We are all, no doubt, looking forward to a well-earned break over Christmas.
You may be turning your mind to how to best manage holiday requests from staff, bearing in mind that many organisations’ holiday year ends on 31 December. Staff may have taken less holiday this year than normal due to the lock down earlier in the year, being on furlough or possibly not manging to go on the holiday they would have liked. They may, therefore, have more holiday than usual left to take.
Set out below are Jones Chase’s top 5 tips for managing workers’ holiday successfully.
- Wherever possible remind workers of the benefits of taking holiday. It is good for their physical and mental health and can also positively impact on performance at work.
- You can require workers to take leave if you plan to shut down over the Christmas period. You must give notice at least twice as long as the leave the workers are required to take.
- Remember the rules from 2020 about carry over of leave which was unused due to Covid 19. The law allows employees and workers to carry over up to 4 weeks’ statutory paid holiday into their next 2 holiday leave years. This law applies for any holiday the employee or worker does not take because of Covid 19. This could include having to self-isolate or being unwell or having to continue working. This also applies to those who were on furlough and were not able to reasonably use all their holiday.
- Check staff contracts for how much leave can be carried forward into the next holiday year, if any. Without any other agreement the basic rule is “use it or lose it” if the leave does not fall within the 2020 law referred to above.
- Workers who are off sick at the end of the leave year are able to take holiday if they request, or may be allowed to carry over the leave into the next holiday year.
Should you require assistance with the above or managing annual leave under the Working Time Regulations generally, we would be delighted to help you. Feel free to contact us on info@joneschase.com – 0203 837 9914.
About the firm
Jones Chase is a specialist employment law firm based in the centre of London with an excellent track record of looking after those that we assist.
We fundamentally believe in helping both businesses and people with all their employment law needs.
Feel free to contact us should you require further information or need any assistance. We are always happy to speak to people and point them in the right direction.