Refusing annual leave – employer’s rights

Under Working Time Regulations 1998, all workers are entitled to at least 5.6 weeks of paid holiday per year. However, this doesn’t mean that they have complete freedom to take holiday whenever they want.

For the survival of the business, employers must be able to prioritise the employment needs and make sure that sufficient cover is in place when a worker takes annual leave. Some businesses have particularly busy ‘pinch points’ in the year (Christmas and Easter for hospitality; Black Friday and Christmas sales for retail).

The law

Under Working Time Regulations 1998, workers must give notice of at least twice the length of time of the holiday requested. So, for a one-week holiday, they must give at least two weeks’ notice. If they don’t do this, then you can refuse the holiday request.

• As an employer, you can mandate that holiday is taken at a certain time. In the same way as employees, you must give notice of at least twice the length of the holiday period which is being mandated.
• You aren’t obliged to agree to holiday requests. You can refuse a request if you give notice which is at least as long as the length of the holiday requested.
• You can also change your mind. This isn’t a good idea from an employee relations point of view, and should be handled with caution…but if you’ve approved a request for holiday, you have the right, at a later date, to rescind that approval. This isn’t a good idea from an employee relations point of view and should be handled with cautioIf you change your mind, you must give notice which is at least the same period as the length of the holiday.

Do you need help drafting a good holiday policy?

The best way to manage holiday is to tailor holiday rules to your own business by putting holiday rules in the contract of employment and/or a separate holiday policy. You can therefore set out a mandated period of shutdown where a certain number of days of holiday must be taken. You can also designate periods where holiday is not able to be taken.

Having a holiday policy means that everyone is on the same page. Employees understand exactly what they need to do in order to maximise the utility of their holiday entitlement each year. Employers maintain control over the situation, making sure that the business continues to operate optimally when employees are away from work.

Hunter Law is here to help, just email us or give us a call.

Further reading

• The Working Time Regulations 1998 – Gov.uk
• Your holiday entitlement rights – Gov.uk
• How to calculate your holiday entitlement – ACAS
• 5 holiday pay essentials in 2024 – Hunter Law