Staff at stockbroking firm FinnCap will be able to take unlimited holiday from next year in a bid to prevent them burning out.
The company will change its leave policy to offer employees as much paid holiday as they would like, with a requirement to take at least four weeks a year and two-to-three days a quarter.
Sam Smith, chief executive officer, told financial news outlet Bloomberg that “there’s not a maximum, there’s a minimum you must take. The rest is up to you.”
The company has even drawn up a list of activities that employees should not feel they must take holiday for, including vet visits and calling in a plumber.
The London-based broker employs 155 staff and had to recruit 30 employees this year to cope with increased workload.
Virgin Management and Netflix were among brands that announced “unlimited holiday” policies in 2014, but critics were quick to point out that if employees felt stressed about workloads, they would still struggle to take time off.
More recently, companies including Bumble and Nike said they would give employees an extra week of paid leave to de-stress after the challenges of the pandemic.
However, wellbeing experts again warned that this could have the opposite effect of increasing stress for employees who felt unable to manage their workload with an extra week off.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Smith acknowledged this, telling Bloomberg: “Burnout is not resolved by a quick two-week holiday,” Smith said. “It is resolved by properly changing the way you work.”
HR opportunities in Accountancy, Banking, Finance and Insurance on Personnel Today
Browse more HR opportunities in Accountancy, Banking, Finance and Insurance
