What's Changed?
From 1st January 2024, if an employee is unable to take some or all of their statutory holiday entitlement as result of taking a period of family – related leave, then they will be able to carry forward their full 5.6 weeks’ statutory annual leave entitlement in the next holiday year.
From 1st January 2024, if an employee is unable to take some of all their statutory holiday entitlement as a result of being off sick, then the employee will be entitled to carry forward up to 4 weeks of their untaken leave into the following leave year. However, the carryover is subject to the employee taking the leave within the 18th months of the date it was carried over from.
An employer has a legal responsibility to make sure you can take the holiday you’re entitled to. An employee will also be entitled to carry forward statutory leave into the next year if:
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Their employer does not let them take all their holiday or does not encourage them to take it all.
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Their employer does not inform them that they will lose any holiday they do not take.
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Their employer has refused to pay a worker their paid leave entitlement.
The Impact?
Previously if an employee was on long term sick leave there was no limit to the amount of holiday leave could be carried over. Now there is less risk to the Employer as this new legislation caps the amount of holiday that can be carried over.
What Do You Need to Do?
As this will be statutory legislation employers are not required to update their leave policies.
How Can We Help?
We are available for consultations, policy reviews, and assistance in ensuring compliance with the amended Working Time Regulations.