“59 days off!” How can you deal with the mathematical geniuses in the office?
Some employees start studying the annual calendar two years in advance. They do this just so they can figure out how to turn 26 leave days into 59 consecutive days off. Once they’re done calculating, they immediately request leave. Clever? Definitely. Fair to their coworkers? Not always.
Everyone has a right to the same number of leave days. But if everyone takes those 59 consecutive days off, the department would stop functioning. So how can you deal with this ‘loophole’ as HR manager?
Periodical problems
December is a very hectic month for most companies. Before the new year is ushered in, certain matters need to be taken care of. At the same time, almost everyone prefers to have time off during the holidays. Especially the last week of the year is popular; the leave requests for this period often start coming in very early. The same goes for summer vacation, for that matter.
How do you handle such cases? Do you close your doors around New Year’s Eve? Do you give priority to employees with families if they ask for leave during the summer?
Streamline and coordinate: how?
To prevent all employees from having 59 consecutive days off, HR managers need to keep a close eye on leave requests. Well begun is half done, so it is important to keep track of everything. As soon as you’ve gained insight into all requests, you will be able to make a decision regarding leave in the favored time periods.
Which method do you employ?
HR managers have, in essence, 3 options for the division of leave around the holidays:
- Grant leave according to the ‘first come, first served’ principle;
- Impose a deadline for submitting leave requests for popular periods like the month of December. Then you can make a schedule and grant leave accordingly;
- If a very big group asks for leave during a certain time period, you may decide to close up shop temporarily to prevent inefficiency in the workplace. Employees will then be obligated to take leave on these days. This is only allowed when this was stipulated in the contract!
Whichever option you choose, Leavedays offers the possibility to handle such affairs in an orderly way. Would you like to know more about our cloud-based leave registration system? Feel free to contact us!
