With a 34% increase in holiday requests during the first week of restrictions easing, care businesses just like yours are handling a deluge in annual leave requests. The end of lockdown restrictions coinciding with school holidays sees many businesses facing staff shortages, meaning agency cover is essential, but due to UK-wide demands, agencies are struggling to cope with the high levels of demand.
so, why has this become such an issue?
It’s been reported that 4 out of 10 UK workers have taken little or no holiday during the pandemic, this leaves businesses facing large amounts of accrued annual leave to be taken in a narrowing window of time while the weather is still good and prior to year-end.
We know that managers using paper-based leave request systems often see increased tension and grievances when multiple requests are made for the same dates and if staff can’t take the holiday they want when they want, they can and will call in sick. Finance managers also face pressure as untaken leave is a liability on the balance sheet should staff leave, and can prove costly if the business if there are sick and agency cover is needed at the same time.
alleviate the pressure and keep control.
When the requests flood in, there’s little or no hope of managing it with a traditional spreadsheet, getting it wrong results in increased agency use, unhappy staff, pressured managers increased costs, compliance risks and service user complaints.
Implementing a care home management system like CoolCare instantly creates a framework where all holiday requests are logged and time-stamped, and first come first served approval is now transparent. Any denied requests are logged, should staff go sick on the same day then the system will transparently show this to managers.
Patterns of sickness and agency cover are clearly visible to managers.
Fair and transparent systems bring a greater level of trust between staff and management, diffuse tension and improve morale. CoolCare’s staff portal lets staff request holidays directly from their mobiles or home tablets. They can pick up extra cover shifts without having to be asked and they can request shift swaps and check holiday allowances. Cutting through swathes of paperwork, it means your team can see instantly if they can request the day they want off and submit it without the need to take up manager or administrator time.
With three out of every four UK employees suffering from job-related stress, going digital will help avoid the risk of a burnt-out workforce.
*Statistics are taken from:
