Coronavirus and annual leave

Zenit

So my employer has cancelled all annual leave for all staff stating that as we are keyworkers we can't have annual leave even though plenty of us have booked for this year, I understand the current lock down rules. However, if they start to relax and businesses start reopening then why wouldn't we be able to resume our booked leave. 

KatrinaWaves

What are the dates of the leave that has been cancelled? Employers can cancel leave giving (I think) double notice, so two weeks notice to cancel one weeks leave. 

They still have to allow you your statutory holiday this year (although with the carry over rules changing, honestly who knows!) 

Zenit

It's all been cancelled up to the end of the year, some staff can't go until next year without a break. That might cause mental health problems. 

KatrinaWaves

Zenit said:

It's all been cancelled up to the end of the year, some staff can't go until next year without a break. That might cause mental health problems. 

Well it’s April now so it’s been cancelled for the next 8 months? 

Unfortunately employers can dictate when your holiday is. They could say all holiday needs to be taken in a February and March if they wanted. They wouldn’t be popular but it would be legal. 

You will still have your weekends/off times for a break. 

I’m sure once this is over things will go back to normal but with all the uncertainty and sickness and self isolation it appears your employer is just trying to take control of the situation a little 

Savvy_Sue

Ours has done the reverse: we're near the end of the holiday year (1st May - 30th April) but we're being encouraged not to carry forward any more than we'd be allowed to usually - unless we fall sick. 

And we're also being encouraged to take some leave in the next couple of months, especially if we had pre-booked it. I know it won't be the same, but it is possible to relax a bit and do something different. We were due to be away when the lockdown started, so spent the first few days 'on holiday'! 

Zenit

My employer said we can't as it has something to do with insurance. 

KatrinaWaves

Can’t what? 

Zenit

Can't have annual leave, something about employer/employee insuramce

elsien

When does your annual leave year run? 
They have to allow you to fit your statutory leave in at some point, so if the leave year is Jan to Dec they would be acting unlawfully by preventing you from taking the statutory minimum in that time.
They also don't need all their staff trying to cram all their leave into 2 or 3 months. They've either not though it through or they're taking the proverbial. They're your employers - which do you think it is?

Zenit

Jan to Dec. Thing is I think they doing this because they worried that if some staff go off sick with covid and at same time another staff is on annual leave, then there would be no one to cover. Bit odd really because that could happen in normal conditions. 

JustAnotherSaver

Zenit said:

Jan to Dec. Thing is I think they doing this because they worried that if some staff go off sick with covid and at same time another staff is on annual leave, then there would be no one to cover. Bit odd really because that could happen in normal conditions. 

Yes but these are not normal conditions. These are conditions that are making people panic and not think rationally. Look at all the hoarding that was going on weeks ago and then the photos of food waste on social media and the like. People don't need to hoard up like they have been doing.

Likewise, if your employer cancels all your leave then they're going to have a bit of a headache come December aren't they? What will they do, shut the business down for December while everyone gets all their leave in?

I've heard of companies not allowing people to cancel leave (so anything booked before this madness still needs to be taken)

I've heard of companies encouraging staff to use up their holidays.

This is the first one i've seen of companies cancelling holidays. I can see the logic behind it, moreso if you've become busier, but as i say, it just presents a problem elsewhere.

Bit like the football season. If they play it out at a later date then it impacts on next season when teams already moan about fixture congestion anyway. If they hand the league to Liverpool (they were surely going to win it right) do they also then relegate the bottom 3 even though the financial implications will be massive?

Decisions need to be made but ultimately people somewhere along the line wont be happy.