Shortening notice period using remaining holiday allowance

jonathangp

Hi, hoping someone can advise me.

I've just given notice (4 weeks) to my current employer and am moving to a new job. However my new company want me to start a couple of days before the notice period ends (this is due to some delays and strange advice I got from the recruitment company).

I also have 7.4 days of accrued holiday to take, so I was thinking that I could just take the last week of my notice period off, have a few days rest and the start on the day my new employer wants me (don't want to annoy them by starting 2 days later).

Can I do this, and can my current employer do anything to stop me from taking the holiday I am owed?

Thanks in advance,

Jonathan