Blog
Reform to SSP and fit notes proposed
Given the high rates of sickness absence in the UK, there have been recent calls for reform of both the Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) system and the fit note process.
- Leave and Absence
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
Peninsula Group, HR and Health & Safety Experts
(Last updated )
Read our article: 'Work hard, play hard: giving your staff time off'. Contact us today for more information about our Employment Law, Health & Safety, and HR services.
Jump to section:
Part-time staff. Full-time staff. Casual staff. Staff on night shifts. And staff who work on commission. Having a varied workforce helps you run your business. It can also make calculating annual leave entitlement a real test for you. Here’s how to make sure your staff get the right amount of annual leave.
Tell your staff how annual leave works in your business. With a written annual leave policy, both you and your staff know how to request time off. Make sure you cover:
Different workers have different contracts and hours, so their annual leave entitlement might not be the same. If you calculate your staff’s annual leave wrong, they won’t be happy. That’s why you need to make sure your HR and payroll departments work together so staff aren’t underpaid when they take time off.
To get the best out of your staff, they need time to unwind and relax. So when they return to work, they’re ready to get back to business. You don’t want your employees to think they can’t take time off because they’ve got too much work to do. Keep an eye on staff workloads, and see whether you need to share tasks around the team. They’ll be grateful for some well-deserved holiday time. Encourage your employees to use their annual leave before the end of the year, and outline whether they can carry any days over or they might risk losing them.
Your staff don’t need to be at work to accrue annual leave. Employees who are on leave can still accrue holidays, including staff on:
In cases where staff haven’t been at work and aren’t able to take their annual leave, you should consider letting them carry over their unused holiday. If staff have been off work because of maternity leave or sickness absence, not allowing them to carry over leave will be discriminatory.
Maybe you want HR software that does the maths. BrightHR automatically calculates your employees’ annual leave so you don’t have to. Get your free demo now
Got a question? Check whether we’ve already answered it for you…
When AI meets 40 years of Peninsula expertise... you get instant, expert answers to your HR and Health & Safety questions