28 per cent of people in Carlow and 49 per cent of people in Kilkenny didn’t take their holiday’s last year
Thats more than four out of ten people not taking their full holiday entitlements last year, according to new research on annual leave.
The survey undertaken by FRS Recruitment shows that almost one in five people did not take five days of annual leave or more, which in business terms represents a week of leave.
Speaking about the research, Lynne McCormack, General Manager with FRS Recruitment said, “Holidays and annual leave are such an important part of professional life for employees their employers. Yet before now there haven’t been many statistics available showing how it is used and the various policies associated with annual leave in the workplace.
“With this research, we in FRS Recruitment wanted to take a closer look at how annual leave is being treated and get a sense of how widely different leave policies are applied. Holidays are a key point of negotiation between employees and their employers and are vital in maintaining work/ life balance. They play a significant role in how we manage the many demands on our time outside of work. So it is useful to get a practical sense of how they are actually being used.
“Not using their annual leave may suit those who are able to carry their leave into the following year, or who receive payment in lieu. However there is a sizeable number of people locally and nationally who face losing any days that go unused.
“When we do holiday, it is also interesting to consider the length of breaks we take. The most popular choice for peoplewas two weeks in one go, which would traditionally have been seen as the standard, main holiday of the year. However for 1 in 4 people, their longest break was less than one week.
“In FRS Recruitment we have also seen a number of candidates interested in the concept of ‘unlimited leave’. While this has gained some traction in the US, it isn’t a common policy in Ireland. Yet a clear majority of people nationally would like to see it introduced by their employers, despite the significant proportion of people who aren’t using up their allocated leave as it currently stands. Most people would also support a 4 day work week, even though it may impact on their salaries.
