At Advo, we regularly see the same pattern emerge with annual leave; irregular holiday usage, a spike in requests closer to the end of the holiday year and increasing pressure on teams trying to maintain performance levels. 

As we approach the summer, your employees now eagerly await the countdown for any holidays they may like to take during the sunnier months of the year! Meaning that organisations might start to focus on annual leave at this stage.

Advo would therefore recommend having a comprehensive, easily understandable and a structured annual policy in place that is clear to all employees which includes; annual entitlement, booking procedures and any holiday restrictions i.e. hospitality clients may choose to restrict December.   It is also important to include, how you will manage requests fairly to avoid any disgruntled employees!  

Encouraging employees to take annual leave

Mid-way through the calendar year often means mid-way through the annual leave year for a lot of organisations, and employees typically vary with the amount of leave they have so far taken, or, have booked.

Without management intervention, imbalance of holiday can lead to:

• A large amount of holiday requests in the second half of the year
• Staffing challenges during key periods of business operation
• Increased employee fatigue or burnout, and therefore sickness absence
• Difficult conversations around declined holidays requests or carry forward of leave expectations

Managers should therefore use their annual leave policy to encourage employees to plan and take annual leave at regular intervals throughout the year. This helps to avoid a build-up of holiday but also helps to maintain employees’ health and motivation.

Recent legislation changes to record – keeping

From 6 April 2026, UK employers must keep “adequate” records of annual leave and holiday pay for all workers, including irregular-hours staff, for at least six years under the Employment Rights Act 2025.  This is now a legal obligation and applies to all organisations.

What employers must record

Records must show the amount of leave taken, holiday pay calculations, carried forward leave, and any payments made in lieu of notice i.e. where an employee resigns or is terminated with outstanding holiday entitlement. These records must be kept for 6 years and can be kept by either paper or digital records. 

Should an employer not have sufficient records, this is now a criminal offense and could also face significant fines from the “Fair Work Agency”.  Our advice is to stay proactive: clear communication, consistent processes, and reliable record-keeping. 

For those clients who utilise our online absence management portal, Advo-One, transparency is key and individuals can see their holiday balance, book and edit leave. Remember reminder notices can be added to the system. Also managers can run annual leave summary reports to view annual leave balances in order to manage this more closely.

If you have any questions or would like more information regarding Advo-one please speak to your Advo contact for more information.

Article written by HR Adviser, Louise Herring