- 24 per cent of British workers say they still have 10 or more days of holiday left
- With 21 working days left before Christmas workaholic Brits still have an average of five days of their holiday allocation to take – that’s nearly a quarter of the time left
- The public sector has the highest number of workers with a large proportion of holiday left, with 41 per cent having 10 or more days of holiday left this year
- The financial services industry have the least number of days left with just 14 per cent having 10 or more days left to take
With just 21 working days left until Christmas, British offices could be facing a mass exodus as exhausted staff line up to take their remaining 2010 holiday allocation. A poll announced today from Monster.co.uk has shown that many workers could in fact be on holiday for over half the remaining time before Christmas – with an unbelievable 1 in 4 workers saying they have ten or more days of holiday left to take.
The poll, which surveyed over 3,200 UK workers, further demonstrated that many felt dissatisfied with their holiday process. 55 per cent of respondents felt that it was difficult to spend time with their friends and family because of work and felt that they were dissatisfied with the amount of holiday they’d been able to take this year.
Isabelle Ratinaud at Monster.co.uk said; “One of the great benefits of a holiday is that it gives you a chance to recharge your batteries. It seems that British workers and their employers could be under-estimating the importance of this. With 21 working days left until Christmas, it’s pretty had to imagine how employers will cope with almost a quarter of their staff taking 10 days of holiday. In situations like this it’s more than likely that employers will refuse holiday for the majority of late bookers, especially for long periods of time.”
Perhaps due to stresses from public spending cuts, workers in the public sector, defense and community industries still had much of their holiday allocation left, with an average of seven days left to take. Workers in the accounting, audit and taxes industries were most likely to take their full holiday allocation and had an average of four days left to take.
The happiest holiday-makers were the Scots with only 17 per cent having more than 10 days remaining, whilst the most over-worked Brits were the Welsh with more than 31 per cent of Welsh workers saying they had over 10 days left in their allocation.
Isabelle Ratinaud added: “For employees who stand to lose some of their 2010 holiday allocation, now would be a good time to think about whether they want to be in the same situation next year. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that you are indispensible, but it’s vital to take time to relax, switch off and have some fun. You’ll come back to work refreshed, energetic and raring to go. Ultimately taking some down time is really important to career success because it makes such a positive difference to overall performance, productivity and job satisfaction.”
5 top tips for managing your holiday allocation
- Find out how much notice you need to give - You must give your employer advance notice that you want to take holiday. Many employers will state this in your contract, so make sure you check it out. As a general guideline this notice should be at least twice as long as the amount of holiday you want to take. For example, you should give two weeks' notice for one week's holiday.
- Plan ahead – Being organised well in advance, even of your contractual holiday notice period, will help you to book, and keep, your holiday allocation. If you know there is a time when lots of other people will want holiday get in early, or plan an alternative time.
- Don’t feel guilty – You have as much right to holiday as anyone else. Even if you’re just going to be pottering around at home, doing some cleaning and getting some bills in order this is no less important than anyone else’s last minute requests. Sometimes it’s really important to put yourself before others – so don’t volunteer to forfeit your holiday unless it’s really important.
- Familiarise yourself with your employment contract – As well as your holiday allocation, don’t forget to think about what is expected of you in terms of unpaid overtime, working weekends and days in lieu. Make sure when you get a new job, or are asked to sign an updated contract you read the small print and decide whether you are happy with the details.
- Remember – Your employer is under no legal obligation to let you carry over your holiday to the following year. Many companies will set out their policy in your contract, so make sure you’re fully aware of the terms. Holiday is there for you to take so that you can recharge your batteries and do a good job. Taking your full holiday allocation is a win-win situation for employers as well as employees as it ensures staff are fully rested and as productive as possible when working.
