Legal Q&A: Can employees carry over annual leave?

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Employers often face the thorny issue of whether or not employees can carry over annual leave into the next leave year. Qian Mou, employment law editor at XpertHR, answers common employer questions about this evolving area of law.

Q: What are the different types of annual leave?

There are three different categories of annual leave. The first type is the statutory annual leave that originates in EU law and gives workers four weeks' paid holiday. This type of leave come from the Working Time Regulations 1998 and has to follow EU and European Court of Justice (ECJ) requirements. The second type is the statutory annual leave that originates in UK law and gives workers 1.6 weeks' paid holiday. This type of annual leave is also found in the Working Time Regulations but it does not have to follow EU or ECJ requirements (although the UK courts can choose to follow them in some instances). The third type is contractual annual leave, which may be provided by an employer above and beyond the statutory requirements in the Regulations. The employer generally decides the terms and conditions for employees to use contractual annual leave.  

Q: Can employees carry over annual leave into the next leave year in ord