How much notice do I have to give to refuse a holiday request?

Unless your contract says otherwise, you must give the worker as much notice as the holiday is long. If you don't, it doesn't count, and the worker can take the holiday anyway.

If they ask for two weeks off, you must say no at least two weeks before it starts. For one day off, you can say no the day before. This is set by the Working Time Regulations 1998.

Your contract can change how much notice you must give. You must still let the worker take their full holiday entitlement during the year.

Further reading

  • Managing clashing holiday requests

    When several people want the same weeks off, the law decides more of it than fairness does: notice deadlines, the duty to let people take their leave, and the discrimination risk in 'first come, first served'.