The holiday saga continues with the latest decision now handed down by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).  The case of Lyons -v- Mitie Security has provided confirmation that the right to statutory leave under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) is not without its limits.

The case primarily concerned the issue of whether an employer must permit an employee to take all of their paid statutory holiday entitlement within the holiday year even if the employee has left it until the end of that year to request leave and such leave may not fit in with the requirements of the business.

In this case the employee raised several grievances including the fact that he should have been paid for outstanding holiday. However his employer refused to pay and argued he had failed to give sufficient notice required by his contract of employment.  The employee subsequently resigned and the holiday pay formed part of his claim. The employee argued that he had not been able to take the holiday and in any event his right to statutory paid holiday could not be restricted by contractual notice requirements. 

The EAT held that the employers were entitled to rely on contractual and statutory notice restrictions when considering granting leave requested by an employee towards the end of the leave year.  The EAT also confirmed that the Working Time Regulations and Equal Treatment Directive both intended conditions to apply to the entitlement of statutory leave. 

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