What are the benefits for employers?
Granting employees the ability to swap their bank holidays is not a new idea. Hospitality firms, and others based in seasonal industries, have implemented the practice for decades, allowing them to stay open during Easter and Christmas.
The approach helps companies to optimise staffing levels, and reduce the need for temporary workers, saving time and resources.
Naturally, allowing a staff member to swap the holiday, rather than lose it, has equal benefit for the individual and the business.
Tom Gill is a sustainability expert based in London. He describes working on a bank holiday to attend a conference. “There have been times where a bank holiday feels wasted,” he says. “I was able to save that day to take a different working day off, travelling back home to see the family without using my annual leave.”
Recruitment benefit
Flexible working arrangements are popping up left, right, and centre as post-COVID, employees increasingly prioritise meaningful work that reflects their personal interests, as well as professional.
Last month, we published an exclusive survey into employee attitudes towards another trending flexible policy; the four-day week. Our findings show that, of the 78% of employees who want a four-day work week, 61% would choose it for a better work-life balance.
Executing any employment policy which gives workers more control over their personal activities will bring plenty of positives for your firm’s people strategy.
Managing happier staff, who feel valued by their company, leads to improved employee engagement. This, in turn, reduces staff turnover – a priceless advantage in light of the ongoing hiring crisis.
Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show that job-to-job moves in 2022 reached a record average of 946,000, driven by resignations rather than dismissals.
