Unlimited holiday may not work for recruiters
26 September 2014
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has told his head office staff to take as much leave as they want, but his actions have divided opinion among recruiters.
Fri, 26 Sep 2014 | By Sarah Marquet
Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson has told his head office staff to take as much leave as they want, but his actions have divided opinion among recruiters.
Optionis managing director Derek Kelly described Branson’s idea as a clever PR stunt, but questioned the practicalities of implementing such a regime.
He told Recruiter the “Branson model” looked great at first glance, but on delving deeper, “the shine comes off slightly”.
Under the ‘Branson model’ the assumption is that employees would only take time off when they are completely comfortable their absence will not in any way damage the business or their careers.
“This could actually serve to dissuade employees from taking time off, by making them feel guilty for doing so,” Kelly said.
Kayman Recruitment director Elliott Manning questioned the mechanics of the model in the recruitment industry.
“It would work fine for non-sales staff … but not sales staff in my opinion. With sales staff, and in this instance recruitment consultants, their work is an ongoing process to which they cannot be successful if they have unlimited holiday,” he told Recruiter.
He added: “The only way it could work for them is if they were happy to stop working once they hit their target. As a recruitment business owner and working on generating income through sales, you need your staff there as much as possible to exceed targets, once hit, to increase the revenue consistently for cash flow and growth.”
Hunter Healthcare, however, agreed with Branson. The healthcare recruiter already offers its staff unlimited holiday, as long as the timing does not adversely affect the business.
Managing director Gavin Johnstone told Recruiter it underpinned a “culture of trust and autonomy”.
“As a result we have seen an increase in employee loyalty and productivity. If a company looks after its people, the people will look after their company. After all, it is employees that make great companies.”
However, law firm Linklaters has warned employers will need to ensure business staffing needs are adequately covered should they choose to implement such a policy, and that, like Kelly said, there could be unintended consequences.
Linklaters employment and incentives partner Jean Lovett said: “Many employees will welcome a policy that allows them to take unlimited holiday. Employers, on the other hand, will need to put in place arrangements to ensure that any such policy allows them to adequately cover the staffing needs of their business.
“Unlimited holiday policies might also have unintended consequences if employees feel under pressure not to take holiday in particular circumstances – such as, for example, if the employer’s resources are stretched or where an employee is seeking promotion.”
Branson suggested the move in his regular blog following a prompt from his daughter who highlighted a similar policy at Netflix.
Optionis managing director Derek Kelly described Branson’s idea as a clever PR stunt, but questioned the practicalities of implementing such a regime.
He told Recruiter the “Branson model” looked great at first glance, but on delving deeper, “the shine comes off slightly”.
Under the ‘Branson model’ the assumption is that employees would only take time off when they are completely comfortable their absence will not in any way damage the business or their careers.
“This could actually serve to dissuade employees from taking time off, by making them feel guilty for doing so,” Kelly said.
Kayman Recruitment director Elliott Manning questioned the mechanics of the model in the recruitment industry.
“It would work fine for non-sales staff … but not sales staff in my opinion. With sales staff, and in this instance recruitment consultants, their work is an ongoing process to which they cannot be successful if they have unlimited holiday,” he told Recruiter.
He added: “The only way it could work for them is if they were happy to stop working once they hit their target. As a recruitment business owner and working on generating income through sales, you need your staff there as much as possible to exceed targets, once hit, to increase the revenue consistently for cash flow and growth.”
Hunter Healthcare, however, agreed with Branson. The healthcare recruiter already offers its staff unlimited holiday, as long as the timing does not adversely affect the business.
Managing director Gavin Johnstone told Recruiter it underpinned a “culture of trust and autonomy”.
“As a result we have seen an increase in employee loyalty and productivity. If a company looks after its people, the people will look after their company. After all, it is employees that make great companies.”
However, law firm Linklaters has warned employers will need to ensure business staffing needs are adequately covered should they choose to implement such a policy, and that, like Kelly said, there could be unintended consequences.
Linklaters employment and incentives partner Jean Lovett said: “Many employees will welcome a policy that allows them to take unlimited holiday. Employers, on the other hand, will need to put in place arrangements to ensure that any such policy allows them to adequately cover the staffing needs of their business.
“Unlimited holiday policies might also have unintended consequences if employees feel under pressure not to take holiday in particular circumstances – such as, for example, if the employer’s resources are stretched or where an employee is seeking promotion.”
Branson suggested the move in his regular blog following a prompt from his daughter who highlighted a similar policy at Netflix.
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