The countdown to Christmas is on and for many UK businesses, this peak period brings both opportunity and a significant logistical challenge, with annual leave and staff sickness impacting both staff and leaders.
To highlight the challenge for both employees and employers, we’ve analysed the factors that shape December resource planning and shared some advice for managers and leaders to improve annual leave and sickness rates.
There’s a clear employee preference for taking time off during the holidays, as nearly 44% of UK employees plan to take annual leave in December.
This reflects a healthy desire for rest, but when combined with the normal seasonal rise in winter illness and the stresses of the festive period, resource management becomes key.
The holiday surge sees the 27th December cited as the single most requested day off.
This occurs alongside current high sickness rates, where the average UK employee took 9.4 days off sick in the past year.
Minor illnesses like colds and flu spike during the winter months, placing further strain on short-term sickness.
What’s more, mental health conditions such as anxiety, stress and depression also account for 22.1 million lost working days in the past year, as leading causes of longer-term absences.
To maintain leadership presence, managers were 40% less likely to take a sick day than other workers, highlighting a rise in presenteeism and pressure on leaders to keep things running when absences take a toll.
Additionally, the average employee is still holding onto five unused annual leave days from the previous year, which could be contributing to further burnout and illness absence.
The pre-Christmas rush presents a challenge to resource managers as December is described as the most stressful month of the year by half of all Brits and 77% of workers think their mental health worsens around the Christmas and festive period.
This research shows more needs to be done to support both managers and employees to maintain a level of business service whilst supporting employee wellbeing.
For many industries, holidays are only possible because of essential workers.
Over 1.1 million employees are estimated to work on Christmas Day across the UK. The Health and Social Care sector accounts for the largest share, with an estimated 440,000 workers on duty, providing vital care during this time.
It’s a tricky challenge for managers to juggle, and finding the right balance is key for employee wellbeing on both sides. A proactive approach reduces both planned and unplanned absence issues. 
The combination of high planned annual leave volume and record sickness rates means December is often a period of stress for UK management teams.
Lucy Harvey, COO at Stribe, says: “It’s a tricky challenge for managers to juggle, and finding the right balance is key for employee wellbeing on both sides. A proactive approach reduces both planned and unplanned absence issues.”
To navigate the resource challenges and protect your teams from excessive pressure, Stribe urges UK businesses to implement the following strategies:
Look at previous year’s leave peaks and pinch points so you can make fair, confident decisions before the rush hits.
Actively encourage employees to book and take the remainder of their annual leave before it becomes too late in the year.
Make space for regular check-ins, whether through 1-2-1s or wellbeing surveys, so you can spot shifts in how people are feeling and offer support early, before things start to dip.
Clearly communicate the availability of Employee Assistance Programmes (EAPs) and mental health support, acknowledging the heightened stress and pressures of the Christmas and New Year period
HR software can make a lot of difference to businesses, especially small businesses with less resources.
Having the right software enables you to track leave, plan in advance and fairly implement a balanced approach to holiday management
By focusing on fair resource management, proactive planning and open communication, employers can ensure their teams feel supported and prevent the festive crunch from pushing staff to burnout.
– https://www.cipd.org/knowledge/culture-change/health-wellbeing/health-wellbeing-work-report/
– https://www.hse.gov.uk/statistics/dayslost.htm
– https://timetastic.co.uk/blog/the-state-of-annual-leave-statistics-for-2024-2025/
– https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/more-1-million-workers-will-be-work-christmas-day-says-tuc
–https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/news/healthandcareworkerstopthetableforchristmasdayworking
