With the summer holiday season in full swing, it’s a good time to remind both employers and employees of the key rules surrounding annual leave requests, employer rights, and best practice for managing holiday entitlement in line with UK employment law.
Requesting Annual Leave
Employees should request holidays in line with their contract or company policy. Requests should be made through the correct internal system, ensuring line managers have enough time to review staffing needs.
However, requesting a holiday doesn’t automatically mean approval. Employers are entitled to refuse holiday requests for legitimate business reasons, such as:
- Ensuring adequate staffing levels during peak periods
- Managing overlapping requests where multiple employees want the same time off
- Avoiding disruption to operational needs, such as deadlines or project delivery
To lawfully refuse a holiday request, the employer must give counter-notice at least the same length as the requested leave. For example, if the employee requests five days off, the employer must give at least five days' notice to refuse. Importantly, refusal should not be discriminatory, and reasons should be communicated clearly and an employer is not so restrictive, that an employee is unable to take their full leave entitlement through the holiday year.
Use It or Lose It: Managing Leave Towards the End of the Holiday Year
Many employers operate a "use it or lose it" policy, meaning any untaken holiday entitlement will be forfeited if not taken by the end of the holiday year. While this is legally permitted, case law emphasises that employers must proactively inform staff of:
- How much leave they have remaining
- When it must be taken by
- The risk of losing entitlement if unused
If an employer fails to give this information in good time before the end of the leave year, the employee may be entitled to carry over untaken leave, regardless of the company policy, although, the carry over can be limited to the ‘Euro’ 4 weeks.
As such, HR teams are strongly advised to issue regular reminders to employees— especially in the final quarter of the leave year — encouraging them to book remaining leave and explaining the company’s rules around carryover. Failure to do so may lead to legal claims and unexpected holiday liabilities.
Holiday Carryover: Sickness and Family Leave
Even with a "use it or lose it" policy, in some circumstances, the law allows employees to carry statutory holiday into the next leave year. This applies where an employee:
- Has been on long-term sick leave and unable to take holiday.
- Has been absent on statutory family leave (e.g. maternity, adoption, shared parental leave).
For sickness absence, the right to carry over holiday is limited to the ‘Euro’ 4 weeks and it must be taken within 18 months of the end of the leave year in which it accrued, or it will be lost. No such limits apply to carryover after family leave.
Final Thoughts
Effective holiday management benefits both business continuity and employee wellbeing. Employers should ensure holiday policies are clearly communicated, requests handled fairly, and reminders issued throughout the year. A proactive and lawful approach helps reduce the risk of disputes and supports a positive workplace culture.
If you need further guidance please contact us on 033 33 215 005 or at info@wirehouse-es.com.
