The Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) is alerting HR and payroll professionals to prepare for a large proportion of their workforce taking time off in September and is advising them to check that they have contingency plans in place to ensure that businesses still run smoothly.

Research from the CIPP has revealed that September is the most popular month to go on holiday. Nearly a quarter (23%) of respondents who participated in The CIPP 2012 Holiday Survey indicated that September is the most desired month to go on holiday, followed by August (17%) and then June and July (both 13.6%).

Other interesting findings have shown that almost half (47%) are planning to go on a beach vacation, followed by an activity-based holiday (21%). A third (34%) of respondents said that their next holiday destination is in the UK, followed by the USA (11%), Spain (7.4%) and then France (6.7%). Sadly, however, one in six (16%) said they have no holiday planned in 2012.

Mr Lindsay Melvin, Chief Executive of the CIPP, said: “In some places in Europe, such as Italy, many businesses close down for the month of August so that workers can enjoy some time off. Based on our research, it seems that this year in the UK the most popular time to take annual leave is the month of September.

“In light of this, HR and payroll departments can expect to be inundated with holiday requests and questions from workers around how much leave they have and whether they can take holiday at the same time as their colleagues. Therefore, we encourage HR and payroll departments to ensure that they contingency plans in place to deal with a high volume of their workforce being on leave over the next few weeks.”