Can you reject an employee’s annual leave request? The bottom line is that an employee doesn’t have a unilateral right to take annual leave at any time. 

However, an employer cannot ‘unreasonably refuse’ an employee’s request to take annual leave.

 

Annual leave and the Fair Work Act

The Fair Work Act (s 88) states that annual leave may be taken for a period agreed upon between an employer and an employee. However, the employer must not unreasonably refuse to agree to a request. 

While this doesn’t give an employee the right to take annual leave at any time, an employer must have a valid reason to refuse an employee’s request for leave.

An employer should consider each request for annual leave on a case-by-case basis, taking into account the specific circumstances. The reason for any refusal of a request should be communicated to the employee.

The National Employment Standards don’t explain the meaning of ‘unreasonably refuse’ in this context, although the taking of annual leave may also be subject to the provisions of an applicable modern award or enterprise agreement.

Relevant factors to be considered include:

  • whether the employee has accrued annual leave
  • the proposed leave period
  • operational requirements during the proposed leave period
  • whether any detriment will be caused to the business
  • the reasonableness of the period of notice given by the employee to take leave.

 

Refusing annual leave due to operational requirements

Consideration of an employer’s operational requirements is a reasonable factor in refusing a request, particularly if an employee’s absence may impact the efficiency of a work group.

To clarify this further, an employment contract or company policy on annual leave may specify the circumstances under which an employer may refuse a request for annual leave.

This may help alleviate any potential disputes with employees regarding the use of accrued annual leave. For example, the policy could identify times of the year when a request for annual leave may be refused due to the business's operational requirements.

The policy could also indicate the times of the year when employees must take annual leave, as the business may be closed due to operational requirements.