Planning Christmas leave is easier when everyone knows what to expect. Start early, explain how you’ll handle requests and check your contracts and holiday policy before making decisions.

Start planning before requests arrive

Before Christmas holiday requests start coming in, check when your leave year ends, how much holiday each person has left, and what their contracts and your holiday policy say. Then work out how many people you’ll need each day and which skills you’ll need covered. Talk to your team early about any planned closures or busy periods, as Acas recommends in its guidance on requesting and taking holiday.

Ensure all employees are given sufficient notice and clear guidance on the following:

  • Tell staff the request deadline, how to submit a request and when they will receive a decision.
  • Explain any coverage limits, closure dates and how you will handle competing requests.
  • If you use first-come-first-served or rotate priority each year, say so in advance and apply the method consistently.
  • As good practice, keep a record of the request, decision and any alternative dates discussed.

How should you handle clashing requests?

You need enough people available to keep things running, but try to avoid leaving the same team members with the least popular dates every year. A rota, a set period for submitting requests or clear rules for deciding between competing requests can help. Agree your approach before requests come in, explain it to the team and apply it consistently. If you can’t agree to someone’s preferred dates, discuss alternatives, such as different dates, a shorter break or a shift swap.

Some requests need a closer look. Consider whether a request involves a reasonable adjustment for a disability or could raise a discrimination issue, including one related to religion or belief. Look at the individual circumstances and get advice if you’re unsure, rather than making assumptions about who should have Christmas off. Equality law differs between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Acas has guidance on reasonable adjustments and religion or belief at work.

Can you refuse or cancel annual leave?

You can refuse a request for particular dates or cancel statutory annual leave, but you must follow the notice rules that apply. Check any relevant agreement, as it can change the statutory default. Contractual holiday above the statutory minimum may also have different terms.

Acas recommends having a good business reason, applying your policy consistently and considering the impact on someone who has already booked and paid for a trip. Explain your decision clearly and discuss other dates where possible.

Refusing particular dates does not remove the need to give workers a reasonable opportunity to take their statutory holiday and encourage them to use it. Statutory carry-over rules must also be followed where they apply. For the detail, see GOV.UK’s booking-time-off guidance and regulation 15 of the Working Time Regulations. For Great Britain’s entitlement and carry-over rules, see regulation 13. Northern Ireland has separate but parallel rules; its date-taking provision is regulation 18 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland).

What if the business closes over Christmas?

If your business closes over Christmas, you can require workers to use annual leave for those dates, provided you follow the notice rules and any relevant contract or agreement.

Acas describes the usual notice as at least twice as many calendar days as the leave you require someone to take. GOV.UK says workers must be told before that notice period begins. For a five-day closure, allowing 11 calendar days is a cautious planning buffer to account for the different wording. It is not a separate statutory minimum.

Check your contracts and holiday policy, as a relevant agreement can change the default notice requirement. If you’re changing a long-standing Christmas arrangement, check whether established custom and practice also needs to be considered. See Acas guidance on bank holidays and Christmas closures.

Bank holidays do not automatically mean extra paid days off. Employers can include them within the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday. Check each person’s contract to see how Christmas Day, Boxing Day and any substitute bank holidays count towards their allowance.

Do not deduct a bank holiday from someone’s allowance if it falls on a day they do not usually work. Part-time and shift workers may work different days, so check each person’s entitlement rather than making the same deduction for everyone. See GOV.UK’s holiday entitlement guidance.

For employers in Great Britain, a statutory annual-leave record-keeping duty came into force on 6 April 2026. Under regulation 16B, employers must keep adequate records showing compliance with specified holiday entitlements and related requirements, and retain those records for six years from the date they are made.

You can choose a reasonable format for those records. Keeping notes of requests and decisions also helps you show how you’ve applied your holiday process. The requirements are set out in regulation 16B of the Working Time Regulations and the commencement regulations. Northern Ireland has separate working-time rules, so check the relevant local guidance.

A simple checklist for managers

  • Check the leave year, remaining holiday balances, closure dates and contract terms.
  • Tell the team when to submit requests, how you’ll decide between them and what staffing cover you need.
  • Apply your approach consistently and keep a brief record of the reasons for your decisions.
  • Check the notice requirements before refusing, cancelling or requiring leave, including any relevant contract or agreement.
  • Give workers a reasonable opportunity to take statutory leave, encourage them to use it and apply carry-over rules where they qualify.

If you need help reviewing your holiday policy, planning a Christmas closure or handling a difficult request, Adept HR can help you put a clear process in place that works for the business and treats your team consistently.