my job? If you are leaving a job without taking all the annual leave you are entitled to, your employer must pay you for the days you have not taken.

Can my employer offer to pay me extra in lieu of annual leave? It is illegal for an employer to pay an employee extra instead of allowing them take the minimum statutory annual leave entitlement, except where the employment ends and the employee has earned unused annual leave days.

Can I ‘carry over’ annual leave to next year? Depending on your employer, you can agree to take your annual leave within six months of the relevant leave year. If you are on long-term sick leave and cannot take your annual leave due to illness, you can carry it over for up to 15 months.

If you need further information contact your local Citizens Information Service in Bantry (Monday to Thursday 10am-5pm, Friday 10am-4pm) or ring 0818 07 8390. Alternatively you can email on [email protected] or log on to www.citizensinformation.ie