With just 21 working days left until Christmas, British offices could be facing a mass exodus as exhausted staff line up to take their remaining 2010 holiday allocation. A poll announced today from Monster.co.uk has shown that many workers could in fact be on holiday for over half the remaining time before Christmas – with an unbelievable 1 in 4 workers saying they have ten or more days of holiday left to take.
The poll, which surveyed over 3,200 UK workers, further demonstrated that many felt dissatisfied with their holiday process. 55 per cent of respondents felt that it was difficult to spend time with their friends and family because of work and felt that they were dissatisfied with the amount of holiday they’d been able to take this year.
Perhaps due to stresses from public spending cuts, workers in the public sector, defense and community industries still had much of their holiday allocation left, with an average of seven days left to take. Workers in the accounting, audit and taxes industries were most likely to take their full holiday allocation and had an average of four days left to take.
The happiest holiday-makers were the Scots with only 17 per cent having more than 10 days remaining, whilst the most over-worked Brits were the Welsh with more than 31 per cent of Welsh workers saying they had over 10 days left in their allocation.
Here are www.monster.com‘s top five tips for managing your holiday allocation:
· Find out how much notice you need to give – You must give your employer advance notice that you want to take holiday. Many employers will state this in your contract, so make sure you check it out. As a general guideline this notice should be at least twice as long as the amount of holiday you want to take. For example, you should give two weeks’ notice for one week’s holiday.
· Plan ahead – Being organised well in advance, even of your contractual holiday notice period, will help you to book, and keep, your holiday allocation. If you know there is a time when lots of other people will want holiday get in early, or plan an alternative time.
· Don’t feel guilty – You have as much right to holiday as anyone else. Even if you’re just going to be pottering around at home, doing some cleaning and getting some bills in order this is no less important than anyone else’s last minute requests. Sometimes it’s really important to put yourself before others – so don’t volunteer to forfeit your holiday unless it’s really important.
· Familiarise yourself with your employment contract – As well as your holiday allocation, don’t forget to think about what is expected of you in terms of unpaid overtime, working weekends and days in lieu. Make sure when you get a new job, or are asked to sign an updated contract you read the small print and decide whether you are happy with the details.
· Remember – Your employer is under no legal obligation to let you carry over your holiday to the following year. Many companies will set out their policy in your contract, so make sure you’re fully aware of the terms. Holiday is there for you to take so that you can recharge your batteries and do a good job. Taking your full holiday allocation is a win-win situation for employers as well as employees as it ensures staff are fully rested and as productive as possible when working.
