Coronavirus: Key advice on staff annual leave

As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Government has made several key changes to employment legislation.

Following earlier amendments to the statutory sick pay rules, the Government has now announced that employees can carry over statutory annual leave for two years, where it has not been reasonably practicable for the leave to be taken due to the pandemic.

This latest legislation is designed to protect workers from losing their holiday entitlement and to provide employers with flexibility and staff to deal with the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.

Jo Stubbs, XpertHR’s global head of product content strategy, explained: “While some staff may have been asked to take annual leave during the coronavirus pandemic, for example due to a lack of available work, others may struggle to take their leave entitlement as a result of the key role they are playing in the nation’s efforts to fight the virus.

“Responding to the coronavirus crisis, the Government has announced that workers will be able to carry over up to four weeks of their statutory annual leave entitlement into the next two leave years. This applies where the effects of coronavirus mean it has not been reasonably practicable for workers to take their leave – and this includes the effects on the worker, the employer, the wider economy or society.

“We’ve been updating our content to ensure it reflects this change to the rules on annual leave, helping employers to understand what this means for them and their workers, and to stay on top of their obligations.”

XpertHR has added new guidance to the holiday and pay section of its employment law manual to reflect the change, as well as ensuring that its FAQ tool covers up-to-date answers to questions around annual leave and coronavirus, including:

• Can an employer require employees to use their annual leave during the coronavirus outbreak?
• Can an employee cancel a period of annual leave if they are unable to go on holiday due to the coronavirus outbreak?
• Does annual leave accrue during a period of lay-off or furlough?

Find out more at XpertHR.