The presents, the decorations and the food might be the main reasons people look forward to Christmas, but time off work is right up there for most people too.
For most employees it’s the ideal time to unwind, visit family and properly relax without having to worry about work, but for business owners, it can be a bit of a headache in the run up to the festive season.
The Christmas period brings up some questions for business owners, with many wondering whether to shut the business between Christmas and New Year and if so, can employees be made to use their annual leave to cover the shut down? Or if the business does remain open, can employees be required to work on Christmas Day?
As HR experts, we’re here to tell you that the short answer to both questions is yes. With a few conditions.
If you’ve decided to close your business between Christmas and New Year, you can absolutely require your employees to use their annual leave to cover the closure.
Legally, employers have the right to determine when annual leave is taken, providing the relevant notice is given, so if you require two days of annual leave to be used, you must give four calendar days’ notice.
This is a statutory minimum, but we would strongly recommend that you outline what happens during a Christmas shutdown within your employment contracts or staff handbook, so employees are aware from day one that some of their annual leave will be required while the business is shut.
If you decide to stay open during the festive period, you can require employees to work on Christmas Day, providing it is part of their contractual obligations.
There is no general statutory right for employees in the UK to have bank/public holidays off. There is also no legal requirement for employers to pay an enhanced rate to staff who work on Christmas Day, although quite often employers do offer this.
Before Christmas, there are a couple of decisions to make as a business owner:
Have you clearly communicated the Christmas shutdown dates?
Do your employment contracts explain how annual leave will be managed during business closures?
Have you given employees the appropriate notice?
Have you checked that employees have sufficient holiday entitlement?
Are your Christmas Day working arrangements consistent with employees' contracts?
Have you considered any requests for time off fairly and consistently?
Are any enhanced Christmas pay arrangements clearly documented?
It’s also good to remember that for some people, this time of year raises all sorts of emotions, e.g. family gatherings where they may not get on, anniversary dates of sad times in their lives etc, so if an employee requests to work over the festive period, please do seek advice before giving a resounding ‘no’!
We provide HR support for small businesses, so if you're unsure whether your Christmas arrangements are compliant, or you need help reviewing your employment contracts and holiday policies, then get in touch.