A Guide to Managing your Annual Leave
Vanessa Kirkwood
Has your work become too stressful? Are you finding that you’re getting too tired from the constant demands?
Well, you’re in luck because, if you’ve saved your annual leave or have some left, then you can use it whenever you like to have a bit of a break.
Some people like saving all their annual leave and taking it in one go on a holiday or to relax at home; whilst others take one or two days off at a time throughout the year.
If you’re stuck on the best way to manage your annual leave this year, then there are plenty of strategies and tips to keep in mind that will help you work out the best options for you and your lifestyle.
Provided that both the employee and the employer agree to the
annual leave, then there is no minimum or maximum amount of annual leave that can be taken at the one time. This means that you can take off a number of days, weeks, or even a single day at a time.
Important factors to keep in mind when planning your annual leave:
Whether you’re planning, or have planned, a holiday:
It’s always best to plan your holidays in advance, such as at the beginning of the year, so that you’re able to save as much annual leave as you possibly can in order to make sure it’s compatible with the number of days you’re planning your holiday for.
Whether you like having small breaks throughout the year:
The process of booking a holiday might not be your cup of tea. Instead you might like having some small one- or two-day breaks throughout the year. If this is the case, then it’s important to keep track of the amount of annual leave you have and when the best time to use it is; such as during busy times throughout the year such as before or after public holidays to extend it as much as you can to get the most out of your annual leave.
Everyone is entitled to annual leave:
The entitlement to Annual Leave comes from the National Employment Standards which ensures everyone gets a certain amount of paid annual leave each year (apart from casual employees). The annual leave must be agreed to by the employer and the employee with certain rules attached to taking annual leave such as:
These rules are outlined on the Fair Work Ombudsman website where there is plenty of information about annual leave. In accordance with this, it’s important to note and keep track of the amount of annual leave you have accumulated throughout the year in order to understand the amount that you still have to use.
The latest figures from Roy Morgan Research found that:
of the nation’s 8.5 million paid workers have four or more weeks’ worth of annual leave
had accumulated
two-to-four weeks of annual leave
had less than
two weeks
Of this large proportion of the 8.5 million paid workers, almost 83.2% were planning a holiday at some point during the year. This does show that the majority of workers choose to go on a holiday rather than break up their annual leave throughout the year; so whether you’re part of this majority or not will depend on what your intentions are for the year in terms of relaxing or getting things within your lifestyle organised.
Some interesting figures from the 2016 annual leave report from 500 workers showed that:
if employers didn’t use their annual leave (unused annual leave)
have been forced to take one or more days off (forced annual leave)
have taken a sickie instead of using their annual leave (faked leave)
This information from previous years of annual leave can show you your options
in terms of annual leave by helping you to understand when and how to use yours. For example, you could save your annual leave for it to be accumulated to the next year to expand it; otherwise you might be forced to take one or two days off (forced annual leave) throughout the year.
Australia’s annual leave
entitlement
of Australians get less than their entitled annual
leave each year
This is why it’s important to take note of what you’re entitled to; and a great way to do this is to visit the Fair Work Ombudsman if you’re unsure of what you require in terms of your annual leave each year, and also work out what to do if you’re getting less than what is required.
And so, it’s important to note the various factors that can help shape the way you use your annual leave that best reflect their lifestyle and personal needs; because work can be stressful and everyone deserves and is entitled to a break via their annual leave, so make sure you plan it in advance and work it out with your employee to get the benefits out of your annual leave this year.
Sources
Roy Morgan, Holidays waiting to happen: Australian workers, 134 million days of annual leave, and travel plans
Tsheets by quickbooks, Australia’s Annual Leave: Bad HR or Bad PR?
Fair Work Ombudsman, Annual Leave
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