Holidays (Employees) Act, 1961

“Employment year” and “employment half-year”.

4.—(1) In this Act—

“employment year” when used in relation to a worker, means a period of three hundred and sixty-five days (excluding any day which is the 29th day of February) commencing on the day on which the worker last entered the employment in relation to which the expression is used or on any anniversary of that day;

“the first half”, when used in relation to an employment year of a domestic worker, means a period of one hundred and eighty-three days commencing on the first day of the employment year;

“the second half”, when used in relation to an employment year of a domestic worker, means so much of the employment year as is not included in the first half thereof.

Where a worker entered on employment on the 29th day of February, he shall for the purposes of the interpretation of the definition of “employment year”, be deemed to have entered that employment on the next following day.

(2) Where—

(a) the ownership of any business, whether carried on for profit or gain or not, is transferred by act of the parties or by operation of law during the currency of an employment year of any worker who immediately before the transfer was employed by the person carrying on the business, and

(b) the worker continues after the transfer to be employed by the person (in this subsection referred to as the new employer) to whom the ownership is transferred, the following provisions shall have effect—

(i) the worker shall, for the purposes of this Act (including subsection (1) of this section but excluding section 9 (in so far as it relates to rights of non-domestic workers in respect of public holidays) of this Act in respect of any public holidays previous to the transfer), be deemed to have been in the employment of the new employer as on and from the beginning of the employment year;

(ii) if the worker has been allowed before the transfer annual leave or, in case the worker is a domestic worker, annual leave or semi-annual leave during the employment year, the annual leave or semi-annual leave shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to have been allowed by the new employer.

(3) In this section “business” includes any profession, office, establishment or trade of whatsoever kind.