Being intentional

We try to be intentional about everything we do. We believe it’ll make us a better place to be. We’ll also attract and retain the best people.

Why not 'unlimited' holiday?

We considered an ‘unlimited’ holiday policy but decided against it. There are lots of well-documented pros and cons but one article we found that really resonated with our thoughts was this one by CharlieHR.

Bottom line: 'unlimited' holiday simply isn't equitably fair, can increase anxiety and introduce uncertainty, and leaves open the risk that (ironically) people don't get enough downtime.

What matters most?

As a leadership team, we've thought through what’s most important. It's a simple list:

• We want (and need) tribe members to take time off so they can rest, look after themselves and be in a position to do their best work. This means spreading leave across the year so they don’t burn out from long stretches without a break.
• We don’t want any member of the tribe to worry that they might be thought of badly for taking time off. Clarity around allocated days removes any uncertainty or anxiety over how people might be perceived for taking time off.
• We know that whilst tribe members are away resting, other tribe members pick up the slack. We want to make sure that this ‘extra’ workload is distributed evenly.
• We want to be much better than the 'average'. So we want to be generous in the amount of leave given. We want tribe members to know that they work in an environment that values them and always seeks to be better than the ‘average’ wherever possible.

Our holiday policy

As a result, this is our holiday policy:

• We offer 25 days of paid annual leave/holiday.
  • These 25 days do not include bank or public holidays. This is 8 in the UK and 10 in Massachusetts. Our EOR tribe take their local public holidays too!
• Everyone gets 1 day off for their birthday. Again as paid leave. 🎁
• We match mandatory paid leave over the Christmas period. This works out as approximately a further 3 days. 🎄 🎅🏽 ❄️
• We have a company-wide 22-day minimum limit. Everyone is expected to take this time. It’s a responsibility as well as a right.
• We also strongly encourage everyone to take off at least five days off each quarter.
• We allow tribe members to carry a maximum of 5 days leave to the following year, although these must be used by the 31st March.

Conclusion