If an employee or worker does not take their holiday entitlement during a working year should they (or their employer) assume that the holiday entitlement has been lost?

What is the Employer's Policy?

Many employers operate the "Use It or Lose It" policy. This would tend to have the effect that if an employee or worker reaches the end of their holiday year and has not taken their entitlement, they will lose it and will not be able to carry it forward into the next holiday year.

Employment contracts are all different and should state the Employer's Policy on using holiday entitlement. Common options are:

• A certain level of holiday entitlement can be carried forward without specific permission.
• Holidays can only be carried forward with specific permission.
• Holiday entitlement cannot be carried forward at all.