First published on Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Last updated on Tuesday, August 29, 2023
After the August bank holiday, the next public holiday in the UK isn’t until Christmas! You might think now is a good time to relax and put bank holidays out of your mind for the next four months—but you’re not out of the woods yet!
Given the summer heatwave and rising travel expenses, your staff might choose to save their annual leave for later in the year.
Totally understandable, of course. But for you, that could mean an influx of late summer and autumn holiday requests…
So, how do you stay prepared? Here are three tips for simple and straightforward annual leave planning beyond the bank holiday rush.
1) Keep clashes under control
Balancing annual leave requests within a team that requires minimum staffing levels can quickly lead to holiday clashes. The best way to monitor employees in the same department from booking the same day off work is to have clear guidelines and a fair annual leave policy.
That way you can make sure you stay in line with employment laws around allowing your employees their full statutory holiday entitlement, whilst maintaining business operations.
2) Encourage employees to take a break
Yes, you heard it right. One way to prevent an influx of holiday requests, especially over the festive period, is to create a culture that encourages your employees to use their annual leave throughout the year. If your absence management system isn't super simple for your employees to access and use, you could be on the road to random, ad-hoc, or last-minute holiday requests.
It’s also advisable to set a minimum notice period for requesting leave so you can avoid last-minute demands disrupting your productivity.
Make the process for requesting time off easier for your employees, and you’re less likely to be bombarded with requests during busier periods. It’s also beneficial to your employees' health and wellbeing which has a knock-on effect on your productivity and retention rates.
3) Track the trends
Having your ear to the ground when it comes to staff trends may not be your first priority, but it should be.
Knowing which periods are likely to be busier for booking annual leave can help you plan in advance and get temporary or agency cover if you need it to avoid understaffing. This will be particularly useful in industries like retail, hospitality, and tourism.
An example of a key date to mark in your diaries is Friday 28th August. BrightHR data shows that this has been the most booked off day for the past SEVEN years in a row (excluding bank holidays and the Christmas period).
Manage your staff holidays in a click with BrightHR’s time-saving, admin-busting staff leave planner. Get automatic and accurate holiday calculations for ANY working pattern. Your teams can request annual leave through the app while they're browsing travel websites or looking at their calendar at home. Any clashes are flagged, so you can approve or decline instantly.
See BrightHR’s award-winning software in action and book your free demo today.
