Welcome to our final tip in our “12 tips to Christmas!” This is a mini survival guide which both business owners and employees may find useful to get them through the festive season without too much trouble!
Tip 12– Holidays
If a business does not operate a shut down over Christmas, employers are likely to find that many of their employees put in requests for holidays over the Christmas period as they wish to take the opportunity to enjoy an extended break over Christmas and into the new year. There is no obligation on an employer to grant these holiday requests provided there is a valid business reason for refusing this request.
It is a busy time of year for requests, so it is essential to be organised and plan well in advance! Some general pointers to help prepare and deal with these requests include: –
- First, consider the number of employees who can be off at any one time (depending on the nature of the business it can be quiet in the period between Christmas and new year, so a reduced number of staff may be sufficient for that period);
- Make sure that all staff are aware of the business needs over the Christmas period and whether overtime will be required;
- Operate a fair and consistent approach when granting holidays over the Christmas period; and
- Make sure the business has a clearly written holiday policy so that staff are aware of how holiday will be dealt with during the Christmas period and therefore are less likely to take issue with overtime or the refusal of holiday requests.
So that concludes our “12 Tips to Christmas” and we hope that whether you are an employer or employee, that you found these helpful. Here at Talem Law, there will be no holidays for us as we will be open for business as usual in between Christmas and new year, should you require any assistance.
It remains only to say, Merry Christmas to our clients and followers!