Can an employer refuse holiday requests of employees?
Every spring and summer holidays, employers get several requests regarding leave application of absence from their employees. It’s that time of the year when all employees plan for vacations and thus require taking leave from work.
However it is not possible for the employers to accept vacation requests from all employees at the same time. Thus this could lead to difficult situations where employers would have to end up denying vacation requests to some of their employees. Denying an employee’s vacation request may also be a difficult task to undertake since the employee can get really upset.
Following are certain tips to help you in denying an employee’s vacation request
1Formulate and Follow a Clear Policy
As long as policies are not discriminatory in nature, employers are free to restrict the number of holidays permissible during a vacation. Employers can formulate and implement their own vacation time policies. These policies can elaborate on the process by which requests will get approved and also on how many days can be taken off at a time. However, restrictions of holidays need to be reasonable and fair. These policies should be strictly followed consistently by employees at all levels. When such a policy exists, it is important to follow it thoroughly. If the employer follows the clearly stated policy, then the employees get a better understanding of why their leave request or a vacation leave was not allowed.
2Inform about your decision to the employee at the earliest possible
If you wish to deny the leave request of an employee, it is a good idea to do so at the earliest possible. This would ensure that the employee get enough time to re-arrange his/her plans and would not lead to a hostile situation. It is also courteous to let the employees know about when their request would get dis/approved.
3Offer to compensate
If a leave request made by an employee cannot be accepted because of constraints in business, lack of staff members, then the employer should discuss this with their employees. Furthermore, the employer could let them know of a better time to apply for vacation again. Legal issues could also arise in situations where employees cannot take advantage of an earned vacation time. Thus in such situations you could offer addition vacation time because of the delay or pay certain amount of bonus to an employee whose request for vacation is denied. But in such cases, it is advisable to consult an attorney to draft a valid agreement.
Originally posted 2017-08-20 07:39:30.
