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A third of UK workers will not take their full holiday entitlement in 2005, despite complaints of being overworked. This could mean more than £14.5 billion worth of unclaimed holidays1 going to waste this year, according to employment law and HR advisers Croner.
But employers could be the real losers as insufficient holiday time means staff are struggling to achieve a work/life balance, leaving them open to stress and other health problems, which can have a negative financial knock on effect for employers.
The research into UK 'holiday debt' carried out by Croner/YouGov revealed that only one in five people whose holiday entitlement runs from January to December have taken their full allowance. Over a quarter (26%) have seven or more days left, and a further 26% have between four and six days remaining.
Of the 33% who said they won't be taking their full holiday entitlement this year, seven percent - which equals 2.2 million of the total working population - will lose the holiday altogether, 21% expect to carry it over to next year, with four percent opting for payment instead.
The survey results also indicate that many employers need to brush up on the legal aspects of annual leave, as the Working Time Regulations 1998 stipulate that all employees should have a minimum of four weeks' paid leave.
Employees most at risk of missing out are those who haven't planned their annual leave far enough ahead. Seventy-two percent of the 536 polled admit to sometimes or regularly booking leave at a moment's notice. Six percent (around 1.8 million) admit to always booking time off work at the very last minute.
The survey results should be a warning sign to employers to make sure they have a clear annual leave policy in place for 2006, says Croner, who commissioned the study after receiving a recent surge in calls to its Business Support Helplines from employers unsure of how to manage a flurry of last minute annual leave requests.
Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, says that poor planning and management of annual leave policies is to blame for the billions in holiday debt that UK employers owe their staff this year. Employers have a lot to gain through making a New Year's resolution to help staff achieve work/life balance in 2006.
He says: "The employer has a responsibility to monitor annual leave requests to make sure they are reasonably spread over the course of the year."
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