By Angharad Rayner, employment law solicitor from Howells Solicitors

The summer holiday period can be a busy time for annual leave requests. Whether you’re a parent juggling childcare with work and school holidays, or an employer trying to keep your business running while the sun shines, it can be difficult balancing everyone’s needs. There are options available for employers to try and accommodate everyone’s needs.

Flexible working

With children off school working fixed hours can become impractical. An option for employers would be to grant their employees flexible hours. Allowing staff to be more flexible with their hours results in happier, more productive employees.

Another option would be to allow employees to work from an alternative location, such as their home or a professional workspace closer to home. Advances in technology means that staff can have access to all the resources they need in order to carry out to remain productive during the summer holidays.

Providing useful information

It is common knowledge that childcare can be very expensive and resources are limited. By advertising and providing employees with information regarding childcare services, such as holiday clubs and schemes in the area by sending a weekly email or having a notice board will allow employees and their children to take advantage of all the services and activities on offer.

Unpaid parental leave

Employees that have been employed for over one year can request unpaid leave for childcare. Employees should submit their request at least 21 days prior to taking leave and it is recommended that the request be placed in writing. Employers can assist by advising employees of their rights and processing any requests as quickly as possible.

Reasonable time off for dependants

If an employees’ child care arrangements break down they have a right to take leave to care for their dependants. This is intended to deal with emergencies and unforeseen matters and shouldn’t be longer than one or two days. There is no legal right to be paid during this time and the employer should be made aware of the reasons for absence and how long the employee expects to be absent.