The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations is the membership organisation for Scotland's charities, voluntary organisations and social enterprises. Charity registered in Scotland SC003558. Registered office Mansfield Traquair Centre, 15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.
Holiday carry over
Organisations can often decide whether or not they let employees carry unused leave from one year into the next leave year. This should be clearly laid out and communicated to employees in your annual leave policies or employee handbook. It's helpful to build in reminders to staff to use their annual leave allowance and to make sure they understand what will happen to any unused leave. If you do allow employees to carry over leave, you should also include details on how soon the carried over amount needs to be used.
There are some circumstances where employers should allow leave to be carried forward, including when:
- the employee has been unable to use their annual leave due to sickness
- the employee has reclaimed leave because they were unwell during the time booked off
- they have been unable to take leave for another reason
If an employee has been able to carry over leave and then their employment ends, they should be able to use that amount or receive payment in-lieu of the leave.