First published on Thursday, August 13, 2020
Last updated on Friday, January 10, 2020
Ever heard of Sunshine Saturday? Well, it might just be the reason why you’ve seen a sudden influx of holiday requests landing on your desk this past week—let’s explain more.
What is Sunshine Saturday?
It’s typically the first Saturday of January and it’s the busiest day of the year for Brits to book their holidays abroad… hence the name Sunshine Saturday.
This year it landed on 4th January 2020, and there were predictions for holiday bookings to massively increase.
So did they?
The Civil Aviation Authority has previously predicted that as many as 5.2 million Brits book their holidays on Sunshine Saturday.
And while there have been no official figures on exactly how many Brits snagged themselves Sunshine Saturday deals this January, our BrightHR data already shows a huge leap in staff holidays requested on the day.
On 4th January 2020, our software saw a staggering 5,003 holidays requested—that’s a whopping 113% more holidays booked than on an average Saturday.
Why is the first Saturday of the year so popular then?
Well, for lots of reasons. Most people are struggling with post-holiday blues at this time of year and booking a holiday gives them something to look forward to.
And let’s not forget the pitch-black mornings and damp, drizzly weather that welcomes us into January—it’s enough to make anyone reach for their mobiles and search for cheap flights.
Not only that, but a lot of companies refresh their staff’s holiday allowances on the 1st January (as many as 75%, according to our BrightHR data) so maybe that’s just too tempting for some staff.
Okay, so how do I deal with the stack of holiday request forms that have landed on my desk this week?
Well, you could resign yourself to spending hours every day working through that stack of paper until you make a dent in it, OR…
You could use BrightHR. Our award-winning HR software makes managing staff holiday requests quicker and easier for you and your people.
To request a holiday, your employees simply use the free BrightHR app (no paper necessary) and you sign it off in seconds using your mobile. But wait, it gets better…
BrightHR also calculates your employees’ holiday entitlements for you (even the awkward ones like when staff join halfway through the year) and it even flags any holiday clashes with you—so you won’t ever have to run around for last-minute cover.
To see our awesome holiday management software in action, book your free demo today.
