Are you ready for managing absence and leave over the summer?

In this blog, we look at some of the difficulties that organisations can face when managing absence and leave during the summer months, and offer some practical steps to help mitigate the challenges.

Managing absence and leave during the summer comes with challenges

Summer is here, and in many people’s minds, that equals holidays. Better weather, busier social calendars and school holidays mean that many opt for taking time off during June-September, and may take longer chunks of time off for childcare or to go abroad.

But for organisations, managing absence and leave during the summer months can be a challenge.

With more employees looking to book holidays, clashes in leave could become an issue with several people from the same team looking to use some of their annual leave on the same dates. That becomes an admin headache without a staff holiday booking system in place, as well as presenting a resourcing challenge. If there are too many people out of the organisation at once, workloads are put on hold, projects may be delayed and companies enter a period of decreased productivity.

The rush to book annual leave may also highlight gaps or issues in an organisation’s absence management policy. Without clear guidance on how absence clashes will be handled, people managers might struggle in knowing how to deny leave requests and approve others, leaving some employees feeling disgruntled or overlooked.

However, it’s also important to be aware of employees who might not be using leave during the summer, as will mean they have a significant chunk of their leave allowance left to use before the end of the year. Taking note of employees who aren’t using their leave frequently might also point to deeper issues. Without regular breaks from work, employees can be at risk of elevated stress, burnout, and presenteeism.

Tips for managing absence and leave in summer

The best approach is often to get ahead. By carrying out a few tasks now to get on top of managing absence and leave, HR and people managers can be prepared not just for summer, but also the remainder of the year.

We’ve compiled a handy checklist with practical steps you can take now to prepare for a summer leave rush, and get ahead of leave management as we head into the second half of the year. By reviewing your absence and leave management practices now, and checking that employees are aware of their leave entitlements, how to request leave, and how much leave they left to take during the second half of the year – you can set your organisation up for a smooth transition into the new year.