Employers warned not to be Too Nice to staff this summer

Businesses are risking allegations of discrimination this summer over becoming too family-friendly warns employment advisors Croner after a new survey1 reveals bosses could be facing pressure from more than six in ten employees to give priority for taking annual leave during the school holidays to those with dependent children

A worrying four in ten employers (39 percent), who took part in another survey2 on Cronerís website (www.croner.co.uk), also support employees taking summer holiday leave to cope with childcare needs. But Croner is advising them to exercise caution when devising their holiday policies due to risks they probably havenít even considered.

With parents making up around 40 percent of staff3, sympathetic employers may think it íbest practiceí to offer first refusal for summer leave to parents. But failure to treat all employees equally could lead to costly claims of direct and indirect sex discrimination (in 2004/2005 the maximum award for sex discrimination was 179,026)4.

Richard Smith, HR expert at business information, advice and support provider Croner, says: During the summer months most employees want to take time off, regardless of family commitments. To avoid a mass exodus of staff, employers are facing a dilemma over who should take priority when granting holiday requests.

But our survey suggests many are in danger of being ítoo niceí to families, which could lead to sex discrimination claims that could critically impact the financial health of their organisation.

Since the role of taking time off to look after children still falls mostly on mothers, male employees could accuse their employer of direct sex discrimination for more favourable treatment towards women when handing out holiday.

One of the less obvious risks is indirect discrimination against childless people, who could argue that women with children getting priority for holidays demonstrates favouritism to that element of the workforce.

Smith says: The risk of sex discrimination isnít obvious and Iím alarmed by our survey which indicates that employers could be making themselves vulnerable to claims, just by trying to do the right thing by families.

Our message is clear: treat all employees equally. A best practice employer will consider employeesí personal circumstances, but on a case-by-case basis.

Cronerís advice to employers
Croner, which has over 55 years of experience advising employers on business critical decisions and achieving best practice in the areas of employment law and HR, is offering employers the following advice:

Have a policy in place with guidelines for granting holiday requests, stating that all employees will be treated equally, but personal circumstances may be considered.

Family commitments will not automatically grant an employee permission to take annual leave, although an employer may take this into account in an attempt to be fair and reasonable.

The employer can refuse a holiday request if there is a genuine business reason, such as the need for the work to be done or the premises to be supervised.

If several employees wish to take their holiday at the same time, employers should include in their policy how this will be dealt with, (e.g. ífirst-come-first-servedí, asking for volunteers to work, a yearly rota system, or random selection).

Employers should not refuse holiday for disciplinary purposes, as this should be treated as a separate matter.
Employers should be seen to be actively adopting their holiday policy to help avoid accusations of discrimination.