Hours and holidays: 2 - Relaxing holiday rules In the second insta4nent of a major three-part IRS survey of hours and holidays, we examine rules and practices governing when employees may take amiual leave, and look at what happens to unused leave entitlement. Based on responses from 110 employing orgariisations, in respect of 263 employee groups, we find that: only 41 % of respondents lay down specific rules and restrictions governing the timing of holiday absences within the leave year - down from 51% in our 1996 survey, 60% in 1992 and 75% in 1989; and a large majority, amounting to 71 % of surveyed employers, allow workers to carry over at least some of their unused holiday entitlement into the next leave year, either automatically (49% of the total sample) or subject to permission from a relevant manager (22%).