If holidays are carried into a new holiday leave year and the employer tries to get the employee to take the holidays and they refuse, will the holidays expire?

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, stipulates that annual leave should be taken within the appropriate leave year or, with the employee's consent, within 6 months thereafter. This provision is clearly intended to prevent employers from delaying employees' annual leave indefinitely, which would have health and safety implications, rather than the other way around. As such, it would be advisable for the employer to inform the employee that it is obliged under both this Act and under health and safety grounds to ensure that the employee takes his/her statutory annual leave within the relevant time frames, and that, as a result, the leave must be taken. This will prevent any conflict at