The Supreme Court has ruled, after a much awaited decision, that parents who take their children out of school to go on holiday can be prosecuted.
The facts
A father (Mr Platt) from the Isle of Wight took his young daughter to Disney World during term time for a week in April 2015 despite permission being refused from the School. Mr Platt refused to pay the fine imposed by the Local Authority who subsequently prosecuted him for his failure to comply.
Before getting to the Supreme Court, both the Magistrates Court and High Court ruled against the Council and held that Mr Platt did not act unlawfully because his daughter had good attendance (overall 90%) and it was considered appropriate to take the wider picture of his daughter’s attendance into account in deciding if she had “regular attendance”. This led to an increase in term time holiday bookings.
However, the Supreme Court has now decided in favour of the Council and allowed their appeal.
The decision
The ruling means that parents who take their children out of school to go on holiday, where it has not been pre-authorised, can be prosecuted, even where the child has little or no other term time absence.
The Court said that “regularly” means “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school”.
The case will now go back to the Magistrates to decide what, if any, penalty to impose on the father.
This case has confirmed the original position that parents who take their children out of school during term time, without pre authorisation from the School, can now face paying a fine or being prosecuted. This brings relief for many school leaders and teachers who face additional pressure in trying to help absent children catch up with missed school work and who now provides more certainty in dealing with such requests.
Schools may want to take this opportunity to review their policies on term time absence.
Contact us:
As always, please do feel free to contact us if you have any queries on the above by emailing employmentlawadvice@judicium.com or phoning 0845 459 7013.
Related content
(1).png)
On 27 November 2025, the UK government altered a flagship commitment in the Employment Rights Bill and dropped plans to grant most workers protection from unfair dismissal from their first day of employment. Instead, the Bill will now grant unfair-dismissal rights after six months of continuous service. Read this blog to uncover the reasons why, what this means for schools and how we can help.
(1)(2).png)
In this post, we look at the four ERB Consultations that have been launched by the government and set out links to the consultations so that you can have your say.
.png)
Whats New | Sofa Sessions | HR
In this blog, we'll share the summary notes from our HR and Employment Law Sofa Session from the 19th November, delivered by our resident expert, Kirstie Young.
.png)
In this blog, we will explore the significance of enhancing performance and best practice in education and how it can be implemented effectively.
This blog looks at this impact and suggests strategies for improvement.
In this blog, we'll explore what the Employment Rights Bill is, why it is important and how you can get one step ahead and plan for upcoming changes.
Whats New | HR