Employers need to encourage staff to take their annual leave

Many UK workers are putting their mental wellbeing at risk, as latest figures show that four out of ten employees have taken less annual leave since the start of the pandemic.

According to a new Acas and YouGov study, 39% of workers took less paid time off work during the pandemic compared to the previous year. Findings show that SME employees are the least likely to take paid time off.

Commercial Director at Activ Absence, Adrian Lewis is urging employers to encourage their staff to take their annual holiday leave; if not they could risk their staff’s mental wellbeing and performance in the workplace.

He explained, “Since the start of the pandemic staff have been accruing holiday, as many decided not to take time off when they couldn’t travel during lockdowns. While restrictions have eased and travel abroad is opening, many people are still put off travelling abroad because of the costs of tests and risks of quarantine rules changing at the last minute.

“This means many employees are postponing holiday leave again, which could be storing up problems for the future with employees suffering burnout and other mental health issues due to not taking any break.”

Lewis added, “One solution to help companies encourage people to take their holiday leave and help avoid holiday clashes is to invest in a digital HR system. Absence management software gives companies access to data and reporting tools, so they can see in real-time who is off when, track trends, such as someone taking a lot of sick leave as well as ensure there are no holiday clashes. It also provides an overview of who has leave left to take.

“This can prompt bosses to send email reminders to staff to get holidays booked in sooner rather than later before the end of the year, and hopefully avoid a rush of requests in November and December. This is beneficial both for employee wellbeing but also for the company to ensure they are fully staffed at all times.”

To find out more about contracting please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.