Countdown to Christmas
A festive reminder of what you should be thinking about right now:
Annual leave
◼ If your company holiday year ends in December, check that your team is on track to have taken all of their leave by then. This will avoid you having lots of holiday requests landing on your desk at the same time in December leaving you short-staffed when often there’s lots of end-of-year deadlines to meet or busy periods to cover.
◼If your company allows carryover, remind your team what the maximum number of days for this is. And don’t forget the minimum number of holiday days which need to be taken (excluding bank holidays) for a full-time employee is 20 days per year – so you shouldn’t agree to carryover if this means they’ve had less days off than this.
◼ Does your company have a Christmas company shutdown period (typically 3 days in between Christmas and New Year)? If so, are your team aware of the specific dates? And, if they’re contracted to use their annual leave for these, check that they’ve booked them off or that they have enough days left to cover them.
Winter Weather
◼ Do you have a bad weather policy? This applies when it becomes impossible or dangerous for employees to travel in to work due to adverse weather or travel disruptions. Don’t wait until you’re all snowed in to inform your team of what’s expected of them and what actions should be taken.
◼ As the weather turns colder are you keeping your team warm? While there’s no legal minimum temperature in UK workplaces, employers have a legal duty to ensure a safe and healthy working environment. The HSE suggests 16°C minimum for most office-type work and at least 13°C for work involving significant physical effort.
Chrismas party
◼Nothing beats a nice Christmas social for your teams to bond and for you to show them your appreciation of their hard work throughout the year. But remember to ensure the event is inclusive to all your team.
◼It’s your responsibility as the employer to ensure sexual harassment doesn’t occur. So, carry out a risk assessment, consider how much alcohol will be available and communicate before the event your expectations of everyone’s behaviour and the consequences and provide a contact if they’ve any concerns prior or after the event.
