Keeping holiday records
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Since 6 April 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 requires employers to keep 'adequate' records to demonstrate their compliance with their workers' right to paid annual leave under the Working Time Regulations.
What must employers record?
Employers must keep records for all staff (including any 'irregular hours' or 'part-year' workers), showing:
- That you received the ordinary and additional annual leave you're entitled to (i.e. if working full time this will be 20 days ordinary leave and 1.6 weeks or 8 days additional leave)
- Any annual leave that you carried over from previous years (e.g. due to sickness or being on a type of statutory family leave)
- That you're paid correctly when you take annual leave (this may need to include information about how your pay has been calculated, such as what payments have been included in the calculation, e.g. commission or overtime payments)
- Any payments made in lieu of unused holiday on termination of employment, including leave carried over from a previous year.
How must the information be recorded?
Employers can record and maintain the information in any format (there's no requirement for it to be kept or stored in any particular way). However, they must retain the records for 6 years from the date on which they were made, and manage it in line with the UK GDPR.
What happens if an employer doesn't comply?
Failing to record the information will be a criminal offence (resulting in a fine).
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