Unlimited Holiday: A Game-Changer Or Not And Where To Find It?

In today’s busy world, finding the right balance between work and personal time is tough although more and more people are admitting that they value their own well-being.  The idea of unlimited holiday sounds really attractive because it could change how we take time off from work. Instead of having a set number of days off, you could take as much vacation as you need.  But, is this idea as good as it sounds? And what does it actually mean “unlimited”?  In this article, we’re going to look closely at the idea of unlimited holiday allowance and introduce you to how to find employers who offer this benefit if it is something that you want.

How do unlimited holidays work? What does it mean when a company offers unlimited holidays?

An employer’s offer of unlimited leave policy means that an employee can take as many days off as he or she wishes in a year. There is no law that prohibits an employer from granting unlimited holidays to employees, so it is an internal arrangement. However, the statutory minimum must be met, as every employee is entitled to paid holidays. 

As per the regulations outlined in the Working Time Regulations of 1998, individuals employed in the United Kingdom have the right to receive at least 5.6 weeks of paid vacation annually. For a full-time worker with a consistent 5-day work schedule each week, this corresponds to 28 days of paid leave. It’s important to note that this allowance can encompass public holidays as well. This is commonly known as “20 days plus public holidays“.

Is unlimited holiday paid?

It depends on the employer and the company’s internal arrangements. There is no requirement for it to be unpaid, but there is also no requirement for it to be paid. Of course, there is a fundamental difference in understanding it as a benefit when it is unpaid, because then it may not be entirely profitable for the employee to use it.

But is unlimited holiday policy really a thing in today’s companies?

Yes! Some of them are:

• Linkedin – Linkedin introduced unlimited holiday policy called. ‘Discretionary Time Off’ (DTO) in 2015. Employees don’t have a fixed limit on the number of days off they can take each year. Instead, they collaborate with their managers to ask for paid time off whenever they need it.
• Visualsoft – they introduced unlimited holidays in 2014 as a part of new flexible work package. Just one year into the new initiative, they reported an increase in staff morale, creativity, productivity and even client satisfaction. In addition to unlimited holidays and flexible working, the company also offers staff free breakfast, free protein and health supplements, and subsidised gym memberships to keep employees healthy and motivated.
• Evernote – they offered people unlimited vacation, “so they can take as much time as they want, as long as they get their job done“, said CEO Phil Libin for New York Times. Below we take a closer look at this approach.
• Kronos – introduced this policy in 2016 called myTime wanting to be more competitive in recruiting. In the article for Harvard Business Review, CEO of the company, Aron Ain noticed that at the beginning most people reacted favourably — but a minority did not. Despite this, he decided not to give up this benefit.
• Buffer – this company takes a slightly different approach. They pay each teammate at least $1,000 to take a vacation every year. They introduced this perk after realising that people having offered unlimited holiday allowance were barely taking any days off.

Pros and cons of offering unlimited holidays

A benefit that attracts employees

It is an incredibly distinctive and innovative employee benefit. This approach to paid time off from work breaks away from the traditional structure of fixed vacation days and instead empowers employees to take the time they need, without a predetermined limit. It is not untrue to say that this is a very original benefit that few companies offer. Such solutions retain employees and attract new ones because (at least for now) it is something that is difficult for competitors to beat.

Greater flexibility and reduced job burnout

With this solution, employees can take time off for personal needs, family events, or even to recharge without worrying about their annual quota shrinking and, for example, not having days off to go on holiday with a child or take care of a seriously ill parent. According to research by Small Business Prices, additional holiday is currently a popular perk for employees, with 26.28% claiming they would value this over a pay rise. It is, above all, a psychological freedom for employees, freeing them from a certain burden of worrying about the future and trying to anticipate unfortunate accidents. It is also about maintaining a satisfying work-life balance, as it allows them to stop calculating which events in their lives are more important – summer chill or saving days for unexpected circumstances. This translates into overall job satisfaction because you feel that you are being taken care of from above – even if you have to work harder and give more in a certain time, you can then take it back in the form of a rest without excuses or remorse.

Sense of responsibility 

This benefit demonstrates a high level of trust in employees. Companies that offer unlimited holidays implicitly trust their workforce to manage their time responsibly, fostering a sense of ownership and empowerment. This gives employees a higher sense of responsibility.  You may have encountered this in your company, that people go on leave when they are needed the most, but they can technically leave everything because this is how it works, they have the right to use the amount of days off. In the case of unlimited holidays, the employee does not miss important tasks because he knows that his later, longer-than-standard rest is a reward for his efforts now.

Risk of overuse

One downside is the risk of overuse of this benefit. Of course, as mentioned above, offering it implies trust in the employees, but people are different and do not always take their work seriously. It is then difficult to draw consequences for long-term absences if it is offered from the beginning.

Problems in cooperation

Frequent or very extended absences can be a great problem if the employee is part of a team and his work is largely collaborative. there’s a possibility that multiple team members might take time off simultaneously. This could leave crucial tasks or projects without adequate coverage, potentially impacting project timelines and team efficiency. This will also be a planning challenge for HR departments.

Fake benefit

This is a disadvantage from the employee’s perspective and we want to warn employers if they are thinking of introducing it to realistically never give the chance to take more than the legal amount of days off. The risk is that with the high pace of work and the existence of this benefit, you will never use it, because the employer will always say that now is the “hot time”, “now you are needed”, but after all you can always take as much unlimited holidays as you want, and in reality you never get the opportunity. On the other hand, offering a dimension such as unlimited may lead to the employee never reaching for it himself/herself. This is what CharlieHR has experienced and what led to the withdrawal of unlimited holidays in this company.

Unlimited holidays – how long?

This question can leave the employee feeling very anxious. It is known that unlimited leave is not about letting the employee take a whole year off and paying for it… but if it is unlimited, it means how much? The lack of clarity makes the employee want to be fair but does not really know how much he can let himself take. Is there a limit of days in a row? This should be predetermined if you don’t want to lead to overuse. Unlimited sounds good in a job offer, but you should be clear about what you mean by that.

Do you feel convinced about this kind of benefit or not necessarily? Find the company you work for on gowork.uk and let us know what is their approach to days off!