How to disconnect con vacation

With the arrival of summer, a very important task arises within a company: the management of employee vacations. This is the time to schedule shifts, organize work teams, schedule the work to be done during the summer season and anticipate the absences of the various members of the department.

This work of organizing and coordinating tasks falls to the Human Resources department. It is normal for this department to suffer from a certain amount of stress and lack of control with the arrival of good weather. To its normal day is added a management that can become overwhelming if it is not well coordinated.

Squaring the preferences for the rest of all employees, managing the changes that they can make and ensuring that there are not too many absences that can harm the company can be an impossible task. However, this does not have to be the case. In this article we are going to look at a series of tips to make the management of employee leave organic, easy to manage and not detrimental to the proper functioning of the company.

The right to vacation and collective bargaining agreements

The Workers’ Statute states that the worker «has the right to 30 calendar days of vacation, or in other words, 2.5 calendar days per month worked, including Sundays and holidays, which must be enjoyed, as a general rule, from January 1 to December 31 of each year». This is going to be the basis on which we will look at when it comes to managing employee vacations. The Workers’ Statute is the basic regulation governing labor relations between an employee and his or her employer. This must be respected at all times, being always above any other regulation. This means that any pact or agreement that goes against the provisions of this text will not be applicable.

However, this does not mean that workers cannot have better conditions than those stipulated in the statute. It is at this point that we have to refer to collective bargaining agreements. If we talked before about the Workers’ Statute being the basic regulation of the employment relationship, the collective agreement is a specification within this relationship. Often, these agreements increase the amount of vacation days of the workers who can benefit from this agreement.

This is the result of collective bargaining between the workers’ representatives and the company. The workers who can benefit from this agreement depend on the scope of the agreement. There are several types of agreement depending on their scope of application. Some of the most common are

• Sectoral collective bargaining agreements: These stipulate the working conditions of a specific sector. Their application does not depend on the territory or the company, but on the sector in which the worker is employed. Examples of these agreements are those of construction, industry, textile, etc.
• State and national agreements: These agreements are applicable to the entire national territory. As they have this range of action, these types of agreements are published in the Official State Gazette.
• Interprovincial agreements. These are the least common. They cover the rights of workers in several provinces, whether or not they belong to the same Autonomous Community.
• Provincial agreements. Following the same logic, they apply at the provincial level in a given sector. For example, the collective bargaining agreement for the metallurgical industry sector in the Community of Madrid.
• Local or regional agreements: These are agreements applicable at the local or regional level.
• Company collective bargaining agreements: This type of agreement applies within the same company. They usually occur in the case of large companies, which have more than one work center. It is a way of guaranteeing uniformity within the company.

The right to disconnect from work on vacation

Vacations are days to really disconnect. However, in the era of hyperconnectivity in which we live, it is increasingly complicated to leave the work environment. Even though we are not in the office, we tend to be on email and messaging applications. This has increased exponentially as a result of teleworking. The possibility of connecting to work from anywhere to do small tasks, even on our days off, means that the disconnection is not total and we do not rest completely.

In order to recharge our batteries, it is necessary that the disconnection is as complete as possible. For this, there are certain recommendations that companies can make to their employees:

• Coordinate the work before leaving: a good way to disconnect is to know that the work is ready to be done. Therefore, a good coordination of the work before the workers take their vacations is essential for everyone to rest. When a worker’s absence is not well prepared, unforeseen events may arise that force him to break his rest and work. However, if it is made clear how the work is going to be organized in view of the vacations, the number of times that someone will need to connect from their place of vacation is significantly reduced.
• Leave the computer at the company: the computer or device you use for work does not have to take up space in your suitcase. If we do not include it in our vacation routine, it will be easier to forget about work for a few days. For this, it is advisable to delete all personal information on it. This way, a colleague can access it if needed, without having to call the person who is enjoying his or her well-deserved rest.
• Limit availability: always being available to your coworkers can make them call on you more often. Things like turning off the company cell phone, uninstalling messaging applications such as zoom or teams are actions that will help us to disconnect. In this way, colleagues will not contact others for matters of little importance. However, it is normal for someone in the department or work team to have personal contact with someone who is on vacation. This gives the security of knowing that, if it is really necessary, they will be able to get in touch with them.

How to schedule vacations effectively

How to schedule vacations effectively

In companies there is a system of hierarchy or priority when it comes to requesting vacation time. This can be linked to the responsibility of the workers within the company’s organization chart. The greater the responsibility, the greater the right to choose your vacation days.

However, this is only one of the criteria to be taken into account when choosing vacation days. There are other factors, such as seniority or children, that have to be taken into account when organizing everyone’s vacation. Whatever the way in which vacations are chosen, it is necessary for employees to be aware of it so that they can organize themselves. It is good for work teams to know what their colleagues’ vacations are, as well as to have a small meeting to organize the time when they will not all be available. One of the most common solutions for everyone to know when everyone is off is software.

Do you need help with your company’s labor management?

At Vasalto, we have been working in labor management for more than 30 years. We specialize in outsourcing payrolls, processing registrations and cancellations and all processes related to the management of labor relations. Our more than 30 years have given us a great experience in the sector. In addition, we are a company very involved with technology. Throughout these years we have developed a series of proprietary computer systems that allow us to manage more than 40,000 payrolls every month. In addition, we also have the best legal and accounting advice to offer our clients the best possible service.

At Vasalto, we believe that communication between people is fundamental. We make technology available to people, never the other way around. We work with technological automation solutions so that IT takes as much work off our hands as possible. This way, we have more time to dedicate to our clients.

If you are interested in learning more about our labor management services, at Vasalto we will be happy to help you. Contact us to get to know us and see how we can help your company.