Best for most employers
Complete holiday records workbook
Includes Start here, Employee records and Holiday transactions tabs in one formatted Excel workbook.
Download complete workbookSee how approved work reaches payroll in Workmax. Request a Workflow Demo
Free Great Britain employer toolkit
Holiday Pay and Annual Leave Records: Free 6-Year Tracker
Check whether your records cover the new requirements, identify gaps and download a practical Excel and CSV record-keeping pack.
Five-question audit Excel and CSV templates No registration or uploads
Free downloads
Download the complete records pack
Start with the complete workbook. It includes instructions, employee records and holiday transactions, with formulas and validation already set up.
Import-ready files
Need files for importing into another system?
Download employee CSV
Worker and leave-year summary fields for your employee-level record.
Download transactions CSV
Leave, pay, carry-over and payment-in-lieu fields for transaction-level evidence.
A preview of the fields you will get
The workbook separates worker-level records from individual leave and payment transactions.
| Worksheet | Worker reference | Leave details | Payment evidence | Retain until |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee records | EMP-001 | Leave year, entitlement, carry-over | Record owner and source systems | Formula-derived date |
| Holiday transactions | EMP-001 | Dates, quantity and unit | Amount, pay elements and references | Formula-derived date |
These templates are practical record-keeping aids, not legal or payroll advice. Remove sample rows and apply your organisation's security, retention and deletion controls before entering personal data.
Field guide
Required records, then useful evidence
Acas defines the core records. The extra tracker fields help a reviewer connect the leave entry to the calculation and payroll evidence without presenting every field as a legal requirement.
Required by the new duty
- ✓ Holiday taken
- ✓ Holiday carried over from previous leave years
- ✓ Holiday-pay payment date and amount
- ✓ Details of what was included in holiday pay
- ✓ Payments in lieu of holiday, including when someone leaves
Recommended for traceability
- + Stable worker reference and leave-year dates
- + Calculation method and supporting pay periods
- + Payroll and leave-system references
- + Record owner, approver and source system
- + Record-created and retain-until dates
Retention timeline
Count six years from when each record was made
A leave year ending is not the universal retention trigger. Give each record a created date and a retain-until date at least six years later. Retain it longer where another lawful requirement or an active dispute requires that.
- 1
Make the record
Capture the leave or payment when it happens and preserve the supporting reference.
- 2
Set the retention date
The workbook calculates a date six calendar years after the record-created date.
- 3
Control disposal
Restrict access, review legal holds and delete securely only when retention is no longer justified.
Reconcile leave records to payroll
Your leave tracker normally shows entitlement, dates and balances. Payroll shows payment dates, amounts and included pay elements. Join them with the same worker reference, leave year and payroll-run reference, then investigate missing or mismatched entries.
Estimate holiday entitlement and payApply UK GDPR controls
Store only the personal data you need, restrict access by role, keep a clear retention policy, secure downloads and backups, and make records retrievable for authorised requests. The tracker is a starting point, not a data-protection policy.
Read ICO employment guidanceWorked record patterns
What the record trail looks like
These fictional examples show the evidence to retain. They do not calculate entitlement or decide the correct holiday-pay method.
Regular-hours worker
Record the leave dates and quantity, the holiday-pay amount and payment date, and which normal-pay elements were included. Link the entry to the relevant payroll run.
Irregular-hours worker
Keep the hours or pay periods supporting the calculation, the method used, leave accrued or taken, and the pay elements included. Use the holiday-pay calculator for an estimate, then retain the payroll evidence.
Departing worker
Record unused statutory leave, any payment in lieu, the calculation method, supporting pay periods and the final-payroll reference. Keep the record for at least six years from when it was made.
Check the source
Official guidance and connected resources
Holiday records FAQ
Questions about the six-year tracker
Practical answers about the new record-keeping duty and the free Workmax tracker.
From 6 April 2026, employers in England, Scotland and Wales must keep detailed annual-leave and holiday-pay records for at least six years from the date each record was made. The requirement does not extend to Northern Ireland.
Acas says records must cover holiday taken, holiday carried over, holiday pay, details of what was included in holiday pay, and payments in lieu of holiday. The tracker also includes recommended references that make those records easier to reconcile and explain.
No. The audit and all three downloads are available without registration. The audit runs in your browser and does not ask for employee information.
No. It is a practical record-keeping aid, not legal or payroll advice. Employers remain responsible for checking that their records and holiday-pay calculations fit each worker and their circumstances.
