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.
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.
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.