Should child-free employees be banned from taking time off during the school holidays?

When Adele Leonard sought to book in annual leave for this July way back in January, she thought she was being organised – yet, two colleagues had pipped her to the post.

"There are six receptionists and only two can be off at the same time. I discovered July and August had been blocked out by my colleagues with children a year ago," Leonard, a receptionist at a GP practice in Essex told the Daily Mail.

"My appeals fell on deaf ears. I was told ‘you can take time off in September’. I'm now looking for a new job because, as the only childless receptionist, this is going to keep happening."

Leonard isn’t the only child-free person to have their leave denied in favour of parents. "Once I was denied annual leave in school holidays because ‘I don’t have children’," Twitter user @Harriet46191056, wrote.

"[I was] denied annual leave over Christmas in favour of those with children. I am my parent’s only child, they wanted me to be with them…" said @aitchwasps.

Elsewhere, @wheresclair wrote: "I was once denied annual leave on the grounds that my colleague had children and therefore had a greater need."

While the school holidays are generally the only time that parents can travel with their children, and finding childcare can be difficult which means they have to take leave, July and August are also the hottest months of the year meaning they are a popular holiday time for all.

And of course those without children may still holiday with teachers or those restricted to taking holiday during the school holidays.

But, should child-free people really be banned from taking leave during the school holidays in favour of parents?

"For workplaces to be truly inclusive, companies need to ensure equity alongside equality. By banning particular people from taking holiday at certain times, you are favouring one over the other.

"This could hinder staff morale, as you’ll essentially be giving preferential treatment to those with children," Dr Aaron Taylor, head of School of Human Resource Management at Arden University, says.

"It may also open a can of worms – are your employees with children better valued than those without children? Ensuring fairness throughout is key to avoiding employees feeling hard done due to their personal life. Here, the first come first serve policy is arguably best."

Read more: The little-known family travel rules that could spoil your next holiday - The Telegraph, 5-min read

It’s a tough situation, as parents need the flexibility to work around their kids summer schedules, but child-free people shouldn’t be denied holiday time with their family and friends either.

Recent research from the Trades Union Congress found that 63% of working mums struggle to find enough child care to cover the school holidays.

"It’s a case of balancing the needs of all employees to make it work for everyone," Dr Taylor continues. "It’s not uncommon for working parents to stress over the constant juggle of work and childcare, especially during the school holidays. There are flexibility options that can help with this juggle such as remote working, different or compressed working hours or redistributing workload.

"For this to be implemented fairly, however, the option of flexibility should be offered to all employees – not just those with children and all communication around the flexibility that is offered should be clear, consistent and honest."

If you are child-free and refused leave, Dr Taylor recommends open and honest communication with your manager and team to ensure everyone gets the time off they want and need.

Read more: Can you leave children home alone during the school holidays? - Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read

"There’s no single right answer here. Employers have a difficult task in balancing a lot of annual leave requests over summer and different organisations have different annual leave policies," he adds.

"Speak to your manager and any affected team members and see if you can reach a compromise."

Watch: William and Kate get the school holidays off to a flying start