New job, new contract, wrong number of annual leave days.

[Readytomakechanges]

My new contract has just arrived in the post. I work part-time and so my salary and annual leave are pro-rata at 60%
In the contract, my annual salary is stated correctly (60% of full time), but I'm pretty sure the number of annual leave days that it lists is the full-time entitlement.
There is nothing in the contract that states that annual leave should be pro-rata, but it's a standard contract with some bits changed to make it specific to each employee. The bits to be changed are in bold and the number of annual leave days are in bold.
Do I question this with HR or, if I sign the contract provided as is, can I take all of the holiday?

[TeaBelle]

No, you need to correct it. It's clearly an error which would be picked when you try to take nearly double your entitlement

[CampingAddiction]

It may be that they have added your Pro Rata'd Bank Holiday allowance to your annual entitlement ? E.g I get 100 hrs annual leave and 32 hours bank holiday entitlement for workign 20 hours a week which is 0.54 % of full time - total 132 hours to take per year

[lougle]

Will you work 3 days per week or will you do 5 4.5hr days each week? If you're doing short days the actual number of days will stay the same. If you're doing 3 full days per week you should have 60% of the total days. This is why AL expressed in hours is best!

[Readytomakechanges]

I think full time people get 33 days per year excluding bank holidays. My contract says 33 days holiday.
It's entirely possible that no-one would notice if I took the amount of days written on the contract (the way my working is set up), but it feels dishonest.

[CampingAddiction]

If I were in your shoes I would tell them. It''ll make you look honest and thats always a good thing in a new job ! If you keep quiet - one day someone will suss it out and then you'll look really bad. They may even deduct your salary.
I can truly understand the temptation though !

[Readytomakechanges]

I will contact HR on Monday. Unfortunately they've been entirely inept so far.

Could they really deduct salary later if I acted according to the contact they provided and made me sign?

[dancemom]

Do you work reduced hours over 5 days though? Which would mean you get the same number of days off, just less hours required?

[Readytomakechanges]

I work 3 days (Wed-Fri)
What should happen with bank holidays? These are not mentioned in the contract. It just says "you will be entitled to 33 days annual leave. "

[contortionist]

You should get 33 * 3/5 days off, including both bank holidays (which you won't have very many of, since you don't work on Mondays) and vacation.

[Ktay]

To make it fair with bank holidays it should be (33 + 8)*3/5. Then deduct days to account for good Friday and any other bank/public hols that fall on weds/thurs/fri (eg Christmas or new year).

[lougle]

As long as your employer gives you equal to or more than the statutory minimum (5.6 weeks, which is 16.8 days for a 3 day week), there is no right to paid back holidays in addition to 'normal' annual leave. Bank holiday absence can be included in the annual leave total.

[TeaBelle]

It feels dishonest because it is. I don't understand where the issue is - take what you are entitled to, no more, no less.

[Sixweekstowait]

I once worked with someone that this happened to and she benefitted for a few years before HR discovered their mistake. We worked in a rights based organisation so I was sure she knew she had been getting the wrong number. I never felt the same again about her - whilst she was getting her extra days off, the rest of us were covering the work load and we were a charity.

[Karoleann]

NO - don't say anything... you'll need those days for plays and sports days and everything else. If its in your contract its fine - maybe they're being generous?

[lorelei9here]

I'm amazed you think no one will notice
Speak up, it's the decent and professional thing to do.

[PointlessFriend]

I'm glad you are going to speak to your HR dept. It would be really dodgy to try and 'keep' the days.

[ilovesooty]

Karoleann I can't believe you're serious.

[Ktay]

On Lougle's point, if they don't try and compensate for missed bank hols then someone who works Weds-Fri risks having 4 fewer paid bank hols than colleagues with a 3-day working pattern that includes a Friday. So the employees who miss out are worse off because of their part- time status. I think it would be a pretty stingy employer who tried to pull that off intentionally.

[Ktay]

Apols for the double post

[lougle]

Ktay, that's not so. It just means that employees who work Monday-Friday have more of their leave used for bank holidays so can choose how to use less of them. If a full-time employee receives full pay for a week with a BH (4 days normal pay plus one day AL) and a 3 day per week part time employee also receives full pay (3 days normal pay), they have been treated equally. If they have BH included in their AL it doesn't matter if they are rostered to work on BH or not.

[Ktay]

I probably didn't myself particularly clearly - my concern is more if you compare two sets of part-time employees on a 3-day week, one of whom works Mon - Weds and one of whom works Weds - Fri. Most years, the former will have more bank holidays occurring during their working week. If employers make no allowance for that, the people with the Weds - Fri working pattern end up working more days most years than those who work Mon - Weds. I'm talking here about workers who have an AL allowance and then receive bank and public hols on top.

Many employers don't think to account for this, and some part-time workers deliberately include Mondays in their working patterns on purpose so they benefit from as many bank holidays as possible. But there are many employers that seek to make it fair to all part-time staff by using the method I mentioned above - ie they calculate ([full-time holiday allowance]+[bank and public holidays])*number of days worked each week/5. Employees then have to deduct any bank/public holidays that fall during their working week from this leave allowance.

I'll leave it there and agree to differ as it's not that relevant to the OP!