Exception to the bar on carrying forward untaken leave under the Working Time Regulations as a result of the effects of coronavirus

New statutory instrument

New regulations have been issued that introduce an exception to the bar on carrying forward untaken leave under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (WTR) as a result of the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In force from 26 March 2020, the Working Time (Coronavirus) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (SI.No.365/2020) amend regulation 13 of the WTR - that entitles workers to four weeks of annual leave in each leave year while also barring any of this leave that remains untaken at the end of a leave year from being carried forward into the next year - by -

• inserting an exception to the bar on carrying forward untaken leave if it was not reasonably practicable for a worker to take some or all of the leave to which they were entitled under regulation 13 as a result of the effects of coronavirus (including on the worker, the employer or the wider economy or society); and
• providing that untaken leave as a result of the effects of coronavirus may be carried forward and taken in the following two leave years.

In addition, the regulations amend regulation 14 of the WTR - that provides for payment in lieu of any untaken annual leave where a worker’s employment terminates - to provide for payment in lieu of any leave that carried forward under the coronavirus exception and remains untaken on the date of termination.

SI.No.365/2020 is available from legislation.gov.uk