Stay prepared, stay productive – your complete guide to managing absence during Easter and May holidays.

As the Easter and May bank holidays approach, businesses across the UK are beginning to feel the pressure of managing employee absences. With team members eager to make the most of the long weekends and warmer weather, HR departments and managers often face a flood of leave requests, sometimes overlapping, sometimes last-minute. Add unexpected sickness absence into the mix, and it’s easy to see how quickly things can unravel.

For businesses to stay productive during this period, a clear and fair absence management strategy is essential. Whether you’re a small business or managing a large workforce, the key lies in preparation, transparency, and the right HR tools. Here’s how you can keep operations running smoothly over the upcoming bank holidays while keeping your people happy.

Why Bank Holidays Require Extra Attention

Bank holidays fall at predictable times—but that doesn’t mean managing them is always straightforward. In the UK, Easter and the May bank holidays often lead to clusters of annual leave requests, especially when employees try to maximise time off by combining holidays with weekends.

For example, booking just a few days around Easter can result in a 10-day break. This strategic planning by employees is understandable, but it can catch employers off guard if requests aren’t submitted in good time. Additionally, businesses that require customer service or on-site support over these periods must juggle the need for cover with staff availability. Bank holidays may also result in an increase in sick absence due to staff feeling too hungover to come into work or even pulling a sickie to have the bank holiday off with friends and family. Managing sickness absence in this case is essential and HR managers should review their absence management policy to ensure it’s up to date with employees contracts.

Without a proactive approach, bank holidays can quickly result in staff shortages, decreased productivity, and internal friction. Offering flexible working, making reasonable adjustments, setting trigger points on HR software and monitor absences is an effective way to combat and managing absences.

1. Plan Ahead – Start the Conversation Early

The first rule of successful absence management over bank holidays? Don’t leave it until the last minute.

Encourage employees to plan and book their time off as early as possible. Communicating key dates in advance gives teams the opportunity to coordinate workloads and avoid clashing leave requests. Consider setting internal deadlines for holiday submissions, particularly around peak periods like Easter and May. If an employee fails to book their leave within the timeframe, then both the employer and manager have the right to decline the request. Workplace adjustments and flexible working is a great way to managing short term absence during Easter holidays.

Top Tip: Using trigger points, send out an early notice using your HR software to trigger automatic reminders ahead of bank holidays. This helps prompt staff to plan accordingly and ensures your scheduling isn’t thrown into disarray.

Having a clear, well-communicated absence policy in place also goes a long way. Employees should know how to request time off, the approval process, and any limits on how many people can be off at once within a department. It will also display the leave type and the eligible employees who can take that time off.

2. Leverage HR Software to Take Control of Leave Management

Relying on spreadsheets or email chains to manage leave might work for a small team, but it quickly becomes unmanageable as your organisation grows. During busy holiday periods, visibility and automation are your best friends.

That’s where Activ People HR can make a real difference.

Our cloud-based absence management module allows HR teams and line managers to:

• View all planned leave and public holidays in one interactive calendar.

• Spot overlapping or conflicting requests instantly.

• Automate approval workflows and reduce admin time.

• Generate reports to track patterns of absence or leave balances.

With everything stored in one place, you eliminate confusion, reduce manual errors, and can make informed decisions about staffing. You’ll also spend less time chasing paperwork and more time focusing on business-critical tasks.

Our employee self-service portals also ensures employees consent with booking time off and helps employers effectively manage:

• Frequent short term absences
• Unplanned absences
• Increasing holiday entitlement
• Disciplinary procedures
• Uuthorised absence
• Long term sickness absence
• Long term absences
• Employees return to work
• Identify eligibility criteria for time off

3. Ensure Fairness and Transparency in Holiday Allocation

It’s not always possible to say yes to everyone, especially during popular holiday times. This makes it even more important to have a consistent and fair process for approving leave.

Some businesses operate a “first come, first served” approach, while others prefer to rotate leave opportunities so that no one is always the one working the holidays. Shift-based organisations might implement a points-based system or use leave quotas to ensure equal opportunity. Additionally reasonable adjustments to the rota maybe required to effectively manage employee absence as unforeseen circumstances may arise.

Whatever method you use, it’s crucial to:

• Be transparent with staff about how decisions are made.

• Apply rules consistently across teams.

• Use data to back up your decisions.

This helps build trust and prevents workplace resentment. With Activ People HR, you can also allow employees to check their remaining leave balance and holiday calendar themselves, putting the power of planning in their hands, reducing the stress of managing absence as this can cause too much pressure for HR teams during peak periods.

Prepare for the Unexpected – Sickness, Emergencies & Last-Minute Leave

Even the best-laid plans can be disrupted by sudden absences. That’s why it’s wise to build some flexibility into your rota or staffing plans during bank holiday periods.

You might consider:

• Identifying a pool of backup staff who can be called upon if needed.

• Offering remote or hybrid options where possible.

• Monitoring attendance trends and flagging frequent absences for review.

Activ People HR’s real-time absence tracking and reporting tools give you insights into recurring patterns, enabling early intervention where necessary. This means you can support your team appropriately while maintaining business continuity.

Maintain Employee Morale During Busy Periods

While the focus is often on keeping shifts covered and productivity high, don’t forget to support employee wellbeing too. Bank holidays are a chance for staff to rest and recharge, and offering flexible working where possible can go a long way toward boosting morale.

If you’re unable to approve everyone’s preferred leave dates, try offering alternatives like flexible hours or the option to carry over unused days. Recognising the effort of those who do work bank holidays, through time off in lieu or small rewards, can also help maintain motivation.

Final Thoughts: Make This Bank Holiday Season a Breeze

Managing absence over Easter and May bank holidays doesn’t have to be stressful. By planning early, using HR software to streamline processes, and fostering a fair and flexible culture, you can avoid disruption while ensuring your team feels supported.

At Activ People HR, we’re here to make absence management smarter, simpler, and scalable. Our software gives you the tools you need to stay in control, even during the busiest times of the year.

Ready to take the pressure off this holiday season?

👉 Book a free demo today and discover how Activ People HR can help your business prepare, plan and thrive.