Letter Requesting Annual Leave

This is a letter asking an employer for annual leave from work. The primary purpose of this letter is so that an employee may put a request for annual leave in writing to an employer. In some cases, employees simply make verbal requests for annual leave. Other times, however, employers require them to be in writing. Either way, it is a good practice to put the request in writing (even if verbal approval has already been provided) to avoid any disputes later on.

This letter can be used if it is an initial request to the employer or even if it is being used to follow up on a verbal request. It covers multiple circumstances, including in which the employee has already taken annual leave and circumstances in which the leave request may be inside or outside the bounds of company policy.

This letter is not designed for use by an employee who is seeking parental leave from work. For parental leave situations, use our Letter Requesting Parental Leave.

How to use this document

If the employee has already obtained verbal permission for the annual leave, use this letter to record the details of what has been agreed, and what the employee plans to do. For example, details of the start date and end date of the annual leave, and plans for management of the employee's work during their absence, can all be included here so that the employer has a written record to refer back to.

If the employee has not yet obtained verbal permission for the annual leave, use this letter to outline the employee's request, and any plans they have for how their work might be managed in their absence.

The letter can then be printed, signed, and handed to a supervisor. It can also be downloaded and attached to an email.

Applicable law

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Employment Standards apply to most employment situations in Australia.

However, in addition, many employment situations are also governed by modern awards or enterprise agreements.

In addition, general principles of contract law, as provided by the common law, will apply to any employment contract.

How to modify the template

You fill out a form. The document is created before your eyes as you respond to the questions.

At the end, you receive it in Word and PDF formats. You can modify it and reuse it.