Holiday pay

Q: Is an employee entitled to carry over holiday to the following year? Our employer has said anyone who hasn’t taken their holiday by the end of the year will lose it.

A: The statutory four weeks’ holiday entitlement given by the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) cannot be carried into the following year, as this goes against the purpose of the legislation, which is to make sure that workers get annual leave for health and safety reasons. Neither can workers receive payment in lieu of any unused holiday, except when they have left their employment.

However, you are entitled to agree other arrangements for any contractual holiday beyond the statutory entitlement, which can include the carrying over of unused holiday to the next year.

If the employer has stopped workers from taking annual leave, this could be a denial of their rights under the WTR, and they could bring a claim.