Medical experts usually say the average person can live for 4 to 6 weeks without food. The amount of time someone can go without water is much shorter, roughly a week (or less).
Your employer can force you to take leave at a particular time as long as they give you at least two weeks' notice. However, it is common for employer and employee to come to an agreement about the timing of annual leave. If you put in a request for leave, your employer has to have a good reason to refuse it.
A: If you specifically require employees to give notice, as opposed to simply requesting the notice, you may have to pay for the full two-week period even if you ask the employee to end employment before the completion of the two weeks.