Absences
How to Build a Holiday Policy That Prevents Conflict
A good holiday policy prevents 80% of conflicts before they happen. It does not need to be a fifty-page document: the rules simply need to be clear, everyone needs to know them, and the system needs to apply them consistently.
Set the basic rules in writing
Before talking about tools, you need clear criteria: how many days does your sector agreement allow? Can they be carried over to the next year? Are there blocked periods? Who approves, and within what timeframe?
Your sector collective agreement is the mandatory starting point. From there you can improve conditions, but never make them worse.
Calendar visibility for the whole team
The root cause of many holiday conflicts is lack of information: people do not know who is away or who has already requested a period. A shared calendar, visible to the whole team, eliminates the problem.
Request and response deadlines
Define a minimum notice period for requests (for example, 15 days for longer periods) and a manager response commitment (48 hours). When both parties know what to expect, uncertainty and friction are reduced.
In summary
A clear holiday policy, a visible calendar, and defined deadlines are enough to handle 90% of cases without conflict. The rest is resolved through conversation.