Covid-19 and carrying leave forward
As we approach the end of the calendar year (and most employers’ holiday year), traditionally this is the time when employees realise, they have a large amount of accrued holiday to take if they are to avoid losing it. This year, for obvious reasons, will be slightly different given the vast amount of accrued holiday many employees will be carrying as a result of lockdown, furlough and key worker status.
To address this issue the Government has passed emergency legislation – The Working Time (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020. These Regulations provide that, if an employee has been unable to take their leave in the 2020 holiday year as a result of Covid-19, they are permitted to carry forward up to four weeks of their statutory holiday entitlement to take in the next two holiday years.
This legislation permits the employee to take leave that would otherwise have been lost due to Covid-19, as well as allowing the employer to effectively manage their staffing levels by reducing the risk that many employees will seek to take their accrued holiday at the same time.
Leave can only be carried forward if the employee has been unable to take it because of the effect of Covid-19 on their organisation. Employers still have a duty to do everything reasonably practicable to encourage employees to take as much of their leave as possible in the current leave year (especially if there is still time to do so). If this has not been possible and holiday is carried over, employers should encourage employees to take leave as early as they can/the business can practically allow in the next leave year.
It is also worth remembering that, if an employee leaves employment, any payment in lieu of untaken holiday must include any leave that has been carried over from the previous year(s).
If you have any questions about carrying forward holiday, please email or call our Employment Law team today on 0113 207 0000.
Partner and Head of Employment
Employment Law
PKelly@LawBlacks.com
0113 227 9249
@PaulLawBlacks
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Paul Kelly
