Annual leave

Authors: Kate Shepherd and Lisa Poole

Summary

• Employers that follow good practice in annual leave can support employee welfare and generate a positive impact on the bottom line. (See The importance of managing annual leave)
• Introducing a policy and procedure on annual leave provides guidance to managers so that the organisation maintains a consistent approach to annual leave. It also ensures transparency, so that employees know what procedures to follow to minimise disappointment. (See The annual leave policy and procedure and Requesting and authorising annual leave)
• Employers can introduce rules on when employees can and cannot take annual leave to help meet business needs. (See Timing of annual leave)
• Employers should put in place procedures to prompt employees to take annual leave. (See Encouraging employees to take annual leave)
• Employees who are entitled to more annual leave than the statutory minimum are likely to be more positive towards their work and employer. (See Annual leave in excess of the statutory minimum)
• Employers can introduce a number of methods to increase employees' control over annual leave so that they can balance work and personal commitments to suit their needs. (See Purchasing and selling annual leave, Bringing forward annual leave, Unpaid annual leave, Carry-over of annual leave and Banking annual leave)
• Employers can tailor the arrangements for bank and public holidays to suit their business needs. (See Bank and public holidays)
• Employers should carefully consider requests for leave for religious purposes to further employee engagement. (See Leave for religious observation)
• Employers can put in place arrangements to ensure that an employee who returns to work from holiday becomes productive as quickly as possible. (See Return to work after a period of annual leave)
• Employers should plan for circumstances where employees might be delayed on their return from annual leave. (See Delay on return from annual leave)
• Employers that help pregnant women to plan the annual leave that will accrue while they are on maternity leave will be better equipped to deal with the leave. (See Maternity leave and annual leave)
• Employers should take into account a number of considerations when dealing with employees whose sickness coincides with a period of annual leave. (See Sickness coinciding with a period of annual leave)