REWARD
Annual leave and C-19
Danny Done, managing director at Portfolio Payroll , discusses and advises
T he coronavirus (C-19) has caused disruption across the UK, and many businesses have likely seen difficult times that could have resulted in lower staffing numbers. Going forward, employers may be concerned over how they should manage annual leave requests when taking into account business need, and whether the law has been relaxed as a result of the C-19 outbreak. The Working Time Regulations 1998 (‘the Regulations’) set out that all employees and workers are entitled to 5.6 weeks (28 days) of paid annual leave per leave year. If an individual works on a part-time basis they are entitled to the appropriate amount of annual leave on a pro rata basis. While businesses reserve the right to refuse leave requests, employers are legally obliged to provide opportunity for staff to take their full leave entitlements. Leave years can be set by the company and tend to fall either between April and March or January and December. Usually, out of the statutory leave, only 1.6 weeks of untaken leave can be carried over subject to agreement between the employer and employee. Any additional leave provided by the employer can also be carried over in its entirety, again subject to agreement. However, as 2020 has seen such disruption, the Regulations have now been amended to allow for the remaining four weeks of statutory leave to be carried over into the next two leave years where leave could not be taken due to C-19. This includes situations where staff have been furloughed, as leave continues to accrue
during this situation. The change in the law will likely come as good news for employers concerned about when their staff will be provided the opportunity in which to take their leave in their 2020 leave year. After all, many staff will likely have wanted to save their leave until the situation has improved, especially if their pre-booked holidays were cancelled, with employers probably happy to let them do so. However, employers should remember that this will have been a difficult time for their staff. As 2020 goes on and the impact of the C-19 hopefully lessens, many of them may likely be considering booking a holiday. If a large number of staff request annual leave at once, it may not be something that an employer is able to facilitate. To this end, it is important that they maintain clear procedures for managing leave requests, such as first come, first served. Staff should be reminded that they will be able to carry over their statutory leave if they cannot take it this year and the company should remain fully transparent as to why they may need to limit requests. It should also be remembered that the risk of staff getting sick from the coronavirus may still be present for some time; the last thing a company wants is to see a combination of leave and sickness absence leaving it short-staffed. As this period of uncertainty continues, employers may also be faced with potentially cancelling leave due staffing issues. Whilst they generally do reserve the right to do this, provided they give notice
that is at least the same length of the leave to be taken, employers should consider carefully if this is an option they wish to explore. Now more than ever staff are likely to value their leave and cancelling it may serve to damage relations with them. In normal circumstances, if cancelling pre-booked leave results in financial loss for an employee, they may even pursue a claim for constructive dismissal. While this may be unlikely in the C-19 outbreak due to travel bans and hotel closures, staff may still wish to use pre-booked time to spend with their family. Instead of cancelling the leave, consider whether a compromise could be reached with staff. Could they only work for part of a day and take the time back in lieu at a later date? Do they need to work on any specific days, or could they only take part of their leave instead of the full amount? Letting staff take the leave now means there will be less leave that will need to be taken later in 2020 or in the subsequent leave years. Employers will likely have also seen a number of requests from staff to cancel leave over the past few months. Usually, it is up to an employer to let staff cancel pre-booked leave. After all, in usual circumstances, it is likely that management will have planned to cover for their absence and may not wish to change these plans, especially at short notice. Therefore, team leaders are free to refuse this request, but in light of the current situation with the C-19, it would be advisable for them to proceed carefully. With tensions running high, and staff likely to be increasingly worried over the implications of the virus, allowing them to cancel periods of booked leave may be a key way of maintaining stronger relations with a workforce. n
...staff are likely to value their leave and cancelling it may serve to damage relations...
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | June 2020 | Issue 61 40
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