Employment Guide · 2026/27
Annual Leave Carryover Rules: When You Can Carry Holiday Over
Most unused UK holiday is lost at the end of the leave year unless your contract or specific statutory exceptions say otherwise. This guide explains the “use it or lose it” rule, the genuine exceptions, and what happens when you leave a job.
The “Use It or Lose It” Rule
UK workers are entitled to a statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave per year (28 days for a standard 5-day week, including bank holidays, pro rata for part-time staff). The Working Time Regulations are built around the principle that this leave should actually be taken within the leave year it is earned — for genuine rest and health and safety reasons — rather than accumulated and cashed out.
As a result, employers are generally not required to let ordinary unused holiday roll over into the next leave year, and many employment contracts state explicitly that it will be forfeited if not used, subject to the exceptions below.
Carryover Due to Sickness
If long-term sickness genuinely prevents you from taking your statutory holiday within the leave year, case law and the Working Time Regulations allow you to carry the untaken statutory minimum (5.6 weeks) forward into the following leave year. Unlike some other carryover categories, there is no strict short deadline forcing you to use it immediately on return — though your employer's policy may set a reasonable window.
Carryover Around Maternity and Other Family Leave
Holiday continues to accrue during maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave. If you cannot physically take that accrued leave before or after your family leave because of the timing, you are entitled to carry the untaken portion into the next leave year, rather than losing it.
The End of COVID-Era Carryover
During the pandemic, a temporary easement let workers who could not take leave due to coronavirus — for example, because they were needed on the front line, self-isolating, or shielding — carry over up to 4 weeks of unused statutory leave into the following two leave years. That easement ended for leave years starting on or after 1 January 2024. Any COVID carryover leave not used by the relevant deadline has now expired, and ordinary carryover rules apply going forward.
Irregular Hours and Part-Year Workers
Since 1 January 2024, holiday entitlement for irregular hours workers and part-year workers can be calculated using an accrual method of 12.07% of hours actually worked in a pay period, and rolled-up holiday pay (paid as an addition to each payslip rather than when leave is taken) is permitted for these groups. See our rolled-up holiday pay guide for how this changes the mechanics of carryover for these workers.
Contractual (Discretionary) Carryover
Many employers voluntarily allow a small amount of carryover — commonly capped at 5 days— as a matter of company policy or contract, particularly for any leave entitlement above the statutory minimum (often called “enhanced” or “contractual” holiday). This is entirely at the employer's discretion; check your staff handbook or contract for the specific rule that applies to you.
Unused Holiday When You Leave a Job
When your employment ends, your employer must pay you for any accrued but untaken statutory holiday — this is a legal entitlement, calculated based on your normal pay, and cannot be excluded by your contract. Use our Salary Calculator to work out your daily rate of pay for a holiday-in-lieu calculation.