Stress-Free Summer!

We all love a bit of summer R&R and it is important that employees have paid time off, but in the world of employment, managing absences over the summer period can bring challenges. When all those annual leave requests come flooding in at once, this time of year can easily become anything but relaxing, be it due to holiday dates overlapping or sharing out workloads.

The summer period doesn’t have to be this chaotic, however. Here are our tips to help employers manage absence so that the smooth running of the business continues while employees enjoy well-earned breaks over the summer season: 

• Have a clear policy outlining any important points around annual leave and setting out expectations. 

• Ensure that requests for holidays are handled fairly. Whilst generally a 'first come first served' approach might apply, at times of peak demand such as school holidays it might be fairer to use a holiday rotation system so those who are able to choose first would alternate every holiday period.  

• Monitor holiday usage to ensure employees are taking their holiday so that they get enough rest. Provide regular reminders of the need to book annual leave.  

• Encourage employees to book their holidays well in advance so that you can plan for their absence.

• Encourage employees to take holidays throughout the year to promote a healthier work-life balance and prevent an excessive build-up of annual leave requests towards the end of the annual leave year.

You should also establish what support can be provided to prevent employees from worrying about work while they’re on holiday.  This could include organising a handover of work to whoever will be taking on responsibilities for the duration of the holiday. You could also consider easing the employee’s workload on the return to the workplace to ensure they have adequate time to get up to speed following their absence.

 For longer leaves of absence or sabbaticals, it may be more beneficial to your team to hire a temporary staff member who can take on the workload rather than delegating it to others.