Is it legal for a company to cancel approved annual leave during the notice period?

Generally, if you’ve already had your annual leave approved by the employer, they cannot unilaterally cancel it, especially if there is no specific clause in your contract allowing them to do so.

The fact that you’ve been with the company for over two years and the leave was pre-approved is significant.

While employers can request employees to serve the notice period and continue working, they don’t usually have the right to cancel approved annual leave unless the employee's presence is crucial during the notice period, or there are exceptional circumstances (e.g., the employer cannot afford to let you be absent during this time).

However, this should have been explicitly mentioned in your contract or company policy.

You are generally required to serve the full notice period as per your contract unless mutually agreed otherwise.

If you feel the cancellation of your leave is unfair, you can attempt to negotiate with your employer to either honor the leave or come to a compromise (e.g., taking leave at a different time).

Clearly, communicate that the leave was approved, and refer to the absence of any clause in the contract that allows for cancellation of approved leave.

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