Ensuring employees have time away from work is crucial when building a great culture and improving workplace productivity. But because of long-term business closures and travel restrictions, many employees have chosen not to use their annual leave entitlement during 2021.
That poses a problem for employers as 2022 looms: excess holiday entitlement. So, what can you do if your employees want to carry over unused holidays?
Holiday entitlement in Northern Ireland
Full-time employees in Northern Ireland are entitled to a statutory minimum of 28 days annual leave per year. This should be offered pro-rata to part-time employees to ensure they’re not discriminated against based on being part-time. You may choose to offer more than the statutory minimum to reward your staff for the excellent service they provide each day.
Why do employees have unused annual leave?
The business world has changed dramatically over the past 18 months. Employees cancelled annual leave while others didn’t book leave so they could support their employers. The highest levels of absences we’ve seen during this time were due to isolation and positive COVID-19 test results. This means that because of the pandemic, employees have excess holiday entitlements to carry into 2022. In some cases, this will result in crippling levels of absence to manage at the end of the holiday year.
Therefore, before this happens, it’s crucial to manage holidays effectively so your business can function as normal. Furthermore, preparation will help you to manage the costs of covering annual leave.
The impact of a positive workplace culture
As an employer, it’s important to create a positive workplace culture in order to get the best out of your employees. One of the most effective ways to do this is to grant, where possible, the annual leave your team is requesting. This is of particular importance when they’re requesting leave to celebrate a special event such as the birthday of a child or an anniversary. However, this isn’t always possible, so you may be forced to consider alternatives.
Enforced use of annual leave and alternatives
Given the higher volume of annual leave that has been accumulated this year, it may be necessary to enforce employees to take leave. In Northern Ireland, employment law dictates that if an employer wants to enforce an employee to take leave, they must give the employee double the notice of the amount of leave they’re asking them to take. For example, if an employer asks an employee to take one week’s leave, they will need to make them aware of this enforced leave at least two weeks before the start of the annual leave.
Alternatively, when you don’t grant an employee the leave they’re requesting, you may be able to offer them an alternative week before the end of the calendar year. You may choose to offer a combination of alternative weeks available or offer pay in lieu of holidays. That payment could be made each calendar month to enhance the employee’s pay in the run-up to Christmas or as a one-off payment at the end of the holiday year.
If instead you want to offer the employee the opportunity to carry over their leave or a proportion of their leave to the following year, it’s a perfectly fine option. However, this should be considered with caution so that a similar situation doesn’t arise next year.
Need help managing annual leave?
For expert assistance managing your annual leave issues, speak with a HR adviser today on 0800 917 0771.
