Taking Time Off During School Holidays

When considering whether child-free employees should be banned from taking time off during the school holidays, it’s essential to approach the matter with empathy and understanding for everyone involved. 

Should child-free employees be banned from taking time off during school holidays? 

It would not be fair to impose a ban on child-free employees taking time off during the school holidays. Every employee deserves the opportunity to enjoy their time off to spend it as they wish, whether that’s for personal reasons, travel, or to simply recharge. It’s important to promote a workplace culture that respects the diverse needs and preferences of all employees, including those without children. The goal is to make all employees feel valued, leading to more motivated, committed and engaged teams and ultimately driving higher productivity gains in the workplace.  

Rather than banning child-free staff from taking school holiday leave, I believe we must recognise every employee's need for rest and work-life balance, regardless of parental status. There are many other reasons an employee may need time away, whether to care for a parent, for medical appointments, for religious prayer. With advanced planning and collaboration, time off can often be shared equitably. 

Do you think people with children should be given priority to take leave during school holidays? 

While its essential to consider the needs of employees with children during the school holidays, giving them automatic priority for time off might not be the best solution. Instead, companies should aim to cultivate an inclusive environment where employees can openly discuss their preferences for leave in advance. This approach allows for a fair and equitable distribution of time off and enables collaborative solutions that consider everyone’s needs, including the business.  

Although childcare arrangements are notoriously unpredictable, needing sudden time off to deal with this situation should be treated like any other employee.  

If you are child-free and are refused leave during school holidays as a parent wants to take it instead, but you asked first, how can you resolve this and what can HR do? 

If you find yourself in a situation where you, as a child-free employee, are refused leave during the school holidays because a parent wants to take time off, communication and understanding are essential. Here’s what you and HR can do: 

First, communicate openly with empathy about needing the requested time off with your manager. If an agreement can't be reached directly, involve HR as a neutral mediator.  

HR can work to implement fair leave policies and encourage advanced planning to minimise conflicts but considering various factors, such as first-come, first serve basis, rotation, or a combination of both. This policy should be communicated to all employees to set clear expectations and promote understanding. 

HR can encourage employees to request leave well in advance, especially during peak holiday times. This enables better coordination and increases the chances of finding solutions that suit everyone. 

If both leave requests are urgent and unplanned, you could consider other arrangements to make it work such as remote working or adapted hours for a short period of time. We often can’t plan for sickness or unexpected events, so it’s about building resilience into your organisation and training your team on how to deal with these occurrences with empathy, understanding and critical thinking. 

The key is recognising our shared human needs, regardless of parental status. When we approach leave as an opportunity to collaborate, not compete, we find solutions that allow everyone - including working parents - to enjoy time off.