Taylor Vinters - Solicitors

Workers urged to use full holiday entitlement

Employees are being urged to use their full annual leave entitlement, despite economic worries.

Taking holidays can help them maintain a good work-life balance, keep them healthy and well motivated, explains Gill Trevelyan, head of good practice services at Acas.

"Employees are entitled by law to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' leave," she stated, pointing out that holidays allow workers to recharge their batteries.

Ms Trevelyan also called on managers to set a good example by ensuring working hours are adhered to and holidays and lunch breaks are taken.

The credit crunch is making more than a third of workers feel nervous about taking their full entitlement to annual leave, a poll by Teletext Holidays shows.

A further 28 per cent believe taking too much time off would put them in line for redundancy, with 16 per cent overall saying they do not intend to use all their holiday entitlement.

Jason Gordois, employment lawyer at Taylor Vinters, comments: "These concerns are understandable and even the possibility of bringing a tribunal claim may bring little comfort. But employees should be aware that if an employee is prevented from taking their statutory leave entitlement of 5.6 weeks (including bank holidays), this will be a breach of the working time regulations.

In addition, no employer should use the fact that an employee has taken their full, statutory holiday entitlement as a justification for making them redundant. It would be unfair to dismiss an employee, regardless of their length of service, if they have asserted a right under the working time regulations. "