Posted on: Oct 24, 2013
Jessie is employed by Magic Hire Ltd, a company which hires out costumes. Jessie has 40 days of annual leave owing to her. The company has asked Jessie on a number of occasions to reduce the number of days owing to her. However, Jessie has not taken any leave.
Can Magic Hire Ltd tell Jessie that she will lose 20 days of annual leave if she doesn’t take any leave in the next three months?
No. Magic Mirror Ltd cannot tell Jessie that she will lose 20 days of annual leave if she doesn’t take any leave in the next three months.
An employee cannot lose his or her entitlement to annual holidays. The Holidays Act 2003 provides that the entitlement remains in force until the employee has taken all of the entitlement as paid holidays or has been paid out.
Employees are entitled to minimum statutory entitlements. Employers can agree to provide enhanced entitlements, but any attempt to provide less than the minimum is unenforceable.
Magic Hire Ltd can, however, require that Jessie take annual leave. The company should meet with Jessie and discuss the problem and the best way to resolve it. If no resolution can be reached, Magic Hire Ltd will be entitled to require Jessie to take annual leave after giving her 14 days’ notice of the requirement.
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