Employee Notice to an Employer

Employees must give an employer sufficient notice when requesting days off work (holiday entitlement). Although employers may have their own policy, employees are required to give an employer prior notice that is equal to twice the number of days that the employee is requesting for holiday.

For example, an employee requesting one weeks holiday must give two weeks prior notice to their employer.

An employer can tell an employee to take all/some paid holiday days given that they provide the employee with notice that is equivalent to twice the intended holiday period.

Rejecting an Employees Request

It is common practise for an employer to issue a holiday request policy to inform staff of the terms and conditions of taking paid holiday at work. This will settle many of the disputes that may arise as a result of rejecting employee requests.

If an employer rejects the employee's request, they must give the employee notice that is equivalent to the number of holiday days originally requested.

For example, if the employee requests one week off work (giving the employer two weeks notice), the employer has one week before the proposed holiday date to inform the employee.

Employers can only reject an employees request if they have a legitimate reason - i.e. the employer's policy may state that only a certain number of employees can take paid leave at a given time. If the employer does not have a legitimate reason and wants the employee to delay their holidays, they must discuss the issue with the employee in attempt to reach an agreement.

Employees that feel they have unfairly been rejected their holiday request can approach an employment tribunal.