As the holiday season approaches, what should be a happy time of the year can fast become a nightmare when it comes to arranging time away from work.
What problems can arise when requesting holiday?
Disputes and arguments amongst colleagues can become fairly commonplace when employees are looking to book the same time off for their holiday (also termed annual leave). We find that this generally tends to arise around key times of the year, for example, the summer holidays and Christmas. Others problems include inaccurate recording of days booked or carried over from a previous holiday year.
How can problems be avoided?
An employer should have contracts of employment which state what the holiday year is and how much holiday an employee is able to take during that time.
There should also be a clear policy for requesting holidays, for example, a Holiday Request Form or intranet facility such as a portal. This will ensure that there is a clear record maintained for both the benefit of the employee and employer so that no dispute will arise as to what holiday entitlement has been used. We find that disputes often arise where holiday has been booked but then cancelled, for example, an employer has not updated their records.
What happens where employees want the same time off as holiday?
The process of requesting holiday should be clearly set out, as stated above. This might include a “first come first served” basis so that priority is given to those submitting a request first. Of course, employees are free to adopt a diplomatic approach and agree between them which one will have the holiday and when, for example, each person might have a different week off in August.
Although employers may generally be very accommodating with holiday requests, a policy should consider advising employees not to book holidays externally until an employer has first approved it!
Can holiday be carried over from the previous holiday year?
There is no automatic right entitling an employee to carry unused holiday over from one holiday year into the next. This can create problems for an employer where employees accumulate large amounts of holiday leaving the employer with staffing difficulties.
However, employers can permit unused holiday to be carried over but might prefer to limit this to a number of days that must be used within a certain timeframe. Alternatively, some employers may choose to exercise its discretion in exceptional circumstances, for example, allowing an employee to have an extended holiday to get married or to visit distant relatives oversees.
If you would like to discuss any of the issues in this blog, please contact us.
