Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what plans they have, if any, to issue guidance on whether employers can direct employees to take holiday during furlough and (2) whether employers and employees can agree to vary holiday pay entitlement during furlough.

The Government has published detailed guidance on managing holidays during Covid-19. The Government encourages employers to engage with their workforce before requiring them to take holiday during furlough.

The employer and employee can agree to vary holiday entitlement as part of the furlough agreement, but almost all workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks of statutory paid annual leave each year. The Working Time Regulations require holiday pay to be paid at the employee’s normal rate of pay or, where the rate of pay varies, calculated on the basis of the average pay received by the employee in the previous 52 working weeks.