In light of business leaders petitioning the government for a “thank you” bank holiday (the bank holiday in June for the Queen’s Jubilee) to be made permanent – what do you think?

The pandemic has brought a sharper focus to mental health in the workplace and employee wellbeing.

In addition, with a nationwide shift to hybrid and agile working patterns, is it time to move on from the traditional 20 days plus bank holidays approach? And what’s the alternative?

Current UK holiday entitlement

Almost all workers are legally entitled to 5.6 weeks’ paid holiday a year (otherwise known as annual leave). Part-time employees’ holiday entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis. As an employer, you can include bank holidays as part of statutory annual leave.

Other aspects of holiday entitlement

Workers have the right to:

• get paid for leave
• build up (‘accrue’) holiday entitlement during maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• build up holiday entitlement while off work sick
• request holiday at the same time as sick leave

The unlimited holiday entitlement approach

Unlimited holiday has traditionally been popular in the US (where statutory holiday entitlement is much less generous than in the UK), as well as in technology/start-up companies. It’s a policy where employees are given no set number of holiday days per year, meaning employees can – at least theoretically – take as much or as little holiday as they like.

Advantages of unlimited holiday

• Wellbeing – providing employees with the ability to take more time off could help improve work/life balance. If staff don’t have to worry about their remaining holiday entitlement when emergencies arise, or how to balance their work with other personal commitments, they may feel empowered to manage their own workload, which makes them feel trusted, valued, and respected.

• Recruitment and retention – having unlimited holiday is a perk that could help attract more talent to the business. Equally, it could also help retain existing employees if they are given freedom and flexibility and trusted to manage their own workload.

• Improves productivity – overwork can lead to stress, anxiety, illness and absence which can impact on productivity and also have tangible financial impacts on a business. Awarding staff with as much time off as they need, should help prevent this.

Disadvantages of unlimited holiday

• Fewer holidays – unlimited holiday policies could actually result in fewer holidays being taken, as staff can experience anxiety around not knowing the boundaries of what is “appropriate” to take and not having a fixed number of days. Management buy-in is required to ensure that employees truly feel empowered to take leave and that the overall effect is not to discourage employees from having a break from work.
• Added stress for colleagues – if employees do make the most of the policy and book a large amount of time off, without careful scheduling, this could put an increased strain on those employees left behind who will have to take on extra work.
• Difficult to manage  – unlimited holiday has the potential to cause admin burdens for HR staff and make it tricky to manage ongoing projects.

Alternatives to unlimited holiday

Offering unlimited holiday to employees is certainly a challenge for most businesses. Alternatives include flexible working, which offers employees a good work-life balance and flexibility around managing their own schedules.

The four-day work week is currently being trialled in the UK by around 30 companies.  Many schools of thought perceive this mode to be the future of work, as it may lead to happier and more productive employees, as well as significantly boost recruitment and retention.

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