Legal
HOLIDAY SEASON HR ADVICE FOR EMPLOYERS Lucy Cotterell, HR Consultant, Mogers Drewett
F
ollowing the Government’s decision to ease restrictions on foreign travel, many employees who have built up holiday entitlement and are longing for a break will be looking to book a getaway this summer. With this come new holiday-related issues that employers may have to deal with. Employees holidaying abroad
Pre-Covid employers would not normally have asked what employees are planning to do with their time off before approving holiday requests, but with the UK operating a traffic light system to categorise countries, some employers may now consider asking employees, as the destination could impact the amount of time needed off from work. How to deal with quarantine and self-isolation requirements
If an employee is required to quarantine and self-isolate, this time can be treated in various ways: • The employee works from home, as usual or if possible, from their quarantine hotel • The employee extends their holiday, with the additional time coming out of their overall leave entitlement • The employee takes unpaid leave • The employee is regarded as having committed a disciplinary offence on the basis that they have knowingly made themselves unavailable for work The most common approach last summer was extended holiday or unpaid leave, however treating this is as a disciplinary matter is becoming more common, 128 | Sherborne Times | August 2021
especially where an employer incurs additional costs associated with arranging unexpected cover (e.g. overtime or temporary workers). Dealing with last-minute holiday requests and changes
The three-week review of the traffic light system will undoubtedly lead to an increase in late holiday requests as new destinations go on the green list. Alternatively, as destinations are recategorised to amber or red, requests to reschedule booked holiday will also be made. Unless the contract says otherwise, the statutory position is that employees must provide twice as many days in advance of the first day as the number of days holiday requested: for example, ten days’ notice of a five-day holiday and employees do not have any legal rights to cancel or reschedule holidays once booked, apart from in cases of sickness/family leave. In these situations, employers could enforce notice period for requesting leave or still insist on the employee taking their booked holiday as planned even if they can no longer travel as planned. This approach should be treated with care, and this may become a contentious issue. As the situation continues to change and to ensure that you apply any discretions fairly and consistently our advice is that employers should update and communicate their holiday policies so that everyone knows what the rules are and how they will apply to them. mogersdrewett.com
