Jersey Employment Law Update: Paid Leave, Holidays And Time Limits

Introduction

One of the key differences between Jersey employment law and that of the UK or Guernsey is in respect of holiday entitlements - a subject squarely at the top of many HR leaders' agendas as we head into holiday season with Covid-19 travel restrictions changing almost weekly.

A recent case from the Jersey Employment Tribunal focuses on two issues - entitlement to paid bank holidays, and claims for unpaid holidays. In this note we look at the case of Board v Tenby [2021] TRE 030 and the Employment (Jersey) Law 2003 ("EJL").

Holiday Entitlement and Bank Holidays

The Jersey provision for paid leave differs from that in Guernsey and the UK - Guernsey does not have statutory holidays, so holidays are dealt with purely in contracts of employment. In the UK the holiday entitlement is drawn from EU law, which was never applicable in Jersey. Therefore simply modelling UK holiday policies into Jersey does not work.