Alan Price, CEO of HR software provider BrightHR, told HR magazine that whether employees are entitled to additional pay depends on their pay structure.
He said: “With an extra day in the calendar this February, it’s no surprise that here at BrightHR, we’re getting more and more calls from employers who are navigating the question of whether they need to pay their staff more.
“It all depends on your employee’s pay structure. If they’re paid hourly with a pay reference of one week (paid weekly) there will be no difference to their pay. That’s because a leap day does not mean a seven day week becomes an eight day week.
“However, hourly paid employees with a pay reference period of one month (paid monthly), see an increase because the number of days worked in the pay reference period has changed. They will have worked for 21 days in February rather than the usual 20 days.”
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Salaried workers are also not entitled to additional pay as they are paid for the year rather than the hours worked.
Price added that HR teams should check that working the extra day does not breach national minimum wage rates, alter notice periods or affect pay day.
He said: “If you have staff on national minimum wage, you may need to run a compliance check to make sure there are no breaches around the leap day and that working the extra day does not send their pay below the national minimum wage rates.
“And there’s also a few more considerations to take into account, like what impact this might have on notice periods, deadlines, and even the day that you pay your staff if it’s usually the last day of the month. Either way, confirm to your employees so they know what to expect.”
