Articles From the Team

Holiday Emails

It slowly crept up on us, the improvement of mobile technology, cheaper roaming costs and the reliance on the handheld device and now it seems pretty much everyone is contactable whilst on holiday whether home or abroad.

The initiative detailed in this article http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28786117?SThisFB is getting a very positive response it seems from people who are envious of the work life balance offered by Daimler.

In short, Daimler use a standard response offering an alternative contact whilst the employee is on holiday otherwise the email is automatically deleted. Staff don't return to a mountain of emails about a long resolved crisis.

Brave move from Daimler and perhaps one that makes those in a client facing role shudder but it's not something that I think I could personally embrace. I've found the 'once a day' technique works for me, checking emails just once for five minutes and only replying to anything that couldn't wait until my return. Carrying your mobile to the pool is a step too far for me (I've learned!) but leaving the phone at home would mean I would spend more time worrying what 'could' be going on than what the reality really is.

Do you agree with the holiday deletion policy? Could it work for you? As a client how would you feel to be 'turned away' ? We would be interested to hear your thoughts.

For more information please contact BCL Legal or call 0845 241 0933.