With the long weekend coming up, People Management outlines how HR should deal with multiple employees wanting time off

27 August 2026

With the August bank holiday approaching on Monday (31 August), overlapping annual leave requests could make it harder for employers to maintain staffing levels.

BrightHR data found that the Friday before the August bank holiday was its most popular day for annual leave for seven consecutive years, excluding bank holidays and Christmas.

Social media posts also encourage workers to ‘annual leave max’ – book the days around bank holidays to maximise their time off.

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The challenge becomes greater when several employees want the same days off, forcing employers to decide whose requests to approve.

Is first come, first served fair?

A first come, first served system may seem fair, but Laura Kearsley, partner and solicitor at Nelsons, warns it can disadvantage employees unable to request leave as early as others.

“If the most organised employees have already called dibs on the best holiday days, new starters could be left with none to take, which could feel unfair,” she says.

Requests can become more complicated when employees have particular reasons for wanting time off, such as caring responsibilities or religious commitments.

“Some workers may feel their request for annual leave...

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