An employee receives their relevant daily pay for the day taken as the alternative holiday. For example, if an employee became entitled to an alternative holiday for working on Easter Monday and they take the alternative holiday on the following Friday, they will be paid the amount that they would have received had they worked on that particular Friday.

Payment for an alternative holiday, depends on when the employee takes the day off, it has no bearing on how many hours the employee actually worked on the public holiday. The employee may choose when they want to take the alternative holiday in the first 12 months of becoming entitled to it by giving the employer 14 days notice. The employee should also take into consideration any operational requirements of the employer’s business. After 12 months of becoming entitled to the alternative holiday, the employee may request to exchange the alternative holiday for cash.

If an employee does not take their alternative holiday within 12 months of becoming entitled to the alternative holiday, the employee and employer can agree for the alternative holiday to be exchanged for payment. In this instance, the payment for the alternative holiday is to be agreed between the employer and employee and must be paid as soon as practicable once the agreement has been made.

Alternative holidays do not expire, therefore, any alternative holidays that are outstanding when an employee’s employment ends, these are paid at the employee’s relevant daily pay for their last day of work.

Click here to find out how to calculate relevant daily pay

Click here for further information on alternative holidays

Use our Holidays Online Tool to work out entitlements for public holidays, and sickness and bereavement leave.