Annual Leave During Notice Period UK: Rules for Employers

Yes. Resigning, being dismissed with notice or being made redundant does not end holiday rights. The person remains employed until the notice ends, so they can ask to use the statutory leave they have left in the normal way. GOV.UK confirms that a worker may be able to use up remaining statutory leave during notice.

Whether particular dates are approved depends on the usual booking rules: the worker must give the right notice, and the employer can refuse specific dates if it gives counter-notice. Acas says employers should have a good business reason to refuse or cancel a request, and they cannot refuse to let a worker take any holiday at all.

The same rules apply whether the employee resigned or the employer gave notice. The practical difference is usually motive: someone resigning often wants to use up their balance, while an employer running a redundancy may prefer leave to be taken rather than paid out.

Statutory holiday is worked out up to the termination date, not the last day the person is physically at work. During notice, including any period of garden leave, the employee is still employed and their entitlement keeps accruing. That also applies to an employee working out redundancy notice.

Payment in lieu of notice (PILON) is different. Acas explains that with PILON the contract ends straight away, so the holiday calculation stops at that earlier date. An employer can only insist on PILON if the contract allows it; otherwise it needs the employee's agreement.

Unless the contract sets its own notice rules (which then apply), the statutory booking rules decide how much warning each side must give. A short notice period can make these rules decisive: with one week's notice left, there may not be time to request, refuse or require more than a few days.

An employer can also cancel holiday that was booked before notice was given, but only with the same counter-notice it would need to refuse the request. If pre-booked leave falls inside the notice period and is not cancelled correctly, it goes ahead and is deducted from the balance.

Yes. An employer can tell a worker to take holiday on particular dates, including during notice, if it gives notice at least twice as long as the leave. To require five days off, for example, the employer must give at least ten days' warning before the first day; allowing an extra day avoids arguments about how the days are counted. A contract can vary this.

This is often used when an employee has a large balance and the employer wants it taken rather than paid out. It has limits: the leave must give genuine rest, GOV.UK says an employer cannot force a sick worker to take holiday, and requiring everything to be taken when a handover is still needed can backfire in practice.

Put the requirement in writing. A clear letter or email should state the dates of required leave, how many days that uses, the balance before and after, the date employment ends and how any remaining balance will be paid.

There is no separate statutory right to bank holidays off. An employer can count bank holidays as part of the 5.6 weeks' statutory leave, so check the contract. Acas says a worker cannot be paid in lieu of bank holidays, except where they form part of unused holiday entitlement when the person leaves.

If an employee is off sick during notice, the employer cannot make them use holiday instead. Unpaid leave during notice is a matter for agreement: a worker can ask for it, and the employer decides whether to agree.

Contractual holiday above the statutory 5.6 weeks can have its own rules, including on whether it must be taken before leaving or is paid out. Check the contract, handbook or policy before telling an employee what happens to the extra days.

For a regular-hours worker, the Working Time Regulations formula is (A × B) − C. A is the annual statutory entitlement, B is the proportion of the leave year that has passed by the termination date, and C is the leave already taken in that leave year. Add any valid carried-over leave.

Use the termination date, not the date notice was given. Include holiday booked or required for later in the notice period as leave taken. For irregular-hours and part-year workers, leave accrues at 12.07% of hours worked in each pay period instead, so use the accrued hours record rather than a pro-rata of the year.

Check what any displayed balance means. A system showing the full-year allowance minus leave taken will overstate the figure for someone leaving mid-year.

Leaving is the only time statutory leave can be replaced with pay. Any accrued statutory holiday not taken by the termination date must be paid with the final pay, at the correct holiday pay rate. GOV.UK confirms this applies even if the worker was dismissed for gross misconduct.

From 6 April 2026, employers must keep detailed records of annual leave and holiday pay for at least six years. Keep the end date, entitlement, leave taken, carry-over and pay rate together so the final figure can be explained.

An employer can only deduct the value of excess holiday from final pay if this was agreed in writing beforehand, for example in the contract. Without that agreement, a negative balance on the leave record is not enough to make a deduction.

An employer can approve leave during notice beyond the accrued amount, but should explain at the time whether the excess will be recovered from final pay under an existing written term.

Start by sharing the calculation: termination date, entitlement, leave taken and the pay rate used. Most disputes come from a different end date, missed carry-over or a full-year balance being used.

If it cannot be resolved, the worker can contact the Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100. Before most employment tribunal claims, the person must notify Acas for early conciliation. From 1 October 2026, the time limit for most tribunal claims increased from 3 months to 6 months, although Acas says the 3-month limit might still apply where the problem started before that date.