Annual leave always presents some interesting challenges. From difficulties in finding cover, to staff who squirrel their leave away until the end of the year, there’s always something leave-related to cause havoc.

As employers, we tend to think of the cost of annual leave, both in terms of money and time. Every moment an employee spends out of work is a moment when the work isn’t being done.

But is this the right way to think about it? Remember that enshrined in law is the entitlement to paid time off, whether you’re a permanent employee or a member of a bank team.

Of course, calculating annual leave can be a headache at the best of times. No doubt you’ll have some staff who are ready to book all of their leave at the start of the holiday year, and there will be those who are more reluctant to take their holiday entitlement.

One of the biggest issues facing general practice at the moment is the risk of burnout among the team. Ensuring that staff take their leave can help to reduce the risk of team members being unable to manage the pressure.

Employee wellbeing is critical to the operation of a business and if your staff are feeling worn out and overtired, then there’s an increased risk of illness. A Finnish study concluded that those with burnout are more susceptible to physical illness than others.

We have the classic workaholic, who doesn’t want to spend a minute away from the practice.  From an audit point of view, in particular, where someone is handling the finances and doesn’t want to take time off, you might want to consider whether they should be taking a couple of weeks’ leave together. Making certain that someone takes a big enough break helps you to ensure that the finances are all in order, and if they aren’t, it helps you to identify exactly who might be involved in any issues.

Be mindful, though, that sometimes the inclination to spend time at work is less related to work and more related to a desire not to be at home. For staff who are reluctant to take time off, it’s always worth making the time to ask whether everything is okay at home.

There are other reasons why you might want your staff to take their annual leave, though – not just because those who save it all for the end of the year cause problems, but because suddenly there’s not enough time to take their remaining leave.

One of the many benefits of Holiday Manager in the HUB is that we’ve already thought about this issue for you. Staff members are given prompts at the top of their leave screen, showing that they have leave left to use, and we politely suggest that booking time off might be a good idea. Moreover, amongst other significant changes to legislation, employers will now need to prompt their staff to take leave, or risk being forced to allow staff to carry it over.

For the managers in the team, we have the Utilisation overview. You can see at a glance which staff members have proportionally more leave to take than the amount of holiday year left. Once you’ve identified those who have too much leave remaining, you can give staff a gentle nudge or even tell them outright that they need to take some time off. (Do bear in mind, though, how much notice you need to give, if you’d like to tell your staff when to take their leave.)

In short, teams need time away from their workplace, and ensuring that they have a break gives you the best chance of a long, happy and healthy working partnership.

Listen to the latest Ockham Health and Practice Index Podcast to hear more.

Useful resources:

Holiday Policy [PLUS]
Holiday Manager
HR Package