A part-year worker is an employee who is required to work only part of the year, such as a school term-time worker or a seasonal employee. UK employment law treats part-year workers differently from full-year workers when it comes to calculating holiday entitlement, and the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Harpur Trust v Brazel confirmed that their entitlement cannot be pro-rated to reflect only the weeks they work.
This distinction matters for HR teams handling seasonal staff, term-time workers, and other employees with irregular annual working patterns. Getting the calculation wrong can lead to underpaid holiday pay and potential tribunal claims.
Key Takeaways
- A part-year worker is required to work only part of the year and has periods of the year where they do no work at all.
- The Supreme Court confirmed in Harpur Trust v Brazel (2022) that part-year workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks’ statutory holiday, calculated using a divisor of 52 — not their actual working weeks.
- This ruling prevents employers from pro-rating holiday entitlement to only the weeks worked.
- Part-year workers accrue holiday during the full year, including non-working periods.
What Is a Part-Year Worker?
A part-year worker is defined as someone who has a contractual obligation to work only during certain weeks of the year, with one or more extended periods where they do no work at all. Common examples include:
- School term-time workers who work during school terms but not during holidays
- Seasonal workers in tourism, agriculture, or retail who work only during peak periods
- Academic staff on fixed-term contracts that cover only the academic year
- Zero-hours or casual workers who have a regular engagement for only part of the year
The key distinction is that a part-year worker has weeks where they are contractually required to do zero work. This is different from a part-time worker who works fewer hours each week across the full year.
The Supreme Court Ruling: Harpur Trust v Brazel
The landmark case that clarified part-year worker holiday rights is Harpur Trust v Brazel [2022] UKSC 21.
Background
Ms Brazel was a visiting music teacher at a school run by the Harpur Trust. She worked only during school terms — approximately 32 to 35 weeks per year. Her employer calculated her statutory holiday pay by pro-rating the 5.6-week entitlement to reflect only the weeks she worked, using a divisor based on her actual working weeks rather than 52.
The Court’s Decision
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that:
- Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, a part-year worker is entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory annual leave.
- This entitlement must be calculated using a divisor of 52 weeks, not the number of weeks actually worked.
- Pro-rating the entitlement to reflect only working weeks would unlawfully reduce the statutory minimum, contrary to the EU Working Time Directive.
The effect is that part-year workers receive a proportionally higher holiday entitlement relative to the weeks they work. A worker who works 35 weeks gets the same 5.6-week entitlement as someone who works 52 weeks.
How to Calculate Holiday for Part-Year Workers
After the Supreme Court ruling, the calculation for part-year workers is straightforward:
Step-by-Step Formula
- Determine average weekly earnings: Add up gross pay for the past 52 weeks (excluding weeks with no pay).
- Calculate weekly holiday pay: Divide total pay by 52 (not by the number of weeks worked).
- Multiply by 5.6 weeks: This gives the total statutory holiday entitlement in pay terms.
Worked Example: Term-Time Worker
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Working weeks per year | 35 weeks |
| Annual gross pay | £21,000 |
| Weeks worked | 35 |
Old method (pre-ruling, now unlawful): £21,000 ÷ 35 weeks × 5.6 weeks = £3,360 holiday pay
Correct method (post-ruling): £21,000 ÷ 52 weeks × 5.6 weeks = £2,261.54 holiday pay
Wait — in this example the old method actually produced a higher figure because the divisor was smaller. The critical point is that the 52-week divisor is what the law requires, regardless of whether it produces a higher or lower figure in a specific case. What the ruling prevents is the opposite scenario, where an employer uses the actual working weeks to produce a lower entitlement than the statutory minimum.
When the Difference Matters Most
The difference becomes most significant when workers have very few working weeks. Consider a seasonal worker who works only 12 weeks per year:
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Working weeks per year | 12 weeks |
| Weekly gross pay | £500 |
| Total pay | £6,000 |
Correct method (52-week divisor): £6,000 ÷ 52 × 5.6 = £646.15 holiday pay
If pro-rated to working weeks (unlawful): 12 weeks ÷ 12 × 5.6 = well beyond the weeks worked, which would be nonsensical
The ruling ensures the statutory floor of 5.6 weeks is preserved regardless of how few weeks the employee works.
Part-Year Worker vs Part-Time Worker
These two categories are often confused, but they are legally distinct:
| Feature | Part-Year Worker | Part-Time Worker |
|---|---|---|
| Working pattern | Works only during certain parts of the year | Works regular reduced hours throughout the year |
| Non-working periods | Extended weeks with no work at all | No extended non-working periods |
| Holiday calculation | 5.6 weeks based on 52-week divisor | 5.6 × days worked per week (e.g., 3 days = 3.36 weeks) |
| Common examples | School term-time, seasonal tourism | 3-day-per-week office worker |
Both are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks of statutory annual leave, but the calculation method differs.
Employer Obligations and Best Practices
After the Harpur Trust ruling, employers should:
- Audit existing calculations. If you have part-year workers whose holiday pay was calculated using a divisor based on working weeks (not 52), you may owe back pay.
- Update payroll systems. Ensure your HR and payroll software calculates part-year worker holiday correctly using the 52-week divisor.
- Communicate clearly. Explain to part-year workers how their holiday entitlement is calculated, especially if the result differs from what they expected.
- Consider enhanced policies. Many employers offer holiday entitlements above the statutory minimum for part-year workers to remain competitive in hiring seasonal or term-time staff.
Potential Back-Pay Liability
If you have been pro-rating part-year worker holiday pay, there may be a back-pay liability going back up to two years (the statutory limitation period for unlawful deduction claims). Review your records for affected workers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do zero-hours workers count as part-year workers?
Zero-hours workers may qualify as part-year workers if they have extended periods where they are contractually required to do no work. However, the distinction depends on the individual’s contract and actual working pattern, not just the zero-hours label.
Does the Harpur Trust ruling apply to bank holiday entitlement?
The ruling addresses the overall 5.6-week statutory entitlement. Bank holidays included within the statutory entitlement are part of the 5.6 weeks. Employers cannot exclude bank holidays from the calculation for part-year workers separately.
Can an employer cap holiday pay for part-year workers?
No. Under the Working Time Regulations, the statutory entitlement is 5.6 weeks per year. The Harpur Trust ruling confirmed this applies to part-year workers based on a 52-week divisor, and there is no lawful mechanism to cap it based on actual working weeks.
What about workers on permanent contracts who work seasonally?
If an employee is on a permanent contract but only works during certain seasons, they are likely a part-year worker. The key test is whether the contract requires them to work during defined periods and be absent during others — not whether they happen to work irregularly.
Does this affect holiday pay for workers with irregular hours?
Workers with genuinely irregular hours (no fixed pattern) are typically treated as irregular-hours workers under the Employment Rights (Employment Particulars and Paid Annual Leave) (Amendment) Regulations 2018. The calculation method differs — their holiday pay is based on average weekly earnings over a 52-week reference period.
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