When you take a holiday from work it's not just your passport and the number of pairs of shoes to take that you need to worry about.

For many workers, the days leading up to a holiday can be a highly stressful time with current projects being passed to colleagues. Even when you have made contingeny plans, you're often faced with a mountain of things to do when you return from your break.

Do you regularly miss out on holiday time because you've got "too much to do" or does your company have any inventive methods to make sure staff holidays can be truely relaxing?

This question is now closed. See the responses below or take a look at the latest Question of the Week here.

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As a Manager I sometimes wish my staff would take their holidays a bit more regularly. Obviously it’s great to have the commitment from them that they’re willing to put all the effort into the job, but it’s actually counter-productive if they’re always feeling overworked.

We’re in an industry where we don’t really have a ‘quiet period’ so for anyone waiting for things to slow down, the right time to take a holiday never really comes. That results in a bottleneck of requests around the end of the year, which I can’t really reject when they’re made within the permitted time frame.

So I’m left with three choices: Be the Scrooge who turns down holiday time, let everyone have time off and employ temps to cover, or allow unused time to roll-over to the next year.

I just can’t win!
P, Cheshire

I deal with personal banking accounts and theoretically have the chance to swindle money, so it’s part of my contract that I have to take a two-week holiday at least twice a year (during which any such swindling would be discovered).

It’s the best contract clause ever!

Because everyone is in the same situation we all know that we’ll help each other out so nobody gets that pre-holiday rush. The bosses also allocate work accordingly, knowing full well when you can or can’t take on additional tasks.

Having worked in other industries and seen the stress that can build up with people not being able to get a proper break, it’s something I’d advise every company to take on.
J, London

Having a husband who works as a chef is not easy to deal with. The long hours and obscure shift patterns I can deal with, having to wash all manner of things from his aprons I can just about stomach, but the holiday situation is getting beyond a joke.

His restaurant is closed for two-weeks at the end of August and if we want a holiday this year that’s our only window. He won’t even pluck up the courage to ask for an alternative date that would fit in better with my plans. That’s it – end of debate.

His Head Chef is what you might call ‘volatile’ – not a bully, but bordering on it. In the cheffing world it’s not the done thing to speak out about this kind of thing if you’re looking for any kind of sustained career. Everyone just shuts-up and accepts the rules.
I, Winchester

I never miss out on holidays as they are a vital part of my being able to keep going. You need to unwind and forget about the office for longer than a weekend or eventually lethargy sets in.

I always try and pick my holiday around a time when I know things should be a bit quiet - of course you can't always work this out properly but it’s good to try. At the end of the day I leave a lot of detailed instructions full of contingency plans for as many people as possible. I end up having to do a weeks work in the last day in the office but that means I can at least relax whilst I am away.

I always advise senior people that I'll be absent and flag any potential crisis looming. Finally, I do give contact details but I say unless it's a matter of life and death (and let's face it unless you are in the medical industry nothing generally is!) the number is not to be used.
M, London

Coming from a huge multinational to a small local company I’ve definitely seen a change in the way holidays are managed. I used to be able to give my boss a nudge a couple of days before I needed to go away and know there would always be someone to cover – now it’s an absolute minimum of six weeks notice for even one day off.

Gone are the days when I could take an impromptu long weekend and surprise the girlfriend.

I totally understand the reasons behind this – but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with.
H, Dundee