How to Simplify Leave Management with Our Template Annual Leave Policy
Posted by Robin on 17 Aug, 2024 in Templates
Our Ultimate Guide to Holiday Allowance constantly talks about the importance of policy and we know that managing leave is one of the big challenges faced by SMEs. Ensuring consistency and fairness in the application of your holiday rules is key to an engaged and happy workforce.
One of the problems with holiday pay in the UK is that it is such a mess. Legislation that is nearly 30 years old and which has been re-shaped time and time again by the Courts. Creating a policy from scratch is a minefield.
To help you address these challenges, we have prepared a template annual leave policy for you to use in your organisation. Whilst you will need to review it to ensure it suits the way you work, we believe it will get you 80% of the way to having a comprehensive annual leave policy that will drive fairness for your employees.
Why Every Business Needs a Comprehensive Annual Leave Policy
Simply, you want to ensure that everyone understands how it works and they feel assured that they will be treated equitably. Whilst your company rules and procedures can determine the holiday allowance, it is down to your managers to decide if leave requests are approved. Your managers have to make decisions as to what periods of leave are reasonable and which are too long. Having a comprehensive policy sets the frame in which these decisions are made.
Having a clear frame leads to employee satisfaction. It leads to a reduction in misunderstandings. And it leads to consistency in decision-making.
Screenshot of the annual leave policy template
Benefits of Using Our Template Annual Leave Policy
As we said above, we think our policy gets you 80% of the way there. The remaining 20% is up to you. This is why we think our policy is a great starting point:
It deals with the interaction between EU, UK and contractual leave. As you know, these different types of leave have different rights attached to them and it is critical that the policy addresses how they work with each other.
The policy takes into consideration recent changes in law relating to irregular hours workers, where, for the first time, the Government has set out an approved methodology for calculating holiday entitlement for workers whose hours vary each week.
The policy addresses the complex interactions between holiday leave and other types of leave such as family leave and sick leave. In particular, it deals with the scenario where an employee becomes sick whilst on holiday and the right of the employee to convert paid annual leave to sick leave.
Where necessary, the policy highlights areas for you to review to ensure suitability for your business. This includes matters such as leave year start and end dates and rules relating to carry over of leave.
How to Implement the Template Annual Leave Policy in Your Business
Implementation very much depends on where you are now. In our experience, most policies are non-contractual so implementing and changing a policy can be done with relative ease. However, we do have a couple of pointers for you:
Early, regular and consistent communication is key to any change. You should ensure a communication plan is in place that reinforces the "why" of the change and the benefits for your employees.
If there is any change that would result in a net worse position for your employees, you might decide to "grandfather" the position for existing employees and apply the policy as a whole to new employees. Or, if the implementation of the annual leave policy results in some positives and negatives, you may conclude that it is overall balanced and you can proceed.
In any event, you should ensure that communication is clear, honest and direct.
We hope you find the template annual leave policy of use for your organisation and would love to receive any feedback you have.
