Annual leave and holiday pay
Editor's message: While some staff may have been asked to take annual leave during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, for example due to a lack of available work, others may struggle to take their leave entitlement as a result of the key role they are playing in the nation’s efforts to fight the virus.
Under the Working Time Regulations, workers are entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ holiday a year (which can include bank and public holidays). Responding to the coronavirus crisis, the Government has announced that workers will be able to carry over up to four weeks of their statutory annual leave entitlement into the next two leave years.
The Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 26 March 2020, state that leave may be carried over where it “was not reasonably practicable for a worker to take some of all of the leave” to which they are entitled to due to the “effects of the coronavirus (including on the worker, the employer or on the wider economy and society)”.
Given some of the current scenarios preventing staff from working, such as a need to self-isolate, caring responsibilities (including as a result of school closures) and a refusal to work where there is a risk of exposure to coronavirus, employers may also have to consider unpaid leave.
Sue Dennehy, employment law editor
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About this topic
HR and legal information and guidance relating to annual leave and holiday pay.
Annual leave and holiday pay: key resources
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Employment law manual: Holiday and holiday pay
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What is the minimum statutory provision for paid holiday?
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Holiday policy
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Good practice manual: Annual leave
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Line manager briefings: Annual leave
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How to deal with an employee who goes ahead with a holiday when annual leave has not been authorised
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Annual leave survey 2019
Annual leave and holiday pay: quick links
Access our main resources on annual leave and holiday pay according to the type of information you need.
