Main News Desk

Sunrise calls for R.E.A.L. holidays for IT

~ half of IT service desk employees expected to continue working on holiday ~

June 03, 2008

Almost half of IT support workers are expected to deal with requests even when they’re on holiday, according to research unveiled today. As a result Sunrise, which makes software for the support desk, is calling for employers to implement ‘R.E.A.L.’ (Rewarded with Extra Annual Leave) holidays for IT - a period of one week every year, additional to the standard holiday allocation.

The research questioned 121 IT support staff from across the UK. 47 per cent of respondents reported that they are expected to answer calls while on holiday. Over bank holidays, the figure is 20 per cent.

“We believe that the IT service desk is getting a raw deal when it comes to holiday allocation,” said Tom Weston, executive chairman at Sunrise. “If it’s essential that employees answer calls on holiday, they should be given another week of R.E.A.L. holiday, to make up for the time spent working while on leave.”

Additionally, 23 per cent of respondents said they don’t turn their BlackBerry or mobile phone off during holidays, rising to 40 per cent over bank holidays.

“The increased availability of mobile technology has brought many advantages to businesses, but relying on an IT manager using his BlackBerry on holiday to sort out technical problems isn’t one of them,” continued Weston.

“It’s imperative that employees can switch off and completely relax on annual leave – and remaining at the beck and call of senior executives doesn’t constitute relaxation. IT service desks should be organised enough to continue operating effectively when key members of staff are on holiday. That’s why we’re calling on employers to recognise there is a problem and award ‘R.E.A.L.’ in recognition of this.”
(301 words)

Executive quote

“We believe that the IT service desk is getting a raw deal when it comes to holiday allocation,” said Tom Weston, executive chairman at Sunrise. “If it’s essential that employees answer calls on holiday, they should be given another week of R.E.A.L. holiday, to make up for the time spent working while on leave.”

About the company

NOTES TO EDITORS

About Sunrise Software (www.sunrisesoftware.co.uk)
Sunrise was founded in 1994 and is a leading independent provider of IT Service Management solutions.

Its customer base includes over 1,000 blue chip and public sector organisations, including names such as Anglian Water, Mothercare, Bank of New York, the NHS, QVC, Harper Collins, Rugby Football Union and Landesbank Baden Wurttemberg.

Sunrise is widely recognised for excellent service, and product innovation is key to its long-term vision. This is the strategy behind the launch, in 2003, of Sostenuto ITSM, a process driven, entirely browser based solution to complement Enterprise, its well-established client-server offering.

2007 saw the launch of Sostenuto Foundation, a browser-based solution that offers the core ITIL processes out of the box. Foundation allows customers to take a step-by-step approach to ITIL, an alternative to the 'ITIL all-in' approach available with Sostenuto ITSM.

For further information, please visit www.sunrisesoftware.co.uk.

Contact details

For further press information, please contact the team at LEWIS PR:
Email: sunrise@lewispr.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7802 2626
Web: www.lewispr.com Fax: +44 (0)20 7802 2627

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Sunrise calls for R.E.A.L. holidays for IT

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