How familiar are you with an employee’s right to take a vacation during their notice period? If you have a small team and a short notice period, it’s important to understand this topic and know the answer of the question “Can Employees Take a Vacation During Their Notice Period?” .
Employees who give their notice and intend to take advantage of all remaining vacation may unintentionally disrupt business for you and the rest of the team.
Can an employee take annual leave vacation during their notice period?
Yes. An employee may request to use the remainder of their statutory annual leave by using your regular holiday request tool.
What matters is how much vacation time they’ve accrued each month that matters. This is dependent on how far into the holiday year you are. For example, if the holiday year only began three months ago, they will be unable to use the entire year’s allowance.
An employee’s holiday entitlement begins to accrue on the first day of work and continues to accrue each month in relation to their annual leave entitlement.
For example, if your holiday year runs from January to December and the employee leaves in March, they will have accrued 3/12ths of their vacation entitlement. Based on a 25-day annual leave allowance, this means they are entitled to 6.25 days of vacation. This means they have the option of taking up to 8.3 days off.
Can I refuse an annual leave request while an employee is on notice?
You have the same right to refuse a request for annual leave during a notice period as you do any other holiday request. However, you must be careful; if you do not have a valid reason, your refusal may be interpreted as discriminatory.
Can an employer require an employee to use all of their remaining vacation time during their notice period?
Yes. You have the right, as the employer, to require your employee to use their annual leave during their notice period. Working Time Regulations allow employers to specify when employees must take some or all of their annual leave. However, there is a catch.
You must provide notice to the employee, which should be at least double the number of leave days you want the employee to take. For example, if the employee has four days of vacation remaining, you must provide at least eight days’ notice.
This is especially important if your employee has a short notice period. Is there enough time left in their notice period for you to give your employee notice of their holiday and allow them to take it?
Check our Guide To Retirement Notice Period
What happens if an employee uses more vacation time than they have accrued?
You may deduct from the employee’s final pay if they have taken more leave than they are entitled to during the current holiday season. This should be the same as the extra days of leave they’ve taken.
This must be agreed upon in advance with the employee and documented in writing. Make certain that these details are included in your employment contract or employee handbook. As a result, the employee knows what to expect.
Can I pay an employee for a holiday in lieu during their notice period?
Sometimes an employee does not want to or is unable to use their remaining annual leave entitlement during their notice period. In this case, you must compensate them for the holiday days they have accrued but have not used.
How do I calculate holiday pay for an employee who is leaving?
If your employee wants to be paid for vacation time they didn’t take, you’ll need to know how to figure out how much you owe them.
Here’s the calculation you’ll need to figure it out:
(A x B) – C
- A is the total number of vacation days that an employee is entitled to in a calendar year.
- B is the fraction of a year until leaving (month of the year /12)
- C is the number of vacation days taken so far this year
For example:
Alex works 5 days a week and is entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid annual leave. (A)
He hands in his notice and leaves in March, 3 months into the year. (B)
He has already taken 6 days of annual leave. This is the equivalent of 1.2 weeks (6 days ÷ 5 working days per week) (C)
By applying the formula above, we get the following sum:
5.6 weeks x (3 months ÷ 12 months) – 1.2 weeks
= 0.2 weeks’ leave to be paid in lieu.
Read also: What Is A Notice Period On A | Job Application | Resignation
Final Thought
Your employer can request you to use any unused vacation time. They’ll also have to tell you when you should take it.
Check your contract to see how far in advance your employer should notify you that you are going on vacation. If nothing else is specified in your contract, they must provide you with at least two days’ notice for each day of the holiday. For example, if they want you to take five days off, they must notify you at least ten days in advance.
