Is Richard Branson's Limitless Holiday Entitlement Policy Really Such a Good Idea?

In Richard Branson's family offices, the employees are entitled to take as much holiday as they wish. Or so the headlines would have us believe.   Branson calls this a 'non-policy' and states that, “It is left to the employee alone to decide if and when he or she feels like taking a few hours a day, a week or a month off, the assumption being that they are only going to do it when they feel 100% comfortable that they and their team are up to date on every project and that their absence will not in any way damage the business – or, for that matter, their careers!”

This idea, which he borrowed from Netflix, is designed to boost morale, creativity and productivity amongst his staff but some commentators are not convinced.  A recent article in the Guardian newspaper pointed out that the last line of Branson's quotation makes it clear that people's jobs could be on the line if they take too much holiday or take it at the wrong times.   Another Guardian article agrees that the ways in which taking a holiday could “damage the business” would need to be very clearly defined with examples to make it practicable.

These detractors also mentioned how implementing this 'non-policy' could be problematic for businesses as they would not know from day to day which of their employees was going to be present or absent.  Another potential problem for employers could come in the form of discrimination claims.  Branson's definition is highly subjective and could lead to employees being treated differently depending on their job role or the speed they work.   It could also lead to some employees being able to take a great deal of holiday and some being able to take very little due to variations in work load.  This could lead to breaches of health and safety regulations because employees are not taking enough time off.

Although this idea of offering employees limitless holiday entitlement is a potential headache for some types of business, it does make sense for businesses, like Netflix, who are struggling to keep track of how many hours their staff are working anyway due to more flexible working arrangements.  For these firms, the focus is on what work employees produce rather than how long they are in the office so these sorts of practises do make sense.

However, for companies, particularly small businesses, where it is important to have people on the premises at certain times then it is very difficult to see how this scheme could work.