The ins and outs of denying annual leave
As the world slowly regains some normality and with summer fast approaching more people are planning annual leave. It can be difficult for employers to balance annual leave, while ensuring staffing resources allow them to maintain a standard level of operation. To help you prepare for the onslaught of annual leave requests we are going to look at the ins and outs of denying annual leave.
Adequate notice
Adequate notice needs to be provided when requesting annual leave. For example, requesting several weeks leave a few days before they wish to take several weeks leave is not sufficient. Awards and/or industry standards often outline timeframes for when annual leave requests should be made.
Reasonable business grounds
If an employee has provided sufficient notice requesting leave, an employer can refuse leave based on reasonable business grounds. This could include when the employee has requested it during a ‘busy period’ or when leave for other employees has already been approved. Employers can put limits in place regarding taking leave around their busy period/s. Some employers will apply ‘block out periods’ during busy times, enabling them to deny any requests for annual leave. An example of this could be a retail business denying leave during the Christmas period.
Type of work and size of business
It is important to note that the type of work and size of the business is also a consideration when denying leave. In the case of an administrative role where temporary administration staff are easily contracted for short periods of time if would be harder to deny leave. When we are looking at small to medium businesses it can be more difficult to cover staff on leave, providing more grounds to deny leave.
Cancelling pre-approved leave
It is difficult for an employer to cancel pre-approved annual leave. The Fair Work Act does not allow for approved leave to be cancelled by the employer. This is because employees may have made plans, including travel with non-refundable deposits. An employer and employee could agree to cancel the leave; however, the leave would need to be rescheduled to another date. Before considering cancelling an employee’s annual leave it is important to look at alternative options, such as reallocating work or hiring temporary/casual staff to cover the short fall.
Employee wellbeing
If you are considering denying or cancelling an employee’s leave, be mindful about employee wellbeing. Leave is an important aspect of maintaining employee health and wellbeing, motivation, productivity, and workplace culture. If leave is denied and that employee suffers from burnout or physical or psychological injury due to being overworked this puts the business at risk of a workers compensation claim.
Direction to take leave
On the flip side, if burnout is a concern or an employee has accumulated excess leave, they can be directed to take leave. How long the employee has been employed should be considered. It is not unreasonable for a long serving employee of 15 years to have accrued excess leave because unused leave carries over from year to year. However, a short serving employee with excess leave might be forced to take leave.
Businesses should have a robust leave policy in place to assist them to manage leave. Not only does it provide employees a guideline for taking leave, but it alleviates pressure for the business if a matter concerning leave ended up as a Fair Work claim. While parameters and policies should be in place to help manage leave, it should also be considered on a case-by-case basis. There is an array of reasons why someone might want to take leave including mental health reasons or to deal with family matters.
There are several factors a leave policy should address including timeframes for requesting leave and reasonable and unreasonable reasons to refuse leave. Does your leave policy need strengthening, or do you want advice on how to manage leave? HRTAS can support you to streamline your leave processes.
