Should parents get priority when it comes to taking annual leave at work? The answer largely depends on who you ask. Some might argue that those with young kids deserve the time off more, especially over Christmas. Then there are those who say, "Just because I don't have children doesn't mean I don't have family, or plans."
A child-free nurse found herself in quite a predicament recently. After working for the past 6 Christmases, she decided to take this year off. The woman put in her leave well in advance, only to have it canceled so that a "new mom" colleague could take time off instead. When HR refused to hear her out, she promptly quit, leaving the new mom to work anyway. Was she wrong?
Working over the holiday season is often part and parcel of being a nurse
Image credits: Freepik (not the actual photo)
But when this woman's boss suddenly canceled her leave to give time off to a new mom, she didn't take it lightly
Image credits: Alena Darmel/Pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Skydancer-Fun1899
Should parents get priority when it comes to taking leave over the holiday season?
Image credits: Taryn Elliott/Pexels (not the actual photo)
You should treat all your staff equally, especially when approving holiday requests. That's according to BrightHR’s Alan Price. The expert argues that it's important for management to follow this rule so that they aren't seen to favor parents over other staff, aka unfair treatment.
It’s not up to you to decide who’s more deserving of the time off, he warns.
"For example, if one of your employees has booked last-minute flights to Ibiza and the other wants a week off to go camping with their kids, you shouldn’t decide who gets the time off based on their plans," Price explains. "Instead, put a process in place to make sure that annual leave gets shared out equally."
The HR expert says many companies operate on a first-come, first-served basis because it helps to level the playing field for staff.
But he adds that it does have its drawbacks. "For example, there’s always going to be one employee who books all the popular days off at the start of the year, leaving their co-workers to pick up the scraps," Price says.
To get around this, he advises that managers come up with a creative way to allocate popular days. "You could let your employees pull names out of a hat to decide who gets August bank holiday Monday off or rotate who gets first dibs on Christmas Eve," suggests Price.
The experts at U.K.-based HR Connect agree that it's vital to have an equal environment for all employees. They say the best way is to have a clear procedure in place that all staff are aware of when requesting to take holidays. "Of course, it is important to bear in mind that whilst employees can request to take holidays, it is for the employer to determine whether such a request has been accepted or not," they add.
HR Connect's team advises managers to be as flexible as possible.
"You may want to consider implementation of a hybrid approach," suggests the site. "Priority to parents during the summer six-week closure period with all other school closure periods all staff being equal to book leave as and when without priority being given to parents."
HR Connect notes that we may see a shift in the coming years, adding that there have already been political moves in Britain to have more family-friendly legislation and policies in the workplace.
The team adds that at the end of the day, parents do not, by law, have a right to be prioritized when booking and taking leave.
"Bon voyage!": Many people sided with the nurse and shared their own similar stories
