You had the legal right to carry holiday from 2019/20 into 2020/21. Holiday continues to accrue during furlough. It is possible your company has a right written into your contract to ask you to take holiday at its discretion. In any case if they give you sufficient notice they can require you to do so.

Are they topping you up to 100%? If so this could be their way of recovering some of that cost. They won’t want to build up a big pot of outstanding holiday to fund, or the disruption of lots of people taking loads of holiday.

A friend works for a large Insurance company they have been told to take most of their paid holiday by July. This seems to be happening across the board understandably companies want to ensure they have full staff towards the end of the year when business picks up.

I don't know what your rights are but I would hope most employees would see the logic of this and take one of the team this year.

One more point

Thanks guys for your advice sounds at though its legal and a few companies are doing same thing .As said I will probably have to take one for the team .

Thanks just got confused as originally told that couldn't take holiday whilst on Furlough even on full pay.But obviously the goalposts have been moved and there are asking me to take my Holidays by end of July.Which I will have to do now .Might book time of in June now to watch the mighty Palace on tv .

Sorry if I'm being thick, but what is the practical difference between being furloughed and being on leave?

As I understand it, furloughed means that you don't work, therefore (to quote a scenario that's been mentioned) when palace games start being televised, you can watch them as you wish. Why would you need to take holiday to watch them?

I'm probably missing something, but then I've worked throughout - key worker and all that - so I'm not on top of the finer details.

Edited by YT (29 May 2020 10.21am)

Palace since 19 August 1972. Palace 1 (Tony Taylor) Liverpool 1 (Emlyn Hughes)

My employer wants us to use 25% of our leave before the end of june and carry over only 25% to next year. I thought it was harsh but reading this it seemed quite generous. I say seemed because now I've had to take a pay cut of 11%. What one gives with one hand he takes with the other. Although many are in a much worse position so still being employed is a bit of a bonus.