Notice for all managers of casual workers

New process for automated holiday pay for casual workers coming soon

In April 2024 we communicated a new process for managers to follow to ensure that casual workers received their holiday pay entitlement rolled up with their basic pay each pay period. 

This followed Government reforms introduced to simplify holiday pay for irregular hours workers (i.e. casual workers) and part year workers. The regulations allow for holiday pay to be rolled up (as a percentage of pay, each time the worker is paid) and applies to holiday years commencing on or after the 1 April 2024. The regulations require a minimum percentage top up of 12.07%.  However, the Council have set their holiday pay top up for casual workers over this minimum at 12.1%. Casual workers will also continue to accrue leave when they are taking sick or statutory leave entitlement. 

What is changing? 

Managers are currently required to submit payment for rolled up holiday pay each month on a summary spreadsheet to payroll to ensure each casual worker receives their holiday pay entitlement. 

We will shortly be introducing automatic payment of holiday pay for casual workers. This will generate the correct holiday pay (calculating a 12.1% top up) and pay the relevant amount on top of each pay claim through OTL. This payment will only be made if the employee selects the correct element under OTL. Guidance on the elements and when they should be used is published already within the OneSource guidance for overtime. Managers will no longer need to submit spreadsheets to payroll to pay this holiday pay amount (506) to their casual workers but will need to continue to submit the spreadsheet for other payments/deductions. 

Where casual workers are entitled to sick or statutory leave, managers must ensure the casual worker is recorded as being on such leave in One Source and then any holiday pay to which they are entitled to during their period of leave will be automatically calculated and paid. 

If you are a manager of casual workers and have not been submitting claims sheets to payroll for holiday pay for these workers (as required since April 2024) – the introduction of the automation will pick up this non-payment and any payment owing for holiday pay will be automatically calculated and back dated to the 1 April 2024 for these workers. 

What do I need to do? 

If you are currently submitting a monthly claim sheet to payroll to pay your casual workers holiday pay – you need to keep doing this for now, until you are informed of the switch over date in future communications. 

If you are not currently submitting claim forms to payroll to pay your casual workers holiday pay – you do not need to start doing this now, these workers will be identified during the implementation and back pay will be calculated and paid to these workers effective from 1 April 2024. Please note that any back pay will be covered by service areas budgets and so if you think you may have some back pay liability for casuals’ holiday pay you are advised to make you finance business partners aware of this. 

Managers are also reminded that should they have existing casual workers within One Source that they are no longer using then these workers must be ended in the system. This is due to several reasons, including additional expense caused to the organisation and an extended liability for holiday payments should they take any sick or statutory leave entitlement. 

Line managers can view their casual workers on their team structures on One Source.  Managers should keep these under review and submit a leavers form to  payroll to end any casual workers they are no longer using. 

 Next steps 

We will be communicating further information over the coming weeks and are planning for the automated payments to go live before the end of this year. 

Please look out for future communication updates for further information relating to implementation timescales and any actions you may be required to undertake as managers of casual workers. 

Managers are also reminded that casual workers should only be used on an ad hoc basis, where work is irregular and unpredictable (defined where the hours are ‘wholly or mostly variable in each pay period’).  

If managers have any queries or questions relating to the use of casual workers within their service areas or holiday pay entitlements for casuals, please contact the HR Operational Team by raising a helpdesk ticket in One Source How to raise a helpdesk ticket.