Sun, Fun, and Payroll Runs: HR’s Guide to Managing Summer Holidays in Ireland

With schools now finished for Summer, July and August are a very popular time in Ireland for employees to take some well-deserved annual leave. While Summer holidays are a wonderful time for employees to relax and recharge, for HR managers, it can be a tricky time to keep up productivity, juggle a surge of holiday requests, all the while ensuring compliance with ever evolving employment laws.  

In a recent Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) case, a car salesman won €12,500 for unfair dismissal after being fired upon returning from an “unauthorized” holiday where he encountered his bosses. During the case the Claimant asserted that his annual leave request was not clearly approved nor rejected. This kind of nightmare scenario can be avoided with some top tips that we have put together for HR managers, to take the stress out of the holiday season.

Related article: Workforce Planning: Effective Ways to Save Time and Stress 

 

In Ireland, employees are entitled to a minimum of four weeks of paid annual leave per year, as stipulated by the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. Many workers will opt to take at least some of this leave over the summer period. It is worth noting that if an employee has worked for at least eight months, they’re entitled to an unbroken period of two weeks' annual leave. Check out a detailed blog we did, outlining the annual leave entitlement calculations in Ireland. 

 

Early Planning: Encourage employees to submit their holiday requests early. This helps in planning work schedules and ensuring adequate coverage for the team. 

Transparent Policies: Ensure that your holiday policy is clear and accessible. It should outline how holiday requests are submitted, approved, and any restrictions during peak business periods. 

Regular Communication: Use multiple channels to communicate holiday policies and deadlines. Regular reminders can help prevent last-minute rushes. 

Conflict Resolution: Have a clear process for resolving conflicts when multiple employees request the same holiday period. This could involve seniority, departmental needs, or previous holiday history. 

 

Fair Allocation: Implement a fair system for approving holidays, such as a first-come, first-served basis or a rotation system to ensure everyone gets an opportunity to take time off during the peak summer period. 

Cross-Training: It can be helpful to arrange extra training for staff, so that, where possible, staff members can provide coverage for one another if a key team member is on annual leave. This helps maintain productivity and reduces the impact of absences. 

Temporary Staff: Consider hiring temporary or seasonal workers to cover for employees on holiday. This can be particularly useful in industries with increased workload during the summer. 

 

Record Keeping: Maintain accurate records of employee holidays, ensuring compliance with the Organisation of Working Time Act. This includes tracking holiday accrual, usage, and carryover. 

Public Holidays: Ensure that employees are compensated correctly for public holidays. This could be in the form of a paid day off, an extra day’s pay, or an additional day of annual leave. 

Part-Time Employees: Ensure that part-time employees receive their proportional holiday entitlements. Their leave should be calculated based on the number of hours they work. 

 

Encouraging Rest: Promote the importance of taking holidays for mental and physical wellbeing. Encourage employees to disconnect completely during their time off, as they need this time to rest and recharge. 

 

Time and Attendance Software: Investing in time and attendance software, like that offered by SD Worx, can streamline the management of employee leave. This software can automate holiday requests, approvals, and tracking, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring accuracy in payroll calculations. 

Remote Working Options: If it’s feasible for your business, offer flexible working arrangements such as remote working or adjusted hours during the summer. This can help employees manage work-life balance more effectively. 

Data Analytics: Use the data and analytics capabilities of time and attendance software to identify trends in holiday usage and plan better for future peak periods. This can help in making informed decisions about staffing and resource allocation in the future, such as the Christmas period. 

 

Managing summer holidays requires careful planning, clear communication, and a fair approach to balance the needs of employees and the business. By following these guidelines and using tools like SD Worx Time and Attendance Management Software, HR managers across Ireland can head off on their own holidays to unwind, disconnect and relax, safe in the knowledge that all is in hand back at the world of work.  

If you want to hit the beach this summer season without having to worry about all the leave requests you are juggling manually, and you’re interested in learning more about the Time and Attendance Management Solution that SD Worx has to offer, please get in touch and book a demo with our team here Time Tracking & Attendance Management Software | SD Worx Ireland 

 

Our time and attendance tracking system comes with many advantages. For example, it allows you to gain an accurate, real-time oversight of your workforce’s capacity and staff availability. With software that enables you and your employees to allocate time and attendance, you save big across wasted hours, manual labour, and expensive mistakes.   

There are many other reasons to partner with SD Worx, formerly Intelligo, including:   

Intuitive cloud solution: A modern, intuitive, and cloud-based solution for employee/manager self-service.  

Flexible packages: Flexible SaaS, HaaS and fully managed services packages to meet any business, legislative, or compliance need.  

Seamless integration: Payroll and HR are automatically integrated.  

Accurate data: Accurate data collection via various channels, from web and terminal to mobile app.  

Single Sign-on: Single sign-on access to every functionality from any device at any time.  

Single Point of contact: A single point of contact throughout the roll out and beyond.   

Start making gains on your business processes today by booking a demo of our intelligent time and attendance tracking system.