Yes, you can take annual leave during your notice period in the UK — your notice period is ordinary employment, and your leave rights continue while you remain employed. You still have to request it, and your employer can still refuse the dates.
The traffic runs both ways. Your employer can also require you to take accrued leave during notice. This guide covers both directions, the pay you are owed while on leave in notice, and how garden leave changes the picture.
Key Takeaways
- You can request annual leave during notice, but approval is not automatic. The normal booking rules still apply.
- Your employer can direct you to take leave during notice. Under the statutory default, they must give at least twice as many calendar days’ notice as the number of holiday days they want you to take.
- A contract, collective agreement or other relevant agreement can change the statutory notice rules, but a clause that merely allows the employer to direct leave does not necessarily change the notice period.
- Annual leave taken during notice attracts holiday pay. Any accrued, untaken statutory holiday must be paid in lieu when employment ends; your contract governs additional contractual leave.
Your Leave Rights Do Not Pause During Notice
Nothing in the Working Time Regulations pauses annual leave simply because someone has resigned or been dismissed with notice. You continue to accrue holiday while you remain employed. You can request dates, and your employer can approve, refuse or cancel them under the usual rules.
That means the ordinary booking mechanics apply. Check your contract, holiday policy and any collective agreement first. If they do not set a different rule, Acas’s current holiday guidance says a worker asks at least twice as many calendar days before the leave as the number of days they want to take. GOV.UK describes the same default as twice the leave length plus one day: 10 days of holiday means giving 21 days’ notice. Because the official wording differs, use the longer period when planning dates unless a relevant agreement clearly sets another rule.
An employer can refuse or cancel requested dates if it gives the required notice. Acas describes at least the same number of days as the leave requested, while GOV.UK adds one day; use the longer period as the safe planning rule. Acas also says employers should have a good business reason and cannot prevent workers from taking their statutory entitlement altogether.
The practical constraint is often arithmetic. A short notice period may not contain enough time for a long holiday request under the default rule. The parties can still agree different dates or a shorter notice period. Put any agreement in writing so the final balance and handover plan are unambiguous.
Can Your Employer Make You Take Annual Leave in Your Notice Period?
Yes. An employer can require a worker to take annual leave on specified dates. Under the statutory default, the employer must give at least twice as many calendar days’ notice as the number of holiday days it wants the worker to take. Acas and GOV.UK both use at least 10 days’ notice for five days of employer-directed holiday. Give the direction before that notice period begins, and do not count the day the direction is served as a completed day of notice.
| Leave the employer wants you to take | Minimum notice they must give |
|---|---|
| 2 days | 4 days |
| 5 days | 10 days |
| 10 days | 20 days |
| 15 days | 30 days |
So an employer dealing with a one-month notice period may have enough time to direct 10 days of leave if it acts at the start and the dates fit. Leaving the decision until late in the notice period can make a long direction impossible under the default rule, although a shorter period of directed leave or a written agreement may still work.
A relevant agreement can vary or exclude the default notice rules. Be precise when reading it. A clause saying only “the employer may require holiday during notice” confirms the power to direct leave; it does not automatically say that no notice is required. The agreement should state the alternative notice rule if that is what the parties intend.
What about Northern Ireland?
The detailed rules above use the Working Time Regulations 1998 and Acas guidance, which apply in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland has separate Working Time Regulations. nidirect’s holiday guidance confirms the same practical starting point: a worker can take accrued statutory holiday during notice if they give the right notice and the employer agrees, and untaken statutory holiday must be paid when they leave. Northern Ireland employers and workers should check the 2016 Regulations, their agreement, and Labour Relations Agency guidance for the exact case.
Why employers do this
It can be a cash-flow and coverage decision. Leave taken during notice is paid holiday within the employment period. Accrued statutory leave still untaken at termination becomes a payment in lieu in final pay. An employer also has to decide whether releasing someone from work is worth reducing the time available for handover.
Are You Paid Normally for Leave Taken During Notice?
Annual leave taken during notice is paid as holiday, but do not confuse holiday pay with notice pay. They overlap in time but come from different rules.
Holiday pay for statutory annual leave is calculated under the Working Time Regulations. The calculation depends on the type of statutory leave and the worker’s pay pattern; normal remuneration for four weeks of statutory leave can include regularly paid overtime and commission. See our detailed guide to holiday pay on overtime rather than treating basic salary as the answer in every case.
Notice pay asks a separate question: what must the employee receive during the notice period if they are working or away? Acas explains that the answer can depend on whether the notice is statutory or contractual, whether the employee resigned or was dismissed, and why they are away. Employers should not use a simple “normal pay in every notice case” rule for sickness or family leave.
For annual leave specifically, record the days as holiday and calculate the holiday pay correctly. Keep any notice-pay analysis separate, especially where the contractual notice period is at least one week longer than statutory notice or the employee is absent for another reason.
Garden Leave Is Not Annual Leave
This confusion is expensive, so be precise about it.
| Annual leave | Garden leave | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Statutory or contractual holiday | Employer requires you to stay away from work during notice |
| Reduces your leave balance? | Yes | No, unless the employer separately directs leave under reg 15(2)(a) |
| Still employed? | Yes | Yes — contractual obligations continue subject to their terms |
| Paid? | Holiday pay applies | Employment continues; pay and benefits follow the garden-leave terms |
Being sent home on garden leave does not automatically consume your holiday balance. If an employer wants annual leave to run during garden leave, it should issue a separate leave direction with the required notice or rely on a relevant agreement that clearly changes that rule. Otherwise holiday continues to accrue while employment continues, and untaken statutory leave must be settled at termination.
The BALANCE Check for Employers
Use this six-step check as soon as notice is given. It turns a vague “can they take holiday?” question into a documented decision.
- Balance: calculate accrued entitlement to the proposed termination date, subtract leave already taken and separate statutory from additional contractual days.
- Agreement: read the contract, holiday policy and any collective agreement. Identify the booking rule, any power to direct leave and whether the agreement actually varies statutory notice.
- Leave dates: distinguish an employee request from an employer direction. Each has its own notice calculation and operational effect.
- Availability: map the handover work, client commitments and team cover before approving or directing dates. Use a consistent business reason if refusing a request.
- Notice: count calendar days, confirm the first day of leave and put the request, approval, refusal or direction in writing.
- Closing pay: reconcile the balance again on the termination date. Add payment for untaken statutory holiday to final pay and apply the contract to any enhanced entitlement.
The last reconciliation matters because the balance can change during notice. The employee keeps accruing holiday, may take an approved day, or may have a termination date changed by agreement. A calculation made on resignation day is a forecast; final pay needs the actual position.
A Worked Scenario
Priya resigns on 1 September with one month’s contractual notice, ending 30 September. Her leave year runs January to December, her entitlement is 28 days, and she has taken 12 days.
- Proportion of leave year worked at 30 September: 273 ÷ 365 = 0.7479
- Accrued: 28 × 0.7479 = 20.94 days
- Less 12 taken = 8.94 days outstanding
Her employer wants some of that balance taken before she goes. If it directs 8 days under the statutory default, it must give at least 16 calendar days’ notice. Using conservative counting, a written direction issued on 1 September should set the first holiday day no earlier than 18 September. The employer must also check that eight working days actually fit before 30 September and leave enough time for handover.
If the employer waits until 14 September, it cannot simply direct eight days starting the next week under the default rule. It could agree dates with Priya, direct a smaller number of days with enough notice, or leave the balance untaken. On termination, Acas confirms that untaken statutory holiday must be paid in lieu. Priya’s contract decides how any entitlement above the statutory minimum is treated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employer refuse annual leave during a notice period?
Yes, an employer can refuse requested dates if it follows the applicable notice rule and does not prevent the worker from taking their statutory entitlement altogether. The employer should use a genuine business reason, apply its policy consistently and confirm the decision in writing.
Can an employer force someone to use all their holiday during notice?
An employer can direct annual leave, but the dates must fit within the remaining employment period and the employer must give the required notice. A relevant agreement may change the default. Any statutory balance that cannot lawfully or practically be taken must be paid in lieu at termination.
Does annual leave shorten the notice period?
No. Holiday changes the employee’s working days, not the contractual termination date. The employee remains employed while on annual leave. Ending employment earlier requires a separate agreement or another lawful termination arrangement.
Can an employer deduct excess holiday from final pay?
Only if the worker took more holiday than they had accrued and the deduction was agreed in the contract or in writing beforehand. Acas describes this as a written payback arrangement. Employers should show the calculation clearly on final-pay records.
What This Means for You
If you are leaving: ask for your accrued balance in writing on the day you resign, then state whether you would prefer to request time off or work the dates. The normal booking rules still apply; statutory holiday cannot simply be exchanged for cash before employment ends. Untaken statutory leave is paid at termination. If your contract gives more than the statutory minimum, read its termination clause to see how the additional days are treated. Our guide to unused annual leave when you quit covers the payment-in-lieu calculation.
If you are the employer: decide your process before the resignation, not after. If you want a different notice rule for directed leave, ensure the alternative is lawfully agreed through the applicable contract, collective agreement, or workforce-agreement process. Then apply the process consistently and keep a written reason for each decision.
Above all, know the balance on day one of the notice period. Most disputes here are not about the law; they are about two people producing different numbers from the same records. A shared, always-current balance closes that argument before it starts, which is also true of the wider UK leave policy questions that surface when someone leaves.
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This article is general information about UK employment law, not legal advice. Check the current official guidance, your contract and any relevant agreement, and take advice on your specific circumstances.