5 ways for your business to be HR ready for Christmas
As always, Christmas is creeping up on us fast. Before you know it, you have a long list of urgent matters to deal with before the end of the year. So why not take a moment to get a few HR matters out of the way early to ensure you are ready for Christmas?
1. Annual Leave – how will your staffing levels look?
Have you looked at your leave planner to see who will be available to work over the Christmas period? Or is annual leave something your employees usually apply for at the last minute?
October is an excellent time to prepare for Christmas by asking employees if they are planning to take annual leave over the Christmas and New Year periods. Addressing this now gives you plenty of time to manage rosters and ensure you are not left undermanned because your managers have accidentally approved too many people to go on leave at the same time.
Let your employees know that annual leave is first in, first served and that unless they get their request approved in advance, they risk having it rejected.
2. Will you be ready for the Christmas shutdown?
Speaking of leave, some businesses choose to enforce a shutdown over the Christmas period. Whether it will be the days between Christmas and New Year or a more extended break due to industry shutdowns, you must give employees reasonable notice.
Many awards require a minimum of two months’ written notice to employees when there is a shutdown period, and you expect employees to use their annual leave to cover this time.
Please don’t leave it to the last minute. You can include a note with the payslips or send a memo or email. Be clear on what days will be annual leave during this period and which days will be public holidays.
Have a conversation with any employees who will not have enough annual leave accrued to cover the shutdown period. They may need to take leave without pay and will need to plan for this. If they are only a day or two short, you can decide to allow their leave balance to go into arrears. I recommend making this decision on a case-by-case basis, as I have seen instances where an employee has resigned and left the employer short.
3. Public Holidays for Christmas 2024/25
Nationally, the following Public Holidays apply for the Christmas and New Year 2024 and early 2025. Note that variations or additional public holidays may apply in other states or regional areas, so always check what will apply to your business.
- Christmas Day – Wednesday, 25th December 2024
- Boxing Day – Thursday, 26th December 2024
- New Year’s Day – Wednesday, 1st January 2025
- Australia Day – Monday 27th January 2025
If you are trading over this time, such as in retail or hospitality, you must ensure you understand the restrictions on trading. You may want to look at penalty rates’ costs to ensure it is worth opening at all. The earlier you make these decisions, the more notice you can give staff on rosters.
When rostering staff on Public Holidays, it is often worth asking who wants to work first. Some employees would choose to get additional pay rather than spend Boxing Day with their family! If you are lucky, you may be able to set up a roster where everyone is happy.
4. The Christmas Party Minefield
Christmas parties are always a contentious issue. If it is safe to have one in line with local restrictions, when will you have it? Who will organise it? Who will pay? Now is the time to start to make these decisions if you haven’t already. If you cannot have a Christmas party this year, will you do something else to celebrate the end of the year?
Christmas time can be fun for everyone at work, but it can be a risk when it comes to managing unacceptable employee conduct after someone has a few drinks too many. Remind your staff that workplace policies on behaviour apply to all work-related functions, even if they are held off-site. A timely email reminder leading to the Christmas party is a great idea. And if you haven’t conducted training on Workplace Bullying and Harassment for a while, now may be the time to schedule some.
Always ensure that work functions are more than just drinks. Serve food and be clear about the start and end times. If staff want to keep the party going after the official festivities, encourage them to move to a new location. Consider organising transport to ensure everyone arrives home safely.
Finally, don’t be complacent if you hear there may have been an incident at a work function, even after employees had moved to a new venue. Small issues at after-hours gatherings can become big headaches for managers in the new year.
5. What are your people plans for 2025?
Don’t wait until the New Year to review your workforce plan. While December and January are traditionally not ideal recruiting months, February is an excellent time to source new talent.
Are there new projects kicking off in the New Year? You may need to get onto recruiting for those roles now. Recruitment may take a few weeks, and many candidates must give notice. If you leave it too late, you may not have them ready to start in January.
Prepare to kick off the new year by planning what roles you will be looking to recruit and how you plan to fill them. You will thank yourself when you get back to the office in 2023.
If all that seems daunting, don’t despair. At Strawberry Seed Consulting, we offer a range of HR Services to assist or provide more detailed advice specific to your business to get you ready for Christmas.
Updated: September 2024
