Leave and flexible working

Holiday request refused letter

Refuses a holiday request for business reasons, with the counter-notice the regulations require, and offers alternatives.

Too many people off the same week, a deadline that cannot move, a shutdown period already fixed. You can refuse, but you must give notice at least as long as the leave requested, and you must not make it impossible for them to take their statutory entitlement in the year.

Before it goes

  • You have checked the leave calendar and the reason is real.
  • Your counter-notice is in time: at least as many days before the leave as the leave would have lasted.
  • They can still take their full statutory entitlement in the leave year.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Your holiday request for [DATES] Thank you for your request on [REQUEST DATE] for [NUMBER] days' holiday from [START DATE] to [END DATE]. I am sorry to say that I cannot approve those dates. [REASON, e.g. Two members of the [TEAM] are already booked off that week and our policy allows a maximum of two at a time. / The [SITE] handover is scheduled for [DATE] and your role is required on site that week. / The company shutdown at [PERIOD] means the leave year's remaining days are needed to cover it.] This letter is the company's counter-notice under the Working Time Regulations, given [NUMBER] days before the requested leave. I am keen that you get the break. The following dates are currently available: [ALTERNATIVE DATES]. If any of those work, let me know and I will approve them straight away. If you need those particular dates for a reason I am not aware of, come and talk to me and I will see what can be done. You have [NUMBER] days' holiday remaining for the leave year ending [DATE]. Please make sure you book them in good time; [our policy allows up to [NUMBER] days to be carried over with agreement / holiday cannot be carried over except where the law requires it]. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

The reason
A real operational reason, applied the same way to everyone. "Because I said so" is legal but corrosive.
Counter-notice timing
A five-day request needs at least five days' notice of refusal. Same-day refusals of next week's leave are out of time.

What the law says

  • Working Time Regulations 1998 reg.15: an employer may refuse leave by counter-notice given at least as many days before the leave as the period of leave requested; workers must be able to take their statutory 5.6 weeks within the leave year.
  • Contract and policy: your holiday policy may set stricter rules (booking notice, maximum numbers off), which apply if reasonable and consistently enforced.
Guidance, not legal advice. Employment law moves; check the current position before relying on any of it, and take advice on anything that could end someone's employment.

What turns this letter into a claim

  • Do not refuse so often that they cannot take their 5.6 weeks. That is the one thing the regulations do not allow.
  • Do not refuse dates you have already approved without a very good reason. Cancelling booked holiday needs the same notice and may cost you the flights.

Questions people ask

Can I refuse holiday during our busy period every year?

Yes, if the policy says so, it is applied consistently, and staff can still take their entitlement across the rest of the year. Put the blackout dates in the policy and in the leave calendar so nobody is surprised.

Can I cancel holiday I have already approved?

Under the regulations, with the same counter-notice, yes. In practice, only for something serious, and expect to cover any costs the employee has incurred. It is a relationship decision more than a legal one.

The letter, with the names already in

Employ AI drafts letters like this one from the employee's record, so the dates, service and pay are already right, and the disciplinary module writes the invitation and outcome letters from the case itself. All 44 letter families, 49 UK policies, GPS clock-in, rotas, leave and timesheets: £2.50 a month plus £1 per employee. 14 days free, no card.

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