Leave and flexible working

Requiring holiday to be taken (shutdown or use-it-or-lose-it) letter

Gives the statutory notice that employees must take holiday on specified dates, or use remaining entitlement before the year ends.

A Christmas or summer shutdown, a site closure between contracts, or an employee sitting on three weeks of untaken leave in November. You can require leave to be taken, with notice of at least twice the length of the leave.

Before it goes

  • Notice is in time: at least twice the length of the leave (a two-week shutdown needs four weeks' notice).
  • Your written statement or policy says holiday may be required to be taken at specified times, or you accept relying on the regulations alone.

The letter

[COMPANY NAME] [COMPANY ADDRESS] [DATE] [EMPLOYEE NAME] [EMPLOYEE ADDRESS] Dear [EMPLOYEE FIRST NAME], Holiday to be taken: [DATES / before the end of the leave year] [Shutdown version:] As in previous years, the company will close from [START DATE] to [END DATE] inclusive. This letter is formal notice, given [NUMBER] weeks in advance as required by the Working Time Regulations, that all employees must take [NUMBER] days of their annual holiday entitlement on the working days in that period: [LIST DATES]. Bank holidays falling within the closure are [already included in your entitlement / additional]. Please make sure you have [NUMBER] days of holiday available for the closure. If you have already used your entitlement and cannot cover the closure, come and see me by [DATE] to discuss [unpaid leave / carry-over from next year / working an alternative site if available]. [Use-it-or-lose-it version:] Our records show that you have [NUMBER] days of holiday remaining and the leave year ends on [LEAVE YEAR END]. Our policy allows [NUMBER] days to be carried over with agreement; the rest must be taken before [LEAVE YEAR END] or it will be lost. I would encourage you to book those days now. If you have not booked at least [NUMBER] days by [DATE], this letter is notice that the company will require you to take them on [DATES], in accordance with the Working Time Regulations and our holiday policy. Please come and talk to me if there is a reason you have been unable to take holiday this year, including any period of sickness or family leave, as different rules may apply. Yours sincerely, [MANAGER NAME] [JOB TITLE] [COMPANY NAME]

Filling it in

Notice period
Twice the leave. Diarise the shutdown letter for the start of October if you close for two weeks at Christmas.
Which version
Delete the one you are not using. For a shutdown, list the exact working days; for use-it-or-lose-it, name the remaining balance from the leave system.

What the law says

  • Working Time Regulations 1998 reg.15: an employer may require a worker to take leave on particular days by giving notice at least twice as long as the leave; a relevant agreement (the contract or policy) can vary the notice.
  • Working Time Regulations 1998 reg.13 and 13A: the statutory 5.6 weeks must be taken in the leave year, with limited carry-over; the employer must give workers a reasonable opportunity to take it and encourage them to.
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 spring a shutdown on people with a fortnight's notice. It is unlawful and they may have no leave left.
  • Do not let holiday lapse for someone who was on long-term sick or maternity leave. Statutory holiday they could not take carries over.

Questions people ask

Can I make staff take holiday over Christmas?

Yes, with notice of twice the length of the closure, and ideally with the closure written into the contract or policy so nobody is surprised. Most construction firms do exactly this.

What if an employee has no holiday left for the shutdown?

The options are unpaid leave by agreement, allowing them to borrow from next year, or finding them work if any exists. You cannot make them take leave they do not have. This is why the letter goes out early.

Does untaken holiday have to be paid instead?

Not during employment; statutory leave is for taking, not selling. On termination, accrued untaken holiday is paid. Contractual holiday above the minimum follows the contract.

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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