Managing Staff Holidays Over Christmas: A Guide for Employers

With Christmas approaching, many of us look forward to a well-deserved break and time away from the workplace. For most, the festive season is a time to relax, reflect, and spend time with family and friends, while businesses often slow down or even close for a few days. However, while some businesses can shut down due to reduced demand, for others, closing over Christmas isn’t an option.

Challenges for Businesses Staying Open Over Christmas

Businesses that stay open over Christmas face challenges at this time of year. The key to overcoming these challenges is careful planning. For example, the struggle to find enough staff to cover what is the busiest or one of the busiest periods while trying to give their workers the benefit of a break in order to be with their loved ones. If your business faces these sorts of seasonal challenges, read on.

Employee Holiday Entitlements

All employees are legally entitled to take a minimum of 5.6 weeks’ holiday each year. For someone working a five-day week, this equates to 28 days, which is pro-rated for part-time staff.

Flexible Holiday Arrangements

There are many variations for when holidays can be taken by staff, ranging from free selection (subject to prior approval) by the individual to fixed periods of holiday determined by the employer and everything in between. This flexibility in holiday arrangements ensures that the needs and preferences of both the employer and the employees are considered. Approaches differ from bank holidays; some employers expect their employees to work, while others grant these days as holidays.

More staff needed?

If there is suddenly a peak in demand, an employer has the right to cancel pre-booked leave. To do so, the employer needs to give notice equal to the number of days of holiday booked. However, this should only be a last resort. It’s generally better to ask for volunteers to ask for volunteers who are able to work or meet with individuals to discuss their circumstances and try to encourage them to work. Only if this fails should employers’ resort to cancelling leave. Even then, cancelling leave does not necessarily guarantee that employees will show up.

Depending on the circumstances, you could consider incentivising your staff. Allowing workers to start work late, leave early, or dress down can all positively affect the workplace and staff’s wellbeing. Other incentives, such as paying for their lunch, laying on treats or augmenting pay, might entice reluctant employees. You could also offer additional holiday or time off in lieu during a quieter period at a later date.

Less staff needed?

If your business doesn’t face seasonal demand but you still need cover over what is usually a quieter than usual period, you may find that some prefer the peace and quiet this offers as it gives them an opportunity to ‘catch up’. 

If your business is quieter over Christmas and the New Year, you can require staff to take holiday during this time or on other specified dates when your business usually experiences seasonal downturn. This can allow you to better manage and plan for peaks and troughs in demand or to use the ‘downtime’ to ensure workers take their entitlement in a given holiday year.

Notice for Required Holiday

The law says that employers need only give the required notice to the individual; to require an individual to take one day’s holiday, the employer must give two days’ notice, and to take two days’ holiday, four days’ notice and so on. Again, this is a step that should be taken with care. 

Some workers will be happy to volunteer or be required to take time off. In contrast, others will want to plan their holidays well in advance to take account of their partners’ holidays, arrangements for their children, school holidays, religious customs, or other factors. Employers should avoid assuming who may or may not want to take leave at any given time.

Key Takeaways

The key message is that there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. How you manage staff holidays will depend on your contractual arrangements, policies and, of course, the people who work for you. One thing we can say with certainty is that employers should review and encourage staff to take time off throughout the holiday year and proactively manage the situation well ahead of busy periods and the holiday year-end – whether that is around Christmas or another busy season. 

(This article was originally posted on 01 December 2022 and updated in November 2024)