Your leap year work, pay and holiday rights if you work an extra day on February 29
THIS year is a leap year, and while that's normally associated with women proposing to their partners, it also means there's an extra working day.
In 2020, February 29 falls on a Saturday, so unless you work weekends you won't have to go in, but it still means there are 254 working weekday days rather than the usual 253.
For many workers, this will mean an additional day's toil without any reward, but some employees could get more pay and even more holiday.
Here's everything you need to know.
Leap years for salaried employers
Unfortunately, if you work full time for an annual salary you'll have to work the extra day for nothing.
Tom Neil, senior adviser at workplace advisory firm Acas , said: “Whether you get paid for the extra day this year comes down to the type of contract you have and the hours you work.
"If you receive an annual salary, you would not expect to be paid for the extra day as it will have already been factored into your salary."
This is because your monthly pay is 1/12th of your pay packet, regardless of the number of days in each month.
Even if you only work part time for an annual salary, you won't get any extra cash.
Whether part-timers will actually end up working an extra day or not also depends on their shift pattern.
February 29 falls on a Saturday this year, but technically the extra working day is the December 31, which is a Thursday.
That means there are 53 Thursdays rather than 52 this year, so if you work Thursdays you are stuck with the extra day.
We always have one extra day in the week per year as our calendar is based on 365 days.
In 2020, this means there are also 53 Wednesdays, so Wednesday workers will also work an extra day than people who don't.
Every other day of the week only appears 52 times this calendar year.
The only exception to this is if your contract has a clause about extra pay on leap years - in which case you might get a bit more.
If you're on a very low income there's also a possibility that the extra day could tip you below the minimum wage.
While the minimum wage is paid hourly, if your annual salary is based on this and it hasn't factored in the extra day this year you could be underpaid.
It's illegal to pay UK workers less than minimum wage, so in this case your employer would have to make up the shortfall.
How to resolve a problem with your employer
IF you've got an issue with your employer, here is Citizens Advice on how to deal with it.
Step 1: speak to your employer
Try having an informal chat with your employer or HR department. Explain your concerns and try to resolve the issue.
Step 2: raise a grievance
Check if your employer has a formal grievance procedure you can use. Even if they haven’t, you can still - for example by writing a letter.
You could say something like: “My contract states my rights regarding bank holiday working. You have breached these terms.”
Check if your employer has a trade union as it may be able to help.
Step 3: get advice
If your employer doesn’t respond, or they do but it’s not the response you wanted, you should . They’ll be able to advise you on what to do next - for example, whether you can take your case to an employment tribunal.
Leap years for people paid hourly, daily or weekly
If you're paid by the hour or by the day, you may be asked to work the extra time but you'll also be paid for it.
Mr Neil said: "If you are paid on an hourly basis then you will be paid for the hours worked, and as such, should receive payment for any hours worked due to the additional day."
Essentially, the more you work, the more you earn.
If you're paid weekly, you get paid for each full week you complete, meaning the extra day won't mean more pay.
If you're a shift worker or on a zero-hours contract the extra day worked should also count towards your holiday accrual - so you can use it to build-up your total allowance.
HOW THE LEAP YEAR AFFECTS PEOPLE ON UNIVERSAL CREDIT
IF you're on Universal Credit, you'll have to make your payments stretch an extra day this month.
The DWP says that the standard monthly allowance stays the same every month, regardless of how many days there are.
The amount that you're paid for other elements, such as housing, child and income support, also stays the same.
February typically has 28 days so you don't have to make your payments last as long.
For example, someone who gets £500 a month in total will be able to budget £16.13 a day in January when there are 31 days, but in February they can budget £17.85 a day.
As there are 29 days in February 2020, you'll need to make your payments stretch further than you would normally need to.
For example, this works out at £17.24 a day for a £500 monthly payment.
MORE ON MONEY NEWS
What are my work rights for wages, holiday pay and rest breaks?
Plus, don't forget the Monday May Day Bank Holiday has been moved to a Friday this year.
And here's how the leap year will affect your Universal Credit payments.