Annual leave
What it really means
Your paid holiday from work. Full-time UK workers are legally entitled to at least 28 days a year (which can include bank holidays). You usually request days off through your manager or an online system.
Context, tips & common mistakes
Statutory paid holiday starts accruing from your first day — including during probation, and including for part-time, zero-hours and agency workers pro rata, so 'no holiday until you pass probation' misstates the law even if booking is restricted. The employer controls timing more than newcomers expect: they can refuse specific dates for business reasons and can even require leave to be taken at set times, such as a Christmas shutdown. Whether leave carries over to next year is mostly contractual, so use it rather than stockpiling it — 'use it or lose it' policies are lawful within limits.
When you leave a job, any accrued untaken statutory leave must be paid in your final payslip, and conversely taking more than you accrued can be deducted if the contract says so. If holiday requests are always refused or leave never appears on payslips, that is worth a written query and, if needed, a call to ACAS.