Articles From the Team

Unlimited holiday allowance

How does that sound?!

After a whirlwind few years and things now (finally) opening up and many people venturing abroad the opportunity to take as many paid holidays per year is looking more appealing than ever. Some companies offer unlimited holidays to their employees as a perk, Netflix and Linkedin to name a couple. There are some law firms who also offer this.

How does it work?

Ok so there are some rules! There’s a maximum amount of time that you’re able to take in one stint. You’ll also need approval from your line manage/hr. Depending on the time of year, workflow and staff on the ground at the time there are some barriers that could affect your leave being authorised.

Can this work?

Sometimes! It’s a popular perk for employees and for employers it’s a great selling point that highlights they care about the wellbeing of their staff.

Paid unlimited holiday allowance is already very popular in the USA but we’re also seeing it taking off here in the UK. In particular we’re seeing this perk with new start-ups and tech focussed firms but there is also some of the legal sector considering this as an option.

The standard allowance we see in the legal market is 25 days plus bank holidays, most staff are comfortable with this amount and with many firms this increases with length of service up to a maximum of 30 days. Firms who offer the minimum allowance of 20 days plus bank holidays may well see less interest and potential offers turned down due to this.

As great as it sounds there are some obvious downsides and barriers that could make it impossible for some firms to entertain. That said, I do think it could be something we see more of in the future as employees are being given a lot more autonomy and flexibility.