[Johnnywarren]

Hi all

Is a company allowed to cancel an employees pre-booked holiday time and drag them back into work at their leisure? Or are holidays, once approved and booked safe from any restrictions like this?

[Cyclone]

Unless it said something in your contract about them cancelling it, then they probably have no specific right to do so. On the other hand, it's not specifically illegal for them to try.
If it's a large company then they probably have internal guidelines which probably say that they shouldn't do this.

[SupraSteve]

The company I work for will cancel employees holiday "for business purposes" if there really is no alternative and the situation was unavoidable. The only exception is if doing so would immediately infringe on the minimum amount of leave you MUST be allowed to take each year - i.e. it's the end of your 'leave year' and cancelling the holiday you've had booked means you'll drop below this value (I forget what it is but it also depends if you're full time/part time/job share etc).

If they cancel leave (and it's pretty rare thankfully), they will refund the employee for the costs of the holiday.

[Tripitaka]

Unless you have provision in your contract or company guidelines, stating that the employer/employee needs to give good reason etc, then there is nothing you can do really.

Although if this is going to cause you financial hardship e.g. cancelling a paid holiday, then you should definitely talk to them about compensation.

[willman]

i think the first time my company "forced" me to cancel my leave, i'd be looking for another job.
the length of time for approval of holidays is more than suitable for them to resolve issues at work.

[willman]

"You must set out leave and holiday pay entitlements in an employee's written statement of employment. This should enable them to work out their entitlement, including untaken holiday pay when they leave.

You may restrict the taking of leave. Restrictions will usually be stated in employment contracts, built up from custom and practice, or negotiated with a trade union or employee representatives.

Examples include:

shutting down for certain periods, eg Christmas
nominating particular dates when the business closes, eg between Christmas and New Year
specifying periods when leave may or may not be taken
capping the amount of leave that can be taken at any one time"


taken from the business link site.
so if they dont have it in writing in the first instance in your contract they can't legally stop you,'cos they're infringing correct working practices.

[al_partridge]

Surely some organisations do do this.

You often hear when there's a big event on that "all police leave has been cancelled".

.

[Tomataheeed]

Originally Posted by Johnnywarren

Hi all

Is a company allowed to cancel an employees pre-booked holiday time and drag them back into work at their leisure? Or are holidays, once approved and booked safe from any restrictions like this?

just chuck a sickie instead

[Heyesey]

Originally Posted by al_partridge

Surely some organisations do do this.

You often hear when there's a big event on that "all police leave has been cancelled".

.

Yes, and the Armed Forces can also do it. A sausage packing factory probably can't. There's no such thing as a sausage emergency, except when I want a sausage sandwich and Bernie forgot to buy any.


If cancelling your leave will cause you financial loss (you already booked a holiday) then you definitely have some claim for compensation, but I don't think they can make you work anyway, once they've granted it. I'm not sure of the exact laws on this, though.