Understanding compelled annual leave & furlough

 Having barrelled into the world of employment law in March this year, the concept of ‘furlough’ is still developing in the UK and its interaction with other areas of employment law is still being explored. Particular uncertainty has – these last few months – hung over the relationship between furlough and annual leave.

As they grow more comfortable with the notion, many employers have now begun compelling furloughed employees to take annual leave, primarily to prevent a large build-up of annual leave which employees will want to take later in the year when they are, hopefully, all back at work. But what is the legal position in doing so?

Without further legislative instruments, employment lawyers can only rely on published Government guidance (link below) to understand how compelled annual leave works with furlough. According to this guidance, workers can take holiday whilst on furlough without it disrupting their period of furlough. However, it is advised that workers engage with their workforce before taking this action, explaining the reasons for wanting their employees to take their annual leave whilst on furlough, before they compel them to do so.