Employer Holiday Policy

This policy can be used by an employer in Great Britain. The policy will set out the employer's procedures in relation to staff holidays. The policy will apply to all employees and workers* who are engaged by the employer.

The right to statutory annual leave applies to all workers and employees. More information about the different types of employment status can be found on the government website.

Holding a holiday policy can help an employer to:

• confirm the process for requesting holiday
• confirm the process for the approval of holiday requests
• confirm the information about holiday entitlement and how this should be used

A worker will be entitled to statutory holiday comprising of:

• a basic entitlement to 4 weeks of paid annual leave
• an additional entitlement to 1.6 weeks of paid annual leave (an employer may or may not say that bank holidays and public holidays are included within this).

An employer may also offer additional contractual holiday, which would be set out in a worker's contract for work or contract of employment.

This policy may be used in conjunction with other important policies such as:

• A sickness policy
• A disciplinary policy
• A grievance policy
• An equal opportunities policy

How to use this document

This document should be completed with the relevant information about the employer.

If the employer formally recognises a trade union in relation to its staff members, it may wish to consult or agree with the trade union about the policy. Sometimes, the terms of a collective agreement may require that a trade union or works council should be consulted in respect of any policy.

The policy is not a contractual document and does not need to be signed by a representative of the employer.

Once the policy has been finalised, the workforce should be made aware of its existence. It should be kept in a place which is easily accessible to workers. Typically this might be in a staff handbook or a staff intranet portal.

Relevant law

• The Working Time Regulations 1998, SI 1998/1833
• The Employment Rights Act 1996

Information can also be found on:

• The government website
• The ACAS website

Help from a lawyer

You can choose to consult a lawyer if you need help.

The lawyer can answer your questions or help you through the process. You will be offered this option when you complete the document.

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.