Booking Holiday / Annual Leave
Discussion
Good Morning,
Not really a question as such, just asking for some suggestions and feedback on how you handle staff booking annual leave?
Up until now we have been very flexible with a small team, so its always worked easily and we've made most requests work between of us. However as the team is getting larger its becoming more of a problem. A lot of overlap and some staff being a pain...
So its about time we implemented a more structured system - which is very relaxed at the moment.
How do you let staff book holiday? Do you have a form and they have to request? Do you only allow X people off at any one time? What notice period? Do you allow exceptions to this? Do you have a communal calendar that all can see? Is it all first come first served? Do you give staff with kids any preference for School hols? Max length of holiday? Min period between holidays? etc etc
Another thing which really annoys me is a couple members of staff who dont want to go on a typical long holidays, they simply want to take long weekends all the time. So literally try and book off every Monday during the summer holidays or several Friday & Mondays. Whilst this is sometimes easier for the business to stomach (dont have to arrange cover for block periods) - it can restrict weeks for other members of staff as we only allow X people off at a time.
Is it fair to put a policy in place to stop this, or do the other members of staff have to be more organised and book their holidays in earlier?
Thanks in advance.
Not really a question as such, just asking for some suggestions and feedback on how you handle staff booking annual leave?
Up until now we have been very flexible with a small team, so its always worked easily and we've made most requests work between of us. However as the team is getting larger its becoming more of a problem. A lot of overlap and some staff being a pain...
So its about time we implemented a more structured system - which is very relaxed at the moment.
How do you let staff book holiday? Do you have a form and they have to request? Do you only allow X people off at any one time? What notice period? Do you allow exceptions to this? Do you have a communal calendar that all can see? Is it all first come first served? Do you give staff with kids any preference for School hols? Max length of holiday? Min period between holidays? etc etc
Another thing which really annoys me is a couple members of staff who dont want to go on a typical long holidays, they simply want to take long weekends all the time. So literally try and book off every Monday during the summer holidays or several Friday & Mondays. Whilst this is sometimes easier for the business to stomach (dont have to arrange cover for block periods) - it can restrict weeks for other members of staff as we only allow X people off at a time.
Is it fair to put a policy in place to stop this, or do the other members of staff have to be more organised and book their holidays in earlier?
Thanks in advance.
Easy to restrict the weekenders by making it a requirement that everyone takes at least 2 weeks continuous holiday every year for audit purposes - i.e. it ensures that if something untoward is happening it will more likely be discovered if someone is not at work for a 2 week period. Common or mandatory practice in a number of sectors.
As for the rest, it's down to you to come up with a policy which works for the business and is fair to employees.
As for the rest, it's down to you to come up with a policy which works for the business and is fair to employees.
holidays can be the most annoying/ frustrating thing in an office/ work environment. I dont know your industry or office environment/size, but the only thing I can say is- if you make rules, stick to them!!!
there's nothing more annoying than applying for time off and being told no (person x is off at the same time) then a colleague asks for time off and this being allowed.
I think a spreadsheet where people can see other peoples holidays and just a bit of forward planning is a good start.
if you start saying- first come first served and the diary opens in january, people will just come in on the first day of the year, book out all the dates for school holidays, they got there first! and then they just go and change them later if it no longer suits them
there's nothing more annoying than applying for time off and being told no (person x is off at the same time) then a colleague asks for time off and this being allowed.
I think a spreadsheet where people can see other peoples holidays and just a bit of forward planning is a good start.
if you start saying- first come first served and the diary opens in january, people will just come in on the first day of the year, book out all the dates for school holidays, they got there first! and then they just go and change them later if it no longer suits them
malks222 said:
I think a spreadsheet where people can see other peoples holidays and just a bit of forward planning is a good start.
We had a system where you could see who was on holiday and when, it got disabled due to something to do with data privacy / protection and that the information is on a need to know basis i.e. only certain managers should be able to see it. So be warned.Luckily they're fairly relaxed about it all at our place, if you want a week or more off then plenty of notice is appreciated and given by most of us out of courtesy. Odd days here and there can be taken at shorter notice and it's up to you how you use your leave.
You face a common challenge for any organisation that grows, the move from the informality of the initial small close-knit team to the challenge of managing a larger workforce who may have a different outlook to the initial team.
It is important therefore to begin to develop a number of policies to guide staff and manage both their behaviour and expectations, and a leave policy is but one of those. Framework example here: http://www.smetoolkit.org/smetoolkit/en/file/conte...
A range of other policies, if not already in existence, will add value as you go forward: health and safety; COSHH; fire regulations; nominated first aider; travel policy; risk register; and grievance process to name but a few. Good luck!
It is important therefore to begin to develop a number of policies to guide staff and manage both their behaviour and expectations, and a leave policy is but one of those. Framework example here: http://www.smetoolkit.org/smetoolkit/en/file/conte...
A range of other policies, if not already in existence, will add value as you go forward: health and safety; COSHH; fire regulations; nominated first aider; travel policy; risk register; and grievance process to name but a few. Good luck!
I work in a small team only 6 but in a very big corporate company. Only us 6 can do our job in our area and we can see our rota which displays on call rota's and holiday. We book our Holidays around on call as the Rota is done before our holiday entitlement each year is loaded. We manage ok as we can see each others holiday we dont tend to clash, maybe 2 people off at a time which puts a big workload on us but at a push we manage with sacrifices else where. The only time we have a problem is Christmas and if I had last years Christmas week off I wouldn't expect this Christmas week off.
You will know what your work force can cope with staff wise so make the holiday rota visable to all staff and make a strict only 2,3,4 people off at a time rule and rotate Christmas, Easter holidays each year to make it fair.
You will know what your work force can cope with staff wise so make the holiday rota visable to all staff and make a strict only 2,3,4 people off at a time rule and rotate Christmas, Easter holidays each year to make it fair.
It's relatively standard to require people to give longer notice for a longer holiday. One example is that you need to give a week's notice to take a day or two, two weeks' notice to take up to a week, and a month's notice for anything longer.
As mentioned already, you are completely within your rights to require staff to take at least one block of two continuous weeks off during the year. This is both to ensure that staff are properly rested, and also to help flush out any dodgy business that might be going on.
You can refuse holiday bookings in the event that it will affect your business materially. This can mean having too many people off from one department at once, but it can also mean that you can restrict holidays at very busy periods (such as retail staff being expected not to take off Saturdays coming up to Christmas). You can set a first-come first-served policy if multiple people want the same day off. Or you can set any other reasonable non-discriminatory basis such as giving people with the longest service priority.
In practical terms, there's no need to overcomplicate things – if you have an office manager, they can work from a simple Excel spreadsheet indicating who is booked off at any given stage and how many holidays they have left, etc.
It's important to make sure that whatever policy you implement, you apply it consistently among staff (or have good reasons why people are treated differently, if they are).
As mentioned already, you are completely within your rights to require staff to take at least one block of two continuous weeks off during the year. This is both to ensure that staff are properly rested, and also to help flush out any dodgy business that might be going on.
You can refuse holiday bookings in the event that it will affect your business materially. This can mean having too many people off from one department at once, but it can also mean that you can restrict holidays at very busy periods (such as retail staff being expected not to take off Saturdays coming up to Christmas). You can set a first-come first-served policy if multiple people want the same day off. Or you can set any other reasonable non-discriminatory basis such as giving people with the longest service priority.
In practical terms, there's no need to overcomplicate things – if you have an office manager, they can work from a simple Excel spreadsheet indicating who is booked off at any given stage and how many holidays they have left, etc.
It's important to make sure that whatever policy you implement, you apply it consistently among staff (or have good reasons why people are treated differently, if they are).
It's a challenge, but I implement the following rules... It's pretty simple, but it works, and is scalable.
1. Notice period for holiday applications is three times the period being applied for (so three days notice for 1 day, three weeks notice for 1 week). This just avoids staff texting or emailing at 6pm saying "Can I have tomorrow off".
2. Staff are ring-fenced into groups of three/four, and they ensure between their groups that two are always in, or one at a bare minimum for emergencies (we appreciate they do happen). They are grouped by department, so ensure that the department is always covered.
All the holiday is visible on a shared spreadsheet, and staff have their own holiday sheets. So basically, they check the spreadsheet, make sure there is cover within their group, then put the holiday on their sheet and submit for approval. First to submit gets it, this is then marked on the spreadsheet.
The columns on the sheet basically read:
Holiday start date
Holiday end date
Number of days applied for
Number of days remaining (of entitlement)
1. Notice period for holiday applications is three times the period being applied for (so three days notice for 1 day, three weeks notice for 1 week). This just avoids staff texting or emailing at 6pm saying "Can I have tomorrow off".
2. Staff are ring-fenced into groups of three/four, and they ensure between their groups that two are always in, or one at a bare minimum for emergencies (we appreciate they do happen). They are grouped by department, so ensure that the department is always covered.
All the holiday is visible on a shared spreadsheet, and staff have their own holiday sheets. So basically, they check the spreadsheet, make sure there is cover within their group, then put the holiday on their sheet and submit for approval. First to submit gets it, this is then marked on the spreadsheet.
The columns on the sheet basically read:
Holiday start date
Holiday end date
Number of days applied for
Number of days remaining (of entitlement)
One thing not mentioned which is worth bearing in mind is issues when one of your employees has a partner who has restricted leave periods. At my wifes place of work they submit applications for leave in week blocks at the beginning of the year. Leave is then allocated by management, if you are lucky you get all of what you want, if you are unlucky you only get some. If my place of work did the same and I didnt get the same time periods there would be a problem!
C0ffin D0dger said:
We had a system where you could see who was on holiday and when, it got disabled due to something to do with data privacy / protection and that the information is on a need to know basis i.e. only certain managers should be able to see it. So be warned.
Luckily they're fairly relaxed about it all at our place, if you want a week or more off then plenty of notice is appreciated and given by most of us out of courtesy. Odd days here and there can be taken at shorter notice and it's up to you how you use your leave.
Don't take this as confrontational, but it might sound it! How does the spreadsheet differ from the wall planner in my office where all staff holidays are displayed. Each person has a colour with a key, so you know who is off when. Is this wrong?Luckily they're fairly relaxed about it all at our place, if you want a week or more off then plenty of notice is appreciated and given by most of us out of courtesy. Odd days here and there can be taken at shorter notice and it's up to you how you use your leave.
Our 'rules' now basically are no mare than 'x' people off at one time, and at least one clear day's notice for a single day off and a fortnight notice for a week off or more. We used to have people coming in on a morning and asking for the afternoon off. Usually not a problem mind.
marksx said:
Don't take this as confrontational, but it might sound it! How does the spreadsheet differ from the wall planner in my office where all staff holidays are displayed. Each person has a colour with a key, so you know who is off when. Is this wrong?
Our 'rules' now basically are no mare than 'x' people off at one time, and at least one clear day's notice for a single day off and a fortnight notice for a week off or more. We used to have people coming in on a morning and asking for the afternoon off. Usually not a problem mind.
We did this plus told staff 4 weeks had to be booked as whole weeks and the 5th could be booked as days. Staff know where they stand if someone is off don't come knocking (unless special reason). Being flexible on holiday rules sounds great but it causes chaos and staff moan. Our 'rules' now basically are no mare than 'x' people off at one time, and at least one clear day's notice for a single day off and a fortnight notice for a week off or more. We used to have people coming in on a morning and asking for the afternoon off. Usually not a problem mind.
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