How to manage your employees holiday leave this summer
Ever found yourself in this situation?
The mumbles start. Tempers flare. “Why can’t I take my leave? I’m entitled to it,” are the cries you hear as the HR manager. Sigh! If only they understood that 3 other people applied for leave months ago for the same period. Approving more holiday leave applications would send the office into chaos!
If the answer is yes, you are not alone! Managing holiday leave can throw you into a tizzy. Take a deep breath. There’s a solution. Before you blow a blood vessel, here are some tips that you can use to fairly allocate leave.
- Discuss annual leave each year – if you discuss holiday early in the year with all your employees, it will be much harder for them to argue that it is unfair that they are disorganised.
- Create and consistently implement a leave application policy – if employees only give you one weeks notice before wanting holiday they should know that they are only going to get it if someone who booked it earlier gets priority.
- Win the battle – as a manager you are the one in control, don’t allow yourself to be strong-armed by your workers, you are the boss!
- Communicate – talk to your employees, this is the best way to mitigate any potential issues with employees. If they know beforehand what is acceptable they will lose any argument against assigning holiday leave.
You could also use myhrtoolkit to manage your holiday. Our online employee holiday approval is quick and seamless – no more spreadsheets, leftover leave or complex calculations. Instead, everything is automated and each employee can access their own holiday information, as well as that of their team, so they can plan and request their leave sensibly.
