Annual Leave Entitlements for New Starters

When adding annual leave entitlement for a new starter in BrightPay and using 'Set number of annual leave days' as the calculation method; you must always enter the full-year's entitlement for the employee, not a pro-rata'd amount. BrightPay automatically pro-rata's based on the start date and you cannot override this. The below information is only for non-accrual types of leave and when 'set number of annual leave days' calculation method is used.

Important: Regardless of when the employee started, if 'set number of annual leave days' method is being used, enter the annual leave as if they were employed for the full annual leave year. BrightPay will automatically reduce it based on their actual start date.

How BrightPay Calculates Pro-Rata Annual Leave:

BrightPay uses a percentage-of-year in this employment method based on calendar days, not weeks or working days.

Example calculation (including bank holiday entitlement):
- Set number of days (full year): 16.8 days (based on 3 days a week)
- Employee start date: 17 September 2026
- Annual Leave year entered on BrightPay: 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027
- Days employed within AL year: 17 Sept to 31 March = 196 calendar days
- Percentage of year: 196 ÷ 365 = 53.6986%
- Proportionate entitlement: 16.8 × 53.6986% = 9.0214 days

BrightPay will display: 9.0214 days (calculated to 4 decimal places)

Important: Rounding Rules

BrightPay calculates annual leave to 4 decimal places. When the result is not a whole number:

• You can keep the exact figure (e.g., 9.0214 days)
• You can round UP to the nearest half day or full day (e.g., 9.0214 → 9.5 or 10 days)
• You cannot round DOWN - this would reduce the employee's legal entitlement

If BrightPay calculates 9.0214 days, you must use either 9.0214, 9.1, 9.5, or 10 - never 9.

Why This Matters:

If you enter a pre-calculated pro-rata'd amount, BrightPay will pro-rata it again, resulting in even fewer days and potentially breaching legal minimums.

The start date is irrelevant to what you enter for the full years' entitlement - BrightPay handles all the pro-rata calculation automatically.

Summary:

Enter the full-year entitlement and let BrightPay pro-rata it
Round UP or keep exact decimals (never down)
Do not calculate pro-rata'd leave for the year and enter that
Do not round DOWN if the result has decimals (e.g., 9.02 → 9)

Important: BrightPay Does Not Calculate Full-Year Entitlement

BrightPay will not automatically calculate what the full-year entitlement should be. For example, if an employee works 3 days per week, you must manually calculate: 28 days (legal minimum including bank holidays) ÷ 5 × 3 = 16.8 days. If bank holidays are not being recorded on the BrightPay calendar, the legal minimum number of days is 20 days paid annual leave for a full time worker.

You can then enter this 16.8 (or 17) days as the "Set number of annual leave days in year" in BrightPay. BrightPay will then pro-rata this figure based on the start date.

BrightPay has no way to flag or validate whether the full-year figure you've entered is correct - it simply pro-rata's whatever you have entered.

The responsibility is entirely on the payroll processor to ensure the full-year entitlement is accurate before entering it. Incorrect figures will be pro-rata'd incorrectly, potentially resulting in employees receiving less leave than they're legally entitled to.