How to manage your hybrid working around school holidays 

Balancing flexibility and business needs 

School holidays can create competing pressures for employers and employees. While parents may need additional flexibility to manage childcare arrangements, organisations must also ensure business operations continue to run smoothly.  

With the summer holidays fast approaching, now is the ideal time to review your approach to flexible working requests, annual leave planning and family-friendly policies. 

Here’s what employers need to consider and how UK employment law may influence their decisions. 

Managing hybrid working during school holidays 

Hybrid working offers significant benefits for both employers and employees. However, during school holidays it can also raise practical challenges around childcare and workplace expectations. 

It is important to remember that employers are not expected to accommodate employees working from home while simultaneously caring for children. Equally, employers are not obliged to agree to temporary changes to hybrid working arrangements if doing so would negatively impact the business.

Where flexibility can be accommodated, expectations should be communicated clearly from the outset to avoid misunderstandings. Any temporary arrangement should be documented, including the agreed timeframe and expectations around availability, productivity and communication.

Employers should also remain mindful of employees without childcare responsibilities. All requests for flexibility should be considered fairly and consistently to maintain engagement across the workforce and minimise the risk of grievances. 

Understanding flexible working requests 

The right to request flexible working from day one of employment has now been in place for several years. Employees can make up to two statutory flexible working requests within a 12-month period, and employers must respond within two months, including any appeal process. 

While many requests during the school holidays may be informal and temporary, requests for permanent changes should be managed through a formal process.  

Having a clear Flexible Working Policy in place can help ensure requests are handled consistently, fairly and in line with business needs.  

Planning annual leave effectively 

Effective annual leave planning can help reduce disruption during busy holiday periods.  

Employers should encourage employees to submit annual leave requests as early as possible, giving managers sufficient time to review requests fairly and address situations where multiple employees request the same dates.

If the organisation operates a policy that limits the number of employees who can be on leave at any one time, this should be communicated clearly in advance to help manage expectations and avoid disappointment. 

Time off for dependants 

Having a Time Off for Dependants Policy in place is recommended, as employees have a statutory right to take time off work to deal with unexpected situations involving dependants. 

However, if an employee requests time off simply to cover childcare arrangements during the school holidays, this would generally fall outside the intended purpose of the legislation. Time off for dependants is designed to deal with unforeseen circumstances and emergencies rather than planned childcare arrangements.  

Communicating this distinction clearly can help avoid confusion and ensures employees understand the options available to them. 

Understanding unpaid parental leave 

An Unpaid Parental Leave Policy can also help employees understand their rights and the process for requesting leave.  

Eligible employees can take up to 18 weeks of unpaid parental leave for each child, although limits apply regarding how much leave can usually be taken within a single year and notice requirements must be followed. 

Employers may be able to postpone a period of parental leave where business operations would be significantly disrupted. During peak holiday periods, multiple requests for the same period may provide legitimate grounds for postponement. 

At the same time, where flexibility can be accommodated, parental leave can be a valuable tool for supporting employee wellbeing, retention and work-life balance. 

Using technology to support planning 

Technology can play a simple but effective role in managing holiday periods more efficiently. 

Encourage employees to record annual leave in shared systems such as Teams or Outlook calendars and, where appropriate, make availability visible to colleagues, can improve transparency across teams.

Having greater visibility of who is available and when can help teams plan workloads more effectively, reduce confusion and maintain productivity throughout the school holidays. 

Key takeaways 

Managing school holiday flexibility successfully comes down to forward planning, consistency and clear communication.

By setting expectations early, encouraging proactive annual leave planning and ensuring policies are up to date, employers can support employees while maintaining operational efficiency. 

Understanding the different types of leave available, from Flexible Working Requests to Unpaid Parental Leave and Time Off for Dependants, can also help managers make informed decisions and respond confidently to requests. 

How SafeHR can help 

Managing flexible working requests, annual leave, parental leave and family-friendly rights can become increasingly complex, particularly during busy periods such as the school holidays. 

With SafeHR, employers have access to expert HR advice, practical guidance and legally compliant policy templates to help manage employee requests fairly and confidently.