Time to take a break…

Guest Blog by Adrian Lewis, Activ Absence

A survey commissioned by British Airways in January revealed that one-third of UK workers did not use up their annual leave in 2017, losing an average of four days each.

Today is National Workaholics Day which brings the attention to the research carried out – how are companies manging their staff holidays and encouraging them to use their annual leave entitlement.

The recent hot weather is also likely to prompt more holiday requests as people decide they want to take advantage of sun, leaving HRs in a panic on how to manage the volume of requests so everyone is happy and ensure its business as usual in the office.

Adrian says,

 “Companies want to encourage people to take their full holiday entitlement as they know it’s good for health and wellbeing, but also need to ensure the workplace is fully staffed and avoid too many clashes.

 “Unfortunately, lots of companies are in the dark over how much holiday leave someone has left to take, especially if they are relying on spreadsheets, wall planners or paper forms to manage leave. This adds more pressure and makes it more likely for errors to occur, resulting in employees booking leave at the same time.

 “The solution is absence management software that enables HRs to easily manage and stay on top of staff holiday planning. A centralised system where holiday leave can be requested and approved at the touch of a button allows for greater transparency, better resourcing and helps business plan more effectively."

Adrian adds;

“The technology also allows employers to set alerts such as automatically prompting staff to book leave if a set level is accrued, thus preventing a build-up of annual leave. HRs can nudge people to take their holiday leave throughout the year, helping to avoid last minute requests at this time of year,” 

To book a demonstration of Activ Absence click here.