Whilst the run up to the Christmas and New Year period is the most exciting time of the year for many, for HR teams it can be a minefield. For example, organising staff leave during the Christmas period can become tricky.
Many offices close from Christmas Eve until the New Year, but for employers who keep offices open it can be difficult to manage annual leave requests by employees, given many of them may want to take leave simultaneously during this period. Employers will then need to decide who will get to take leave on particular days and whose leave requests will need to be rejected.
It is always advisable that employers have a clear and transparent procedure in place for dealing with annual leave requests, particularly during the Christmas period. Employees should be made aware of the procedure well in advance of the Christmas period, to mitigate the disappointment when leave requests are rejected. A clear and fair process will also reduce the risk of accusations of unfair treatment, favouritism or discrimination by employees whose leave requests are refused.
Employers could for example require employees to submit their leave requests for the Christmas period by a certain deadline, allowing employers sufficient notice to manage requests. If multiple employees request leave for the same date, and not all of them can take the leave due to business needs, generally leave should be granted to employees on a first come first serve basis. Employers could also place a limit on the number of days each employee can take during this period, to ensure that the opportunity to take leave is distributed evenly and is not used up by a few employees.
Some employees may request leave to observe religious holidays, for example Christians may not want to work on Christmas day as they want to attend religious ceremonies. Other employees may request leave to take care of relatives with medical conditions which may amount to disabilities, for example to care for elderly parents who may not have the same care services during the holiday season. Employers should take particular care in dealing with these requests for leave, as refusing such requests may give rise to allegations of discrimination in breach of the Equality Act 2010. It is important that employers can justify any decisions which they make and can show that they have taken into account the just and fair treatment of all employees, to defend any allegations of discrimination or unfair treatment.
If you require further assistance on this issue, please do contact our team at didlaw.
