Statutory annual leave year

The annual leave year is set out in Section 2 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. It is a period from the 1st April to the following 31 March.

What difference does it make ? 😳

Bottom line, the Public Service body you work for won't change their leave year to suit you and there's nothing in legislation that can compel them to do so.

I'm in the HSE and our leave year is from April 1st until March 31st.

I don't think anything I've said is untrue.

Have a read of this link. It clearly has March 31st as the end of the HSE leave year and doesn't mention December 31st anywhere. https://healthservice.hse.ie/staff/leave/annual-leave/

You've purposely have chosen to ignore your first line that you stated and that was untrue.

You stated "Bottom line, the Public Service body you work for won't change their leave year to suit you and there's nothing in legislation that can compel them to do so."

There is legislation that can compel them - Section 2 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.

these type of issues are always contentious If you want to carry over holidays best to talk to your boss and see if they can accommodate your request. Going in on a high horse with the working time act is just not a good idea. If you get more than 20 days a year, and plan to carry over the difference to Jan to March that won’t work unless you dont use 20 days in the year, because as soon as you hit 20 holiday days used, they can compel you to take the other days before the end of the year. Jan to December with a carry over of a few days for exceptional circumstances to be used up by the end of Q1 is standard enough.

But you can't ask for your leave to run from those months. So utterly useless.

Somebody wants to keep 4 days annual leave to take this coming week bringing them back to work on Jan 8.

Here’s citizensinformation.ie

What section?

All of it - you cannot just cherry pick bits.

Overall, the act specified an employer's responsibilities. Provided the employer meets the minimum requirements in the Act, they can also apply other policies. For example, builders and schools can require their staff to take the majority of their leave at certain fixed times in the year. Similarly, provided an employer gives you the opportunity to use all your leave in each nominal leave year by 31 December - there's nothing wrong with them requiring you to take it then, even if the legal leave year doesn't end for another three months.

Sounds like a specific section. "..allows a registered agreement to supersede this."

But that's not what was being asked. It was asked can an employer make you lose holidays earned if not used by December 31st. Also as you know Mrs OBumble the employer has to take multiple factors into account re the employees rest and family, they cannot just say you must take the holidays.

Nope, that's not what was asked. The OP said:

Working in public service and the leave year runs from 1/1 to 31/12 , not end March to April as defined legally. It would suit me alot more to have the leave year end in April- can I insist on this? I can't understand how they can have a policy that is outside the legal definition?

Nothing in there about losing holidays, it's all about the date by which the annual leave allocation needs to be used by.

And yes, the employer has to take factors into consideration. But it's only consideration. Ultimately the employer has a right and a duty to direct employees to take leave to make sure they get the legally required amount of leave.