Every business hits the same December problem: half the team wants the same fortnight off, and whoever asks last feels hard done by. The fix isn't approving or refusing requests faster — it's a leave-approval system you publish in early November, before the requests arrive. Set the rules while the calendar is still empty and December sorts itself out fairly. Leave it until the requests are already competing and you're just picking winners, which is how resentment starts.
Why November is the deadline, not December
Leave decisions feel personal because they are — they're about someone's family Christmas, their kids' school holidays, the trip they've been planning. Make those decisions reactively, request by request, and every "no" looks like a judgement about the person. Make them against a system everyone saw in advance, and a "no" is just the system working. The only way to get there is to publish the rules before anyone has asked, which in practice means early November for a December that runs smoothly.
The system, in four rules
You don't need a policy document. You need four decisions, written down and shared:
- The coverage floor. For each role or function, the minimum number of people who must be working on any given day over the period. This is the constraint everything else fits inside — you're not approving leave against a blank calendar, you're approving it against a coverage requirement.
- The request cut-off. A date by which December leave requests must be in. Requests after it are handled on a best-efforts basis, not first-come. This stops the person who asks in mid-December from displacing someone who planned ahead.
- The tie-break rule. When more people want the same days than coverage allows, how do you decide? Pick one and state it: rotation from last year (whoever worked last Christmas gets first pick this year), seniority, genuine first-in, or a split-the-period compromise. Any defensible rule beats an undefended judgement call.
- The directed-leave backstop. If you close over part of the period, say so now and explain how a shutdown interacts with leave balances — because a planned closure changes the whole picture (see below).
The fairness that prevents the resentment
Three habits turn a set of rules into something people accept: publish the rules before requests open, apply them identically to everyone including your best performers, and write down each decision and the reason for it. The written record matters less as protection and more as consistency — it's how you make sure the tie-break you applied to one person is the one you apply to the next. Fairness people can see is worth more than generosity they can't predict.
Where directed leave and shutdowns fit
Many businesses effectively close for part of the Christmas–New Year period, and in some cases you can direct employees to take annual leave during a shutdown. But the rules here are specific and have changed in recent years: most modern awards now require reasonable written notice, and there are limits on directing employees who don't have enough accrued leave to cover the closure. The detail lives in your specific award or registered agreement, not in a general rule of thumb — so if a shutdown is part of your plan, confirm the current requirements for your instrument before you rely on it. Our note on Christmas shutdown notices covers the notice side, and understanding your annual leave liability first tells you how much of the period your team's balances can actually absorb.
FAQ
Can I refuse a leave request outright?
Annual leave is taken by agreement, and an employer can refuse a request on reasonable business grounds — coverage being the obvious one. What you can't do fairly is refuse inconsistently, which is exactly what a published coverage floor and tie-break rule prevent.
What about employees with no leave left who still want time off?
That's a conversation to have early, not on 20 December: unpaid leave by agreement, or a plan to work the period. Surfacing it in November gives everyone options; discovering it late gives you a gap in the roster.
Do casuals fit this system?
Casuals don't accrue annual leave, but they still have availability and expectations, and your coverage floor still depends on them. Include them in the planning even though the leave mechanics differ.
Sources: Fair Work Ombudsman, Directing an employee to take annual leave and Annual leave. Award shutdown rules vary — check your specific award. Current as at 31 July 2026. General information, not advice.
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About the author
Nick Lucock
Chief Executive Officer, Valont
Nick Lucock is the Chief Executive Officer of Valont and leads its day-to-day operations across Finance, People, Operations and Growth. He runs the team that does the work Valont publishes about: the bookkeeping, BAS and payroll runs, the award interpretation on every pay cycle, the IT and security layer, and the advisor cadence that keeps an owner's back office current. Nick writes the practical side of Valont's library, the processes, systems and tools that keep Australian SMEs compliant and growing, and he is the author of most of the operational articles on the site. He works with owners across construction and trades, health, hospitality and professional services.
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