Is Unlimited Staff Leave a Good Idea? We look at Unlimited staff holidays and weigh up the pros and cons of letting your employees have unlimited leave entitlement

Is it true that more and more companies are jumping on the bandwagon and letting their colleagues choose how many holidays they wish to take each year?

Apparently UK companies are slowly but steadily adopting this American policy but how does this work? Or should I say does it actually work?

There have been reports recently of UK companies that have adopted this policy but then regressed to there previous holiday policy as it just didnt work out for them.

On the face of it it seems like a brilliant policy to adopt, greater flexibility for employees, more rest breaks which surely results in a more productive workforce?

We see some colleagues taking too much time off, others taking too little and not getting the appropriate rest, some dont know where the line is and feel uncomfortable with no written limits.

Remember you as an employer are bound by legislation in the UK and must give your colleagues 5.6 weeks per annum inclusive of bank holidays.

How can you plan work load and deliver the work required to keep your business afloat? I guess the successful adoption of this policy very much depends on the industry that you work in, many report that this works well in tech firms.

Could I also point out that this could result in a retention crisis for your organisation, not in so much that you cant retain your staff but that you are holding onto dead wood. Obviously some turnover in organisations is healthy, I'm sure we would all welcome that resignation letter from certain members of the team. Those colleagues may not want to leave you with this policy in place as they are on to too much of a good thing.

In conclusion if your organisation is thinking about adopting this policy think long and hard before doing so.