Working Time Directive
Regulations 13 and 13A create a right to paid annual leave of 28 days, expressed as "four weeks" and an additional "1.6 weeks" (including bank holidays and public holidays). In the Working Time Directive article 7 refers to paid annual leave of "at least four weeks", but does not directly define a "week", and nor do the regulations. Article 5 states that the "weekly rest period" means a "seven-day period". When the Directive was implemented in the UK, regulation 13 originally stated "four weeks" but many employers only gave their workers four five-day periods of leave (i.e. 20 days). In response the UK government amended the regulations in 2007 to add the further 1.6 week period, bringing the minimum in line with the European Union requirement for four full weeks (i.e. 28 days). However, this confusion led to the argument that the UK had gone beyond the minimum standards required by the Working Time Directive 2003, even though no country in the EU has a right to fewer holidays than 28 days.