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Dear Visitor, Welcome to People Matter from HR Solutions 4U.
Welcome Welcome to the August edition of People Matter from HR Solutions 4U. With the atrocious weather we have had in this country during our so called summer, many people are deciding to holiday abroad, and often want to take last minute breaks. Whether your staff have booked holidays in advance or not, the holiday season can play havoc for a business, and often raises a number of HR issues. This month we are focusing on just this one subject, giving you information and a mini questions and answers section to help with common themes we are often asked about. Until next time, look after your people. Best wishes The team at HR Solutions 4U Handling staff holidays for maximum effect First things first – how much leave are your employees entitled to? Largely that is down to your business to determine what is right for the organisation. The entitlement should be clearly defined in your contract of employment including any special requirements such as not taking leave during specific times of the year. A recent XpertHR annual leave policy indicated that the average number of days given to employees was 26, excluding any reference to bank and public holidays. The lowest number recorded in the survey was 20 whilst the most generous was 90 days – for teachers at a private school. It is quite common that staff can earn additional days dependent on their length of service, and larger employers tend to be more generous with leave than smaller organisations. But what about bank holidays? You are not obliged to give leave for bank holidays, but it should be clearly determined in your contracts of employment. Remember, if this is something you have done in the past, there is an implication that employees will expect it to continue, so it may cause problems. If staff do work bank holidays you are also not obliged to give a day off in lieu – but again this should be clearly stated in the terms and conditions of employment. But remember, the statutory minimum holiday entitlement is 28 days per annum including Bank Holidays. What happens if an employee is sick during annual leave? Regrettably, this is not a clear area of employment law. It is up to you to decide whether to allow a member of staff to claim sick leave and therefore retain leave to be taken at another time. It is important that you are consistent with all staff, and your terms and conditions should determine how the company will handle sickness during leave. What should you do if a member of staff fails to turn up for work? Whether after a holiday, or not, if a normally reliable member of staff fails to turn up for work, you should try to contact them. But remember, if this is not usual behaviour there may be a very good reason for the absence such as a family emergency, illness or an accident. Continue to try to contact the staff member, and consider whether it may be appropriate to contact the next of kin – which should be handled very sensitively. If there is no contact after 2-3 days follow up with a letter asking the employee to contact you. Keep a record of your attempts to contact the member of staff and follow up with them when they return to work. If little or no excuse is offered then it should be treated as a disciplinary offence. A robust contract of employment that is seen as firm but fair is the best way to resolve these challenging issues. Work hard at communicating effectively at all times with staff, which will ensure they feel able to approach you when they have a problem. If you would like help with forming rules for annual leave and absence, and training staff, please contact us on 01256 328428. |
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HR for every step in the Employee Lifecycle |
