The summer season can be hectic with managing holiday planning in your business. This is the time of year when your staff are flying out to warmer climates. Some employees with young children may not have this opportunity. Working parents can be faced with balancing work and childcare for six weeks. We are suggesting for managers to plan this early to avoid a headache later on in the year.
Flexible Working Throughout the School Holidays
Many employees plan their holidays around summer due to the kids breaking off school. It is important to support your staff who have young children during the summer holiday period. Scheduling holiday planning earlier in the year can reduce anxiety for you and your employee.
It can be beneficial to you as a manager to put flexible working in place during this time. You can identify if your staff can work at different times or locations. This can mean that they can do their work, and still take time to look after their children. You can put this in place well in advance to be more organised.
Go The Extra Mile to Support Your Staff Throughout Holiday Planning
It can be difficult for staff if flexible working is not feasible for your business. Employees may be limited to using holiday entitlement during the summer. To keep a positive working relationship, it’s good to discuss this with staff.
It can be effective to encourage staff to apply for holidays in advance. Normally, employers look at requests on a first come first serve basis. You can also consider offering priority to working parents. If you plan this in advance, everyone in the team won’t have any surprises.
If you have accommodated as many staff as you can, you can work out a compromise.
Encouraging staff to swap shifts can solve many problems. This encourages staff to support each other as a team. Staff communication can also create a more positive working environment.
What Should You Pay Your Employees When They Take Holidays?
If your employee has the opportunity to take time off, it is important to pay them correctly. An employee is entitled to their normal pay. However, recently we have had to question what is holiday pay?
Yes, it’s someone’s normal pay, but what happens if someone regularly works overtime or commission payments? This makes their pay look quite different.
A restriction like this can be off putting for working parents. Many employees can’t afford to function without their commission. This can cause your employees to feel frustrated and affect your working relationship.
Tribunal rulings state that holiday pay should take into consideration of regular overtime. This includes call-outs, standby payments, and regular commission payments. This gives an indication that it is only a matter of time before there is a change in legislation.
We advise that companies begin to update their holiday policies. Making a positive change to your holiday policies now will limit any potential tribunal claims. It can also make the school summer holidays a less stressful time for working parents.
For more information contact us at The HR Booth on 01383 668178 or email us through our website.
