Guide

Can I Carry Over Untaken Holiday?

Generally no — but there are specific situations where you can, and employers often refuse when they should not.

The default position

Statutory holiday is intended to be taken in the leave year it accrues. There is no general right to carry unused days forward, and an employer can require you to use them or lose them — provided it gave you a reasonable opportunity to take the leave.

Many contracts allow limited carry-over, for example five days, often with a deadline. Where a contractual scheme exists, it applies on its terms.

When carry-over is a legal right

There are situations where carry-over is required rather than discretionary:

  • Sickness: if you could not take holiday because you were off sick, up to four weeks can be carried into the next leave year.
  • Family leave: the same four-week carry-over applies where maternity, paternity, adoption, parental or shared parental leave prevented you from taking it.
  • Employer failure: if your employer did not give you a reasonable opportunity to take the leave — for example by refusing every request or not telling you the leave would be lost — the leave can carry over.

The four-week limit

The protected carry-over is four weeks, not the full 5.6. The additional 1.6 weeks introduced by UK regulations can be carried over only where the contract allows it, or by agreement — it does not have the same automatic protection.

Carried-over leave does not last forever: it should be used within 18 months of the end of the leave year in which it arose, under the post-2024 rules.

Payment instead of time off

You cannot be paid in lieu of statutory holiday while you remain employed. Payment in lieu is only lawful when your employment ends, at which point accrued but untaken statutory holiday must be paid in your final payslip.

This is why "use it or lose it" policies are lawful but "we will pay you for it instead" is not, except on termination.

What to do if your request is refused

Put the request in writing, state why you could not take the leave (sickness dates, refused requests, family leave), and ask for the decision and the reason in writing. If the refusal rests on a policy that conflicts with the carry-over rules, escalate it — ACAS can advise, and the leave can be recovered through a tribunal claim.

Worked example: sickness spanning two leave years

You are off sick from February to May and have four weeks of leave untaken when the leave year ends in March. Because sickness prevented you from taking it, up to four weeks can be carried into the new leave year and must be used within 18 months of the end of the year in which it arose.

The practical failure is usually administrative: the leave is carried but nobody records it, and it disappears at the next year end. Keep the dates of the sickness, the leave that went untaken, and any message confirming the carry-over.

What a lawful policy looks like

A defensible carry-over policy does four things:

  • States the amount that may be carried and the deadline for using it
  • Records the reason leave could not be taken
  • Applies the same rule to everyone, including managers
  • Does not apply a blanket 'use it or lose it' rule where sickness or family leave prevented the leave being taken

A policy that is stricter than the statutory carry-over rules is not automatically lawful. Contract terms cannot remove the carry-over required where sickness or family leave prevented you from taking holiday.

Can I Carry Over Untaken Holiday? — FAQs

Can my employer refuse to carry over holiday?

Generally yes for ordinary unused leave, but not where sickness, family leave or the employer's own failure prevented you from taking it.

How much can I carry over?

Up to four weeks where sickness or family leave prevented you from taking it; the additional 1.6 weeks only if your contract allows.

Does carried-over holiday expire?

It should be used within 18 months of the end of the leave year in which it arose.

Can I be paid for unused holiday instead?

Not while employed. Payment in lieu is only lawful on termination.

Related guides

Work out your own figure with the holiday entitlement calculator or check what you should be paid with the holiday pay calculator.

Review and sources

Reviewed October 2026 against the Working Time Regulations 1998, GOV.UK holiday entitlement guidance and ACAS. Figures are the statutory minimum in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; contractual terms may be more generous. Not legal advice — see the editorial policy and contact page.