By law you should not be required to work more than 48 hours on average in a week unless you have agreed in writing to do so. The 48 hour average is calculated over any period of 17 consecutive weeks of your employment. You are also entitled to daily rest (an uninterrupted rest break of 20 minutes if you work more than 6 hours in a day), a rest period of at least 11 consecutive hours in each 24 hour period, and a weekly rest period of 24 hours in every 7 day period. These are the basics; the law concerning working time is complicated and your rights may vary according to the nature of your work and certain agreements made with your employer.

Your statutory right is to 4 weeks’ paid holiday in each holiday year. For full-time workers, this equates to 20 days’ holiday. For you, this equates to 12 days’ holiday. This is the minimum; your contract may specify a greater amount.

Unless your contract states otherwise, your employer has no legal obligation to give you time off on Bank or public holidays (aside from Christmas day for workers in large shops in England and Wales). At present, the statutory right to 20 days’ paid holiday can include public holidays, although your entitlement is set to start increasing to 28 days from October 2007.

Your employer can control when you take holiday. Your contract or an applicable collective/workforce agreement may set out when and how you can take holiday. Otherwise, The basic position is as follows. You have to give your employer twice as much notice as the length of holiday you want to take (so you should have given 6 weeks’ notice of your intention to take 3 weeks’ holiday). Your employer is entitled to refuse permission, provided that it gives you with the same notice as the length of holiday you want to take (so it should have told you 3 weeks before the time you wanted your holiday to start).

No, your employer is not required to pay you for time spent on jury service. You can obtain payment for loss of earnings and benefits from the Courts, although this is subject to a maximum amount.