From 6 April 2026, employers will be under a new legal duty to keep records demonstrating compliance with workers’ statutory holiday and holiday pay entitlements. Failure to do so will be a criminal offence, making this a key compliance step in the Employment Rights Act 2025 (ERA 2025) reforms.
The requirement
The ERA 2025 introduces a new obligation into the Working Time Regulations requiring employers to keep adequate records of holiday and holiday pay. Implementation regulations have recently confirmed that the implementation date will be 6 April 2026.
Employers must keep the records for six years. They may create and keep the records in the manner and format that they reasonably think fit.
Why this matters
As is the case for certain other breaches of the Working Time Regulations, failure to comply with this new obligation will be a criminal offence and may result in an unlimited fine. Robust records are already critical when defending holiday pay claims, particularly where pay calculations are complex.
What to do now
There is limited time to prepare. Review your current record-keeping, including:
- how you track holiday entitlement;
- how you calculate holiday pay, particularly for workers with variable pay; and
- whether existing systems retain sufficient data for six years.
Ensure HR, payroll, operations and senior managers are aware of the need to keep adequate records.
We have updated the analysis table in our recent quarterly horizon scan, which includes a run-through of all the key measures in the ERA 2025. You can find it here.
