It’s not all that common but Employees can ask their employer to pay out in cash instead of taking a holiday for up to one week of their four weeks’ minimum entitlement to annual holidays per year, for each entitlement year. They can do this all at once, or can make multiple requests to cash-up until the entire one week is cashed up.
How it works
Annual holidays can’t be cashed-up unless the employee requests it in writing and has completed 12 months employment.
An employer:
- must consider a cash up request within a reasonable time,
- may say no,
- must inform the employee in writing,
- doesn’t have to give a reason for their decision.
If an employer agrees to pay out some of the employee’s annual holidays, they need to pay as soon as they can, usually the next pay day. The payment must be at least the same amount as if the employee had taken the holidays.
If an employer pays out a portion of the employee’s annual holidays where the employee didn’t ask for the cash up or, if the employer has not been given a written request to cash up the annual holidays from the employee, the employee can both keep the cash up money and still take the portion of annual holidays cashed up as paid holidays.
