Holiday allowances and accrual

Holiday calculations are dependent on the contract type and the country in which you are working. This article explains how Kobas calculates these figures.

Last updated 25 Mar 2024

Introduction

The accrual and allocation of holidays are complex processes that differ between countries and domestic jurisdictions. This page explains the processes and definitions Kobas uses in these calculations.

Definitions

Holiday Year	This is the 12-month period in which your organisation allocates holidays. This is often Apr-Mar or Jan-Dec.
Holiday Day	This is a paid day off.
Holiday Day Length	This is the length of a holiday day. The calculation may depend on jurisdiction and is irrelevant for Rolled Up Holiday Pay.
Day Off	This is an unpaid day off.
Full-Time	This refers to staff who consistently and contractually work 5 days per week.
Part-Time	This refers to staff who consistently and contractually work between 1 and 4 days per week.
Irregular Hours	This refers to staff who do not have a set number of days or hours.
Full Year Allowance	This is the number of holiday days this person will have for a full year, excluding any Carried-over days. It cannot be below the statutory minimum number for the local jurisdiction.
Projected Entitlement	If the staff members work for the whole leave year, this number will match the Full Year Allowance. This number will be proportionately less if they start part-way through the leave year.
This Year Remaining	Projected Entitlement for the year, plus any carried-over days, minus any days already approved.
Carried Over	Holiday Days added to this year that were untaken last year.
Accrued To Date	The holiday days you are entitled to are based on how much you have worked from the start of this holiday year.
Requested / Declined / Approved / Taken	The number of holiday days the staff member has requested, how many requests were approved/declined, and how many have been taken (used and paid for).
Pay Holiday Days	This payment method is used when staff are paid for their holiday days when they take them.
Rolled-up Holiday Pay	This payment method allows an employer to pay a higher hourly rate, incorporating holiday pay.

Staff set up and configuration

Ensuring that staff are set up and configured correctly is essential to ensure they accrue the correct holiday. For more detailed guidance, please see our other pages:

You can permanently allocate staff members more than the statutory minimum in your territory (by editing the Full Year Allowance) or for the current year only (by editing the Carried Over figure). The above articles explain how to do this.

Holiday allocation and accrual calculations

To learn how holiday allowance, accrual, and pay are calculated, select the correct jurisdiction (or country) and the contract type.

	Full or Part Time	Irregular Hours (leave year starts after Apr 2024)	Irregular Hours (leave year started before Apr 2024)
United Kingdom mainland
Northern Ireland Support coming soon
Republic of Ireland Support coming soon
Isle of Man Support coming soon

You will find references to local legislation in each subsection above.

Notes

Changing contract types mid-year

It is not uncommon for a staff member to change contract type part-way through the Holiday year. In this scenario, Kobas will work out the staff members' accrual as a 'leaver' under the old contract, work out their allowance as a mid-year starter under the 'new' contract and add the two numbers together.

Viewing holiday accrual

There are several pages within Kobas where some or all of this information is displayed:

New Holiday Request Page - staff will see the key figures when requesting time off
Personal Details Page - staff can see how their balance is worked out
Holidays Page - managers can see holidays remaining before approving
Holiday Status Report - managers and administrative functions can see all of the details regarding all staff members at a glance.
Staff Profile - detailed information regarding the employee in one place