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Annual leave request to your employer (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for employees
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For a worker in Northern Ireland who wants to book paid holiday: a dated written request giving the first and last day and the number of working days, asking for written approval. Unless your contract or holiday rules say otherwise, regulation 18 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 asks for notice of twice the length of the leave, and lets the employer refuse only by counter-notice as long as the leave. The Labour Relations Agency explains the rules free. Send it by email or hand it in.
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You want to book your summer holiday and ask your employer in Northern Ireland for the time off.
- Your manager says your holiday was only agreed verbally and you want it in writing this time.
- You want a few days off around the Twelfth and need to ask early enough.
- You want a written holiday request with the exact dates and the number of working days.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Employee
- Employee's address
- Town or city
- Employee's postcode
- Date
- Person at your employer you are writing to, as you would greet them (e.g. Priya Patel)
- Employer
- Employer's postal address (street and number, postcode and town on separate lines)
- First day of the leave
- Last day of the leave
- Number of working days of leave
- Anything else you want to add (optional)
Common questions
- How far ahead must I ask for holiday from an employer in Northern Ireland?
- As far ahead as your contract or your employer's holiday rules say. Where they say nothing, regulation 18 of the Working Time Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016 applies: notice of at least twice the length of the leave, so two weeks' notice for one week off. The Labour Relations Agency and nidirect explain holiday rights free. Asking in writing, with the dates and the number of days, avoids a later dispute about what was agreed.
- Can an employer in Northern Ireland turn down or cancel holiday?
- Yes, but only with counter-notice at least as long as the leave refused or cancelled, unless the contract sets other rules, and the employer must still let you take your full 5.6 weeks in the leave year. An employer can also require you to take holiday on set days, such as a summer or Christmas shutdown, by giving notice of twice the length of that leave. Statutory holiday cannot be replaced by pay while you remain employed.
- Do St Patrick's Day and 12 July count towards my holiday in Northern Ireland?
- Northern Ireland has ten bank and public holidays, St Patrick's Day (17 March) and 12 July among them. The law gives no separate right to have them off with pay: they may be counted within your 5.6 weeks of statutory holiday, or given in addition, as your contract says. If you have to work on one, your contract or your employer's holiday rules decide whether you get a day off in lieu or extra pay.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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