For those businesses that close over the Christmas period, employers will need to put in place arrangements requiring employees to take annual leave at that time.
Provided that there is no agreement to the contrary, employers can allocate leave to a particular time.
An employer needs to give notice that is at least double the period of leave that the employee is required to take although, in practice, employers should build the requirement into their annual leave policy.
For advise on writing a full Annual Leave Policy, please contact me.