Holidays, how do you cope?

[Phill Fenton]

Me and Alison always take our holidays at the same time – so not a problem here..

[Kevin Busby]

Do not currently employ but having done previously I would do the following.

Have a shut down period over the Christmas period of however long you wanted and have this pre notified by stating it in the company handbook or employment contract.

Then State holidays on a first come first serve basis and if required list any periods of extreme pressure when holidays would not be allowed (like your peak months)

So long as sufficient notice is supplied you can dictate all the holiday periods although I would suggest planning some and leaving some for their own choices.

[Jean Oakley]

Hi Alison, i employe 3 people. Wall planner start of the year everyone has a colour and i use dots to mark all the bank hols and time im closing over christmas as compulsory days. I also mark on the calender any weeks or days where no one can be off (known busy periods). They then use whats left of their holiday entilement and its marked on the planner.

[David McDonald]

Hi

We operate along these lines:-

All holidays are signed off at our discretion but not to be unreasonably declined. The consideration is based on needs of the business, the total amount of staff on holiday at the same time, the number on holiday in the same department at the same time, and the notice period given. How people work,their flexibility with us, counts for a lot in these considerations.

Minimum 2 week notice for any time off otherwise requests probably declined.

More than 2 consecutive weeks in exceptional circumstances only and with maximum notice.

We close between Christmas and New Year and its mandatory to take these days as holiday

3 day maximum carry over on holiday days (or brought forward form next year) and then they need a good reason and all subject to the ‘needs of the business’ consideration.

Strictly first come first serve forms on my desk – dont book/pay for anything until your dates are signed off – otherwise its your risk losing your money!

If you add up holiday days and the average number of sick days then yes if spread out we’d have someone off virtually all the time ! (to be fair we hardly ever have anyone off sick though).

I get whatever is left and spend the rest of the time back filling for people who are off !!!!!!!!

Cheers
Dave

[Chris Wilson]

We just try and be flexible. Not that anyone takes the mick, but an unhappy employee is not a good one and will eventually leave.

We’re the same size, so recently everyone has been doing a bit of everyone else’s jobs. That way we can cope if a key person for a certain job is away.

Same rough rules. 2 weeks etc. It’s in our hand book we’re off for 2 weeks over Christmas.

[Unknown Member]

We use Timetastic to manage all our holidays. We have a longish period shutdown over Christmas although I give a few extra days here paid by the company as a bonus! Next year I will be asking my team to book holidays in our quiet period

[James Bateman]

+1 for Timetastic. I’m a big advocate for accessible software to run your business on, Timetastic has reduced a lot of issues that plagued us on paper.

Coupled with a clear and documented holiday procedure, I’d say this is the best way manage in a small business.

Below is what I have drafted for our holiday procedure (feel free to use it or pick holes in it as it will help refine the system).

Purpose (result statement):
To ensure holiday leave is requested in a fair and transparent manner.
To ensure definitive visibility on the calendar and deduct from entitled holiday allowance.

Steps:

(See attached uploaded image "Timetastic Steps.png")

General Standards:
• When requesting holiday leave, the notice period should be at least twice the period of leave to be taken
• Leave requests will be approved on a first-come first-served basis via Timetastic
• Leave requests will be approved or declined within 48 hours
• Approving or declining leave will be non-discriminatory and based on the best interests of the businsess
• No more than one working day may overlap (regardless of department) unless an exception is made with [Holiday Manager]
• Verbal requests and confirmations are not a valid form of leave notice

Shifting Dates:
• Assuming the following does not conflict by overlapping dates; approved leave periods can be ‘shifted’ -+ 2 working days but cannot increase in duration without approval from [Holiday Manager]
• The notice period to ‘shift’ dates should be at least twice the period of leave to be taken
• [Holiday Manager] must be notified immediately by email of the decision or intent to ‘shift’ dates
• [Holiday Manager] must amend the ‘shifted’ dates within 48 hours to reflect accurately within Timetastic

Cancelling Dates:
• Any cancelled leave must be immediately updated in Timetastic to ensure a fair and accurate record

Quantification:
Fewer recorded arguments, no accidental overlapping holidays, less uncertainty, less stress and conversations about holiday issues.

We cope by planning work around holidays and enforce a mandatory shutdown over Christmas. This period is booked in advance via the holiday manager and everyone must adhere to it.