With Christmas and school holidays looming, many employers are being approached by their team with annual leave requests.

If you have a planned shutdown period over this time, it’s probably not an issue, but if you’re in retail or hospitality or another industry where this IS your busy period then you likely can’t have people taking time off.

So, how do you manage leave requests?

Under the Fair Work Act, employees are entitled to request annual leave, and employers generally cannot reasonably deny these requests.

What’s considered reasonable of course depends on each individual case. Things like how much notice is given by the employee, how much time off is requested, how decisions are communicated and the operational requirements of the business are all relevant when determining what is reasonable.

What you need to do if refusing annual leave at Christmas

If refusing a leave request based on the operational requirements of the business, it’s best to:

  • Communicate the “non-leave” period ahead of time to employees
  • Ensure your refusal is reasonable, for example is it possible to arrange suitable cover for the position for the leave period requested if given 3 months’ notice?
  • Respond to leave requests as soon as practicable
  • Document your reason for the decision in writing to the employee
  • Be consistent in your responses to all employee leave requests
  • Refer to your policy for clarification if required

Planning ahead for the busy period

If this time of year is always busy, and you

know you need a full team for your business to run smoothly, it’s a good idea to make it clear to your employees that leave requests won’t be accepted during these times. This is sometimes called a ‘non-leave’ or ‘restricted leave’ period and can be based on the business requirements at certain times throughout the year.

You can communicate this non-leave period when hiring new employees, during the onboarding process and ensure the team are aware by including the leave restrictions in your policy. Its also a good practice to send a reminder to your team a few months out regarding leave restrictions in the busy period.

When your business requirements are clearly communicated in these ways, your team will understand your decision to refuse leave requests and you’re less likely to have difficult situations arise with employees – the last thing you want in your busiest time of the year.

If you have an employee who takes time off, even after you have reasonably refused the request, you can read more about handling unapproved leave here.

For more assistance managing employee leave and entitlements, get in touch with our team.