Can a company enforce a policy that annual leave must be taken within the leave year and not allow any carry forward of holidays?

With some exceptions, it is possible to enforce a policy that provides that annual leave must be taken within the leave year and not allow any carry forward of holidays i.e. a “use it or lose it” policy. Section 20 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 provides that the employer can generally decide when annual leave must be taken.

Annual leave is a health and safety requirement and the burden is on the employer to ensure that employees take their annual leave. It is not sufficient for an employer to say that the employee never requested holidays. Many employers implement a “use it or lose” policy as a way of ensuring that employees do in fact take their leave.

Of course, an employer