Tips for Christmas Holidays problems at work

Although the festive planning is well and truly underway, the Christmas holidays and changing working patterns can cause challenges in the workplace. These need to be treated with care to avoid issues escalating.

To make sure you are aware of your rights and responsibilities as an employer, take a look at some of the most common areas for potential conflict amongst your staff:

I have children, I should be entitled to priority time off

Often employees with children will request extra time off at Christmas. However ,it's up to you as the employer to decide whether this holiday leave request is granted. Obviously it pays to be as flexible as possible and to accommodate these requests where you can and you should take into account individual employee’s personal circumstances. It’s equally important to balance the requirements of all employees whether or not they have children, and to be fair and consistent with all staff. Having a clear holiday policy in place always helps in these situations where there is high demand. Be mindful that if the request for the leave is for child care they could use other leave such as parental leave or dependants leave which may (or may not be depending on your company policy) be unpaid leave as an alternative.

NOTE: if you are going to refuse holiday you need to be able to justify why to avoid any potential allegations of indirect discrimination and to have minimal impact on moral, especially at this time of year.

I don’t mind working on a bank holiday but I expect extra pay

Employees have no statutory right to extra pay for working on a Christmas bank holiday, for example ‘time and a half' or 'double pay'. The decision as to whether extra pay is given is completely up to you as the employer. The employee's contract of employment should set out the rules regarding pay. If your business is dependent on the goodwill of employees working over the festive season then it might be worth considering ways of encouraging them to do this, for the good of your business.

I plan to take the Christmas bank holidays as leave but fully expect to be paid

This year, as Christmas Day falls on a Monday, the two official bank holidays are Monday 25 December (Christmas Day) and Tuesday 26 December (Boxing Day). An employee isn’t legally entitled to paid leave on bank holidays. As the employer it’s at your discretion as to whether bank holidays are included or excluded from the employee’s annual entitlement to paid leave and this must be set out in the employee’s contract of employment.

I’m not working over the Christmas period on religious grounds

It’s common for employees to want to take time off for religious festivals and holy days, however employers are not legally obliged to grant requests for leave on religious grounds. While it’s good practice to accommodate as many requests as possible (balanced against the requirements of running your business), it’s also important to ensure that requests are handled tactfully, and consistently across all staff. This means also taking into account requests for time off from employees with no religious beliefs. You should additionally take care not to disproportionately favour one group over another in terms of their religious beliefs as this could raise issues of discrimination because of religious beliefs.

Are bank holidays part of my statutory allowance?

Under the Working Time Regulations (WTR) you can ask your employees to take annual leave on specified dates, including bank holidays such as Christmas. The important requirement here is that you should provide employees with a written statement within two months of them starting work, outlining their terms of employment and in particular their entitlement to holidays and public holidays so that they know whether the company deems bank holidays as a part of their statutory allowance.

A lot of employers now offer more than the statutory minimum, this is know as contractual holiday and the employer has much more control over wn this can be taken as its over and above what is required by WTR.

I’ve been off sick over Christmas but my employer can’t do anything about it

If you suspect an employee has 'thrown a sickie' over Christmas, you should deal with the absence in exactly the same was as at any other time of the year - even if the impact is more acute because of reduced staffing levels or workload. Employees, however, must follow a set reporting procedure in line with your company policy and should:

• speak to their manager as soon as possible (many employers stipulate within an hour of their normal start time);
• detail the nature of the illness;
• set a likely return date;
• if the illness is less than seven days, provide a self-certificate;
• if the illness is seven days or more, provide written note from their GP.

If an employee fails to follow this procedure, and you believe that the absence is unauthorised, then it may be necessary to take formal proceedings. 

It's snowing I am going to tell my employer I can't get into work - they will never know…..

This is very common and the UK seems to stand still with a little snow. There is no reason why employees should not be coming into work because of other weather unless they really cannot get public transport, taxi or drive in. Employees are too quick to say they can’t get in.

To make it clear what the company’s position is, in case this does occur, have an adverse weather policy which sets out the rules, reporting requirements and consequences of false reporting.

Christmas parties

The most common issue, post holiday season to resolve. I mean, everyone wants to have a good time at a Christmas party, and it should be enjoyed by all who attend and be free from any potentially embarrassing incidents.

To start with employers should think about the type of party they are going to have and ensure they invite everyone. Some employees religious beliefs may mean they are unlikely to partake, but always invite everyone regardless of your assumptions.

Employers should have clear guidance for employees on behaviour at work-related events and set out the possible implications of their actions set out in their policies and procedures.. Managers may want to remind staff before any Christmas party what the employer's policy states, to avoid behaviours that could be viewed as harassment or misconduct. This can be done by circulating the policies and calling a meeting to discuss these, inviting employees to raise any questions they may have in advance of the party.

Don't forget that any form of harassment, job offer or comment made during a party is still in the course of conduct and the Employer can be vicariously liable for this.

DO NOT make offers of bonus, promotion or otherwise whilst at a party this should be reserved for a formal setting where the meeting can be documented.

As an employer it is in your interest to have the best possible working relationship with your employees and Christmas time it should be no different – goodwill goes a long way and you might even want to thank your staff for their contribution over the year. 

BE PREPARED

Many of the issues discussed here can be pre-empted by having the relevant terms and conditions set out in the employee’s contract of employment. By doing this, everybody knows what to expect and you can ensure that all employees are treated equally and fairly. If you are unsure about the terms and conditions you can offer to your staff then you should consider taking legal advice on the drawing up of the contract with the relevant policies and procedures in a staff handbook.