Denying an Employee’s Annual Leave Request
Photo by Recovery Partners
As international borders reopen, many individuals are starting to plan and leave for holidays. What happens when a number of employees want to take time off at the same time? Can employers deny someone’s request if it presents operational issues?
The answer is Yes! given that proper reasons are provided.
Reasonable reasons to deny an employee’s leave request
Insufficient notice e.g. provision of few days’ notice for a leave of few weeks.
If an employee has provided reasonable notice period, an employer can still refuse the leave request on business grounds including, a particularly busy work period or where leave has already been approved for other employees in a similar position.
Employers may also enforce ‘block out periods’ during annual holidays or seasonable demands where they can refuse any requests for annual leave falling within those periods e.g. in retail business operations, blocking out Christmas, New Year and Easter.
Can employers cancel pre-approved leave?
In accordance with the Fair Work Act, employers cannot cancel approved leave, without employee agreement, even in the case of reasonable business grounds. The main reason being employees may have made bookings in advance or made non-refundable payments.
If employers reach an agreement with employees to cancel the approved leave, an offer to take the leave on another date in the short-term needs to provided or compensation needs to be provided for additionally incurred fees.
Before cancelling annual leave..
Before cancelling leave, it is essential for employers to consider alternative options e.g., employing casual staff, allocating or delaying work. This not only ensures high morale and fair treatment, but also avoids WHS risks e.g. a physical or psychological injury due to overwork.
Have you considered these policy provisions?
To manage the spike in leave requests, employers should consider the following provisions in employment contracts and/or policies:
Require employees to provide four weeks’ notice for leave requests and indicate employer’s right to cancel leave.
Require approval for annual leave to be obtained before booking flights or accommodation for a holiday.
Details around how leave should be taken to allow for adequate planning for their replacement.
Details about the maximum amount of leave that will be approved.
Outline how many employees can take leave at once.
Offer examples of reasonable and unreasonable reasons to deny a leave request to help provide some clarity.