Businesses need to plan ahead for extra bank holiday

Is your business prepared for the upcoming bank holidays to ensure you are not left short-staffed?

There will be two bank holiday Mondays in a row, on May 1 and May 8, due to the King’s Coronation on Monday May 8, and that could well have an impact on businesses.

Alasdair Hobbs, of Human Results, says: “Many people will be tempted to take four days leave during that week, which will enable them to have a total of 10 days off work.

“Indeed, many travel agents and holiday companies are using this as a positive sales message!

“This presents a challenge for employers, particularly businesses with a small workforce, to ensure they have enough staff to operate effectively – without upsetting anyone.

“The key to this is planning ahead and making sure that a robust annual leave policy is in place so staff know what to expect.

“It’s easy for small businesses to get into a bad habit of giving staff free rein to book holidays whenever they want, and it’s important to make it clear to everyone the conditions with which annual leave will be authorised.

“Special national events like the King’s Coronation often result in last-minute decisions to book leave, but planning ahead to update your HR policies will stand employers in good stead for avoiding staffing headaches.”

For more employment and HR advice, get in touch with the Human Results team.