Coping with staff holidays at this time of year can leave HR Managers everywhere with a complete headache, trying to ensure enough cover to keep the business working at optimum levels, whilst simultaneously maintaining a healthy workplace and a positive approach to employees taking their annual leave.
So how can it be done?
The very thought of the holiday period can be enough to make any manager want to scream ‘Right! That’s it, al holiday entitlement CANCELLED this year!’
But of course, you can’t. And you won’t, because you know as well as anybody that holidays are good for you, and besides you are desperately looking forward to your own two-week break, away from arranging holiday cover and managing employees!
So, how can it be done? How can a business truly cope with staff holidays without HR going into a mini meltdown, and staff being forced to run around like whirling dervishes?
Well, like everything in business, it just takes a bit of planning and preparation.
Want to find out more? Read on!
Staff Holidays – Legal Entitlement
First of all, let’s just make one thing perfectly clear, all employees are entitled to a minimum number of 5.6 weeks, (or 28 days), of annual leave per year, whether they are full-time, part-time, agency staff, work irregular hours or have a zero hours contract. The holiday entitlement is pro-rata, depending on how many hours an employee works, and ACAS provide a useful holiday entitlement calculator here.
Let’s also be honest about the fact that holiday entitlement is a complex issue, there are loads of pieces of legislation that cover different aspects of employee holidays, such as accruing holidays whilst off sick, holidays in addition to maternity or paternity leave, and rules around bank holiday entitlement.
So rather than get it wrong and end up with a costly dispute to settle, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with government guidelines from the Gov.UK website which can be found here, and build yourself a watertight holiday procedure which is covered in an employee handbook available for all staff to see.
Benefits of Annual Leave for Employees in a Healthy Workplace
Now we have covered the legal bit, lets have a look at the more positive aspects of what annual leave actually means to the employee and to the business as a whole.
Having a two-week holiday in the summer to look forward to is pretty much the reason why most of us go to work in the first place!
Sure there’s all the regular bills to pay, including the mortgage or rent, the food bills, the transport, the utilities…..eurgh feeling overwhelmed yet? Is it any wonder people need that two week break? whether it’s a caravan holiday in Filey or an all-inclusive break to the Med, people don’t just work to pay the bills, they work to live, and this includes taking time off to recharge the batteries!
Having two weeks in the summer and additional short holidays at regular intervals through the year is particularly beneficial to a person’s overall health and wellbeing.
Their physical, social and emotional wellness all improve when taking a break, meaning reduced stress, less aches and pains, and better mental health resilience leading to an improved healthy workplace, and considering the stats around the number of working days lost to ill health, its crucial to consider the positive impact on the business the annual leave entitlement actually creates.
Making the Business a Healthy Workplace through Encouraging Annual Leave
When an employee is in better physical, social and emotional health, the impact on maintaining a healthy workplace is striking.
There are fewer days lost to absenteeism, better employee retention leading to lower recruitment and training costs, improved creativity and productivity amongst the workforce, and the staff you attract will be the cream of the crop, who know full well that you have a positive approach to employee health and wellbeing.
In fact, having a healthy workplace culture, that actually encourages employees to use up their holiday entitlement, is going to have a much more positive outcome that one that makes employees feel guilty about taking time off.
And that includes encouraging the management to use up their holidays too. Leading by example demonstrates a commitment to a healthy workplace, because nobody functions well working 7 days a week, 52 weeks per year!
How Can HR manage Staff Holidays?
As we’ve already mentioned, having a watertight holiday entitlement policy is vital in the first instance.
Following on from this policy, having clear holiday entitlement procedures, for all employees, will go a long way to the organisation managing staff holidays effectively. In addition, ensure the company policy and procedures are communicated effectively, and staff know what will, and will not be tolerated when it comes to requests for annual leave.
There are also some simple, yet very practical steps you can take as part of the company planning and preparation for the fast approaching holiday season.
Some ideas you might want to consider include, encouraging cross departmental training, ensuring you always have enough first aid trained staff, get to know a great recruitment agency who can supply temps if needed and have a holiday calendar easily visible to avoid any confusion over available dates.
Contact us
So if you are an employer or you work in HR and you want to discuss the benefits of annual leave to your workforce AND the business, or you are interested in any aspect of having a healthy workplace, you can contact us here for more information or if you prefer, you can call us on 0808 178 0748.
Our expert team of wellbeing professionals would be delighted to chat to you about any aspect of workplace wellness and would definitely advocate the benefits of encouraging employees to use their annual leave, including you guys in HR!
