Can a Parish Council pay their Clerk in lieu of statutory annual leave entitlement?

Question

The Clerk seems happy to work for 52 weeks per year (part-time, 7 hours per week). The Parish Council sees a benefit in having the Clerk regularly available to respond to queries, deal with emails and correspondence, etc. In these circumstances is it in order to pay the Clerk in lieu of untaken statutory leave entitlement?

Thank you.

Answer 1

EDITED ANSWER: My previous answer was "yes" but was incorrect, as described in the comment below. Under UK and EU law employees must take at least four weeks (or the pro rata equivalent for part time work) each year and may be allowed to carry forward holiday entitlement above four weeks at the employer's discretion. The UK entitlement is 5.6 weeks (or pro rata) per year. As indicated below, pay in lieu of holiday is only permitted when the employee is leaving.

Comments

Thanks for this answer. However since asking my question I have come across this on the gov.uk website at https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/taking-holiday-before-leaving-a-job

Getting paid instead of taking holidays:
The only time someone can get paid in place of taking statutory leave (known as ‘payment in lieu’) is when they leave their job.