News

August 27, 2010

Staff spend eight hours a year to book holidays online

Office-based employees use an average of eight and half hours of work time per year to research and book their holidays, research from Employment Law Advisory Services (ELAS) has found.

The ELAS survey of 1,000 office workers revealed that the average amount of working time spent online organising holidays was eight hours and 24 minutes a year.

The research also highlighted that staff spend the greatest amount of this time choosing and booking hotels, followed by picking holiday destinations, selecting flights and booking extras.

“These small tasks soon add up,” said ELAS head of consultancy, Peter Mooney. “Most employers don’t mind turning a blind eye to workers using the internet for personal use as long as it doesn’t get in the way of their work. But eight and a half hours is the equivalent of an extra day of holiday for every member of staff.

“Employers should draft an internet access policy,” he said. “This forms a contract of employment so it becomes a disciplinary issue if employees ignore it.”

A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents said eight hours was an excessive amount of time for staff to be spending booking holidays at work. “January and February are the busiest months for booking summer holidays, 30 per cent are booked then, so it’s going to be more of an issue for employers then,” he said.

“However, if staff are using their lunch hour to make bookings it’s fair enough because it’s their own time to use,” he added.