Legal | Is unused holiday a 'ticking time bomb' for employers?

The pandemic has prevented employees from doing many things during in the last year, particularly travelling, which has led to many workers storing up holiday.

However, with Christmas fast approaching, accrued holiday entitlement is fast becoming a ‘ticking time bomb’ for employers. This is according to Nick Hine of employment law specialist Hine Legal, who stated that this liability could cause huge problems for employers, particularly if they cannot pay in lieu of accrued holiday except on termination of employment.

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Holiday hoarders | Reason why staff aren't taking annual leave in 2020

Due to the furlough scheme launched by the UK Government, many staff members will have been out of work for the vast majority of the year and due to restrictions, local tiers and lockdowns, many will have not been able, or have wanted, to use up their annual leave in 2020.

While the Working Time (Coronavirus Amendment Regulations) was introduced back in March this year, which permitted the carry-over of the first four weeks of annual leave in the following two years where it was not reasonably practical to take it in the first leave year, there are a number of factors that can apply to see this come into play.