Celebrating Summer 2025
In this edition of The Legal Low Down, we cover:
- Holiday: What Employers Need to Know
- Highlights From Our Network King Event at The Batch House
- A Big Thank You!
Holiday FAQ’s
It’s not uncommon for HR teams to be flooded with questions as summer approaches — from “How much leave am I entitled to?” to “What exactly should holiday pay include?”
To help you stay ahead of the curve, we’re breaking down 8 of the more unusual, but surprisingly common, holiday-related questions, answered simply.
So, you can manage leave requests with confidence and enjoy a smooth summer season!
Q1: Are employees entitled to have bank holidays off?
Bank holidays can be used to count toward the 5.6-week statutory entitlement, but employees are not legally entitled to them unless it is specified in the employment contract. Some employers offer 28 days holiday per year, in line with the law, but not including bank holidays. This is common in hospitality for example.
Q2: Can employers refuse holiday requests?
Yes! But employers must not deny the right to take leave altogether. It’s important to have a clear holiday policy outlining how and when leave can be taken. This helps ensure staff take their holidays throughout the year, avoiding a last-minute rush at the end of the holiday year that could leave you short staffed.
Q3: Sun, sea and sick leave! What happens if an employee is sick while on holiday?
If an employee is sick or injured during their holiday, they can be entitled to take that time as sick leave and reschedule their holiday. Employees should follow the sickness absence policy, and it may be wise to request medical evidence depending on the absence duration.
Q4: Can employers force employees to take holiday?
Yes, employers can require employees to take holiday at specific times (e.g. for Christmas shutdowns). This can be specified in the contract or an employer can give twice the notice of the leave duration (e.g. 4 days’ notice for 2 days’ holiday to be used).
Q5: Can you pay employees instead of giving time off?
No. Employees must take their statutory holiday leave as time off, except when they leave your business and have unused holiday to be paid in their final payslip. You can pay employees instead of giving time off only for holiday leave in excess of the statutory entitlement. i.e. contractual holiday entitlement exceeding 28 days (for a full time employee).
Q6: How can you handle holidays during probationary periods?
Employees accrue annual leave from day one of employment, even during their probationary period. You can choose to delay when they can take it (e.g. “not during their probationary period”) or limit the amount they take to what they have accrued rather than a full holiday year entitlement. However, you cannot stop them accruing it.
What Employers should do
With the proposed Employment Rights Bill 2025 aiming to introduce more changes to employee rights, now’s the time to prepare.
- Have a well-written legally compliant holiday policy
- Train managers on how to handle annual leave requests
- Keep an eye on legislation updates
- Make sure you calculate holiday pay correctly (usually this means taking an average pay over 52 weeks)
FREE EMPLOYMENT LAW HEALTH CHECK
Why not take advantage of our free Employment Law Health Check? We’ll review your HR documentation, handbooks, contracts, policies, etc., to make sure everything’s up to date and legally sound. Let us take care of the legal details so you can focus on running your business.
Employment Law Webinar
Thinking of hosting an internal training session or an external event? Lauren Pickard regularly partners with organisations to deliver expert, practical HR and employment law guidance. Get in touch to find out how we can help.
Fairplay Fundraising
A huge thank you to everyone who attended our annual CMP Charity Pub Quiz and generously donated via our JustGiving link. We’re thrilled to share that, thanks to your incredible support, we raised a fantastic £1,520 for Fairplay, a local charity doing vital work to support children and young people (aged 0–25) with disabilities and their families across North Derbyshire.
Your contributions will go a long way in helping Fairplay continue to provide essential services, activities, and support for those who need it most.
We’re so grateful for your kindness, generosity, and for helping make the evening such a fun and successful event.
CMP News & Events
Huge thanks to everyone who attended The Batch House for our Network King event with MGRW+ for the 4th year running!
It was a brilliant sunny afternoon of catching up, connecting, and enjoying a drink or two with familiar faces and new ones alike.
Welcome back Amelia!
We’re delighted to welcome Amelia back to CMP Legal following her maternity leave! Amelia has been a valued member of the team, and we’re thrilled to have her return.
Her expertise and friendly approach have been greatly missed, and we are looking forward to having her back supporting our clients and the wider CMP Legal team.
Welcome back, Amelia!
