Bank Holiday entitlement for PT workers

[SlightlyDefective]

Hi,

My colleague and I both work 3 days per week and so our holiday entitlement (including Bh) is 3/5 of our full time colleagues. This seems about right as we both work the same amount of days per week. I however, work Mondays and she doesn’t. This means that I need to use my holiday entitlement for each bank holiday Monday (and as I am part time, I don’t get the full entitlement, but have to use 7 days holiday) that occurs through the year, and she obviously does not. Is it just my bad luck that I work Mondays?

[WellIWasInTheNeighbourhoo]

Its not really bad luck as you are only working 2 days in a bank holiday week and your colleague is working 3. Bad luck only in that you don't get as much choice in the matter, not that you get less time off.

[BertiesShoes]

Most people that I know who have worked 3 days, including myself until very recently, generally chose not to work Mondays for this specific reason - our BH entitlement was pro rata at 3/5 of 8, so 4.8 rounded up to 5 days, but we only had to cover the Xmas/NY days (3 at the most, depending on which days they fell on).

The remaining BH entitlement was available as extra holiday, 2 minimum but some years it was more.

I knew quite a few people who initially started doing Mon-Wed then changed to Tues-Thurs for the extra holidays.

[SlightlyDefective]

Hmm, I was thinking the same! The place we work aims to treat us all fair. I think I am just feeling a bit hard done by as we both have 19 days holiday entitlement, yet she gets to take them all whenever suits and I have to use almost half of them on Bank Holiday Mondays!
The only other way it could work is I’d maybe we had the same holiday entitlement(not including Bh) and then get whatever bank holidays we happen to work on? But then surely I would have the advantage, which is probably less fair?
I think I will just have to be silently grumpy that I work Mondays 😂

[Yubaba]

But it’s not half, there are 8 bank holidays (in England) and only 4 of them always fall on a Monday, 1 on a Friday and the other 3 move every year.

[Dustyhedge]

That is your choice to work Mondays and it is why many part timers avoid Mondays. The pro rata calculation gives you more freedom if you don’t work Mondays but some years if you do work Mondays you’ll find you need to eat into your annual leave to cover the bank holidays. Eg I’m sure there has been a year recently where 6/8 bank holidays fell on a Monday. That is a bit of a pain if you get 4.8 allowance for 3 days a week.

[dementedpixie]

@SlightlyDefective

Hi,

My colleague and I both work 3 days per week and so our holiday entitlement (including Bh) is 3/5 of our full time colleagues. This seems about right as we both work the same amount of days per week. I however, work Mondays and she doesn’t. This means that I need to use my holiday entitlement for each bank holiday Monday (and as I am part time, I don’t get the full entitlement, but have to use 7 days holiday) that occurs through the year, and she obviously does not. Is it just my bad luck that I work Mondays?

Basically yes she gets a better deal as she gets more choice of when to take her holidays whereas some of yours are tied up with bank holiday days

[LIZS]

It is not always 7 days though, only 4 bh(assuming you are England ) are fixed.

[BelleBlueBell]

I don't know exactly how it works but I used to work somewhere that it became obvious that a couple of staff members had deliberately choosen not to work on Mondays to gain more holiday.

When the HR department realised the holiday policy was changed so that all the part timers got the same holiday regardless of what days they worked.

I'm sure it must be a common way to do it and someone else will know the exact formula

[HauntedPencil]

I don't work Mondays for this reason. It's fair - but I'd rather have the extra holiday to take when I choose

[dementedpixie]

They do all get the same amount of holiday though. Just that OP needs to use some of hers to cover bank holiday mondays

[dementedpixie]

And lots of part time staff deliberately choose not to work a Monday so they have more choice in when to take their days off

[Apandemicyousay]

I don’t get why full timers get paid to be at home on a Monday whereas part timers that work Mondays comes out of Annual leave

[HauntedPencil]

@BelleBlueBell

I don't know exactly how it works but I used to work somewhere that it became obvious that a couple of staff members had deliberately choosen not to work on Mondays to gain more holiday.

When the HR department realised the holiday policy was changed so that all the part timers got the same holiday regardless of what days they worked.

I'm sure it must be a common way to do it and someone else will know the exact formula

They don't gain more holiday - they just get a choice when to take it - I'm off on Mondays and all my colleagues get a paid day so I'm entitled to 3/5 of the day - and if someone usually worked Monday they would only be entitled to 3/5 if it so they are getting 2/5 too many and that gets taken off.

Though I'd much rather fridays off so I'd welcome them just giving everyone the same I doubt here they would!

[dementedpixie]

@Apandemicyousay

I don’t get why full timers get paid to be at home on a Monday whereas part timers that work Mondays comes out of Annual leave

It comes out of their annual leave too

[HauntedPencil]

@Apandemicyousay

I don’t get why full timers get paid to be at home on a Monday whereas part timers that work Mondays comes out of Annual leave

Not all of it does only the additional bit they aren't entitled to. If that makes sense

[Jelly0naplate]

Our workplace does this, if you don't work Mondays you essentially get more annual leave to use at other times. Very helpful for school holidays. Also school also has inset days on the Mondays after half terms and it means we never have to worry about booking these or finding childcare.

[Alternista]

I used to work somewhere with a really complicated formula to offset this. I was part time and booking leave seemed to require more brainpower than all of MENSA out together.

So, solutions do exist. Fucked if I can remember what though!

[Carycy]

I used to work two days a week including Monday and this happened to me. It was a pain. My only solution was to work an additional day on the bank holiday week and get the leave back. Is that something you could occasionally do?

[SlightlyDefective]

Thanks guys, it’s very true that it’s often only 4 or 5 days Mondays (dumbass me somehow managed to agree to working Friday, Sunday and Monday FML 🤦‍♀️) as I needed to negotiate a working pattern that let me work school hours due to childcare! I have since swapped the Friday for a Tuesday so that I have 3 days in a row work which is a bit better.
I think that I should just be thankful that I have a job that allows me to work around hours 😊

[TroysMammy]

I'm the opposite to you OP. I don't work Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning, working the rest of the week. My colleague works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning, off the rest of the week. We both have 17 days holiday which includes pro rata Bank Holidays. I've used the gov calculator and we have 14 days annual leave and 3 days Bank Holiday. However she has 17 days holiday and the additional Bank holiday Mondays off. So she will get 9 days Bank Holiday this year, 3 entitled to, 2 on rostered day off and the other 5 Mondays and one Tuesday and I get 2 but paid for 3.

Last week someone was talking about being off Bank Holiday which I pointed out it's a normal day off for me. I'm going to escalate it because I expect she gets paid all Bank Holidays and the ones in our holiday entitlement.

[ArosGartref]

When I'm in charge, I'm going to raise the minimum statutory leave to 36 days and abolish bank holidays.

[BelleBlueBell]

@Alternista

I used to work somewhere with a really complicated formula to offset this. I was part time and booking leave seemed to require more brainpower than all of MENSA out together.

So, solutions do exist. Fucked if I can remember what though!

This sounds exactly like the place I worked

I can't remember the exact details @HauntedPencil but somehow some part timers ended up working fewer hours than others based on the days they'd chosen to work. It was years ago and maybe bank holidays were treated differently to how they are now but it was a big thing when the formula was introduced as it was hard to understand and those who'd lost out weren't happy

[Dee1975]

You both get the same allowance. So that is fair. And you both have to use an annual leave day for a bank holiday if it falls in your normal day. The rules are the same for both of you.
Of course that means that if you work Mondays, you have to use more of your annual leave on a Mondays. You don’t lose time off. She has the same amount of time off as you. You just lose your choice on 4 plus days. It’s unfortunate. Can you change your day?

[Alternista]

Oh god, the memories

[SlightlyDefective]

@Carycy

I used to work two days a week including Monday and this happened to me. It was a pain. My only solution was to work an additional day on the bank holiday week and get the leave back. Is that something you could occasionally do?

What I tend to do is take time in lieu whenever I work an additional day for whatever reason so i have a few extra days as backup to help during the summer hols and half terms!