One in three workers not using their full holiday entitlement

Lynne McCormack, general manager of FRS Recruitment. Research from FRS shows 35% of workers not taking their full holiday entitlement. 

One in three Irish workers failed to make full use of their holiday entitlements, according to new research on annual leave trends. 

The 2025 Annual Leave Report, produced by FRS Recruitment, showed 35% of workers not taking their full entitlement - down on last year's report when 42% of workers admitted they failed to use all of their leave.

Almost one in four people (23%) failed to take five days of their annual leave or more last year, which represents a week’s paid leave.

The survey of almost 2,000 Irish workers found that men were more likely not to use all of their annual leave entitlements. Just over 40% of male respondents admitted they had unused holidays last year, compared to less than a third (31%) of female respondents. Of the male respondents who did not use all their holidays last year, almost two-thirds (64%) said five or more days went unused.

For one in 10 people (11%), the longest period of annual leave they took was less than a week, while 38% stated their longest break was 2 weeks. Less than a third (30%) of respondents said the longest period of annual leave they took was 1 week, while 21% said they took more than two weeks consecutive annual leave last year.

Workers have also been taking more holidays due to family and health reasons. According to the report, 46% of people used annual leave days for family reasons - up from 15% the previous year. A further 35% of respondents said they used their annual leave for personal reasons, up from 9% a year ago, while 9% used it due to illness – up from 4%.

The 2025 report also found that fewer employers opted to offer payment in lieu of unused annual leave days last year. Only 9% of workers were offered this option in 2024, down from 27% the previous year.

However, fewer workers reported that they lost their annual leave days if they went unused by year-end. Just 11% said they lost unused annual leave days – a significant drop from the 24% of respondents last year who said they lost holiday days. More than 40% of workers said they can carry annual leave days into the following year if they go unused.

A total of 1,987 people took part in the survey used to compile the FRS Annual Leave Report. FRS Recruitment is a recruitment agency with 10 offices nationwide.

“Holidays remain one of the most important considerations for employees when weighing up a new role or reviewing their contract. That annual leave allocation continues to be a defining feature of the employment experience - a point of negotiation, expectation, and, increasingly, reflection on how we balance work and life," said FRS Recruitment general manager Lynne McCormack.