I need help penning an annual leave request

[dizzydixies]

it sounds ridiclious I know but I have been asking for the 31st Dec 2009 off as annual leave since Dec 2008. My DH and I both work shifts and take time off/leave to help with the kids - we also have a childminder and call in the help of my aunt/friend on a very few occassions

anyway, on hogmany I am supposed to be starting at 11pm and working until 7am. DH will be starting at 4pm and working till 4am so we have between 10.30pm and 4.30am to cover the childcare somehow.

now my CM doesn't work those hours obviously.
DH cannot get it off at all - absolutely no compromise there at all.

I have requested it several times and they keep fobbing me off but now it is being sent right upstairs to someone who is an absolute stickler for formalities etc

HD have advised I write an email explaining all the efforts I've taken to try to cover this time

we've no family support. I can't swap with anyone as nobody wants to work over the bells and there is NO childcare available at that time of night

SO can anyone help me with some wording that explains it all - I'm not an idiot but this is last chance saloon and short of taking the kids in a backpac I'm not sure what else we'll do

[gigglewitch]

dear bla bla....

[DaisymooSteiner]

How old are your kids? I thought that parents of children under 5 were entitled to unpaid carers leave if necessary?

[gigglewitch]

As I have previously discussed over the past eight months with mr X, I would like to formally request annual leave on xxxday 31st December 2009.
...if you wish to be assertive add
I am making this request under my entitlement to family leave, due to the fact that I have no alternative childcare. I understand that this leave may be unpaid.

I have made every possible effort to make arrangements, obviously well in advance, but these endeavours have been unsuccessful due to the lack of childcare at this time and also the fact that dh [bla bla] is working [whatever shift]

err, is that a start?

[gigglewitch]

if you want to go the 'Parental leave' route, look here

[dizzydixies]

I have kept a leave day to cover it and fortunately DH works for the same large 'security' firm so they know I'm not trying to pull a sly one

I've made a start on it but I'm worried that I sound like a whingey mare!!!

[dizzydixies]

Daisymoo - unfortunately if they can site operational reasons they have the right to deny parental flexible working hours and hogmany is normally pretty busy!

[gigglewitch]

valid point - but they have five months to cover it - which is well over the amount of notice that you would be expected to provide - the statutory application time is 21 days iirc? Basically you're saying to them that you are giving them so much extra time that of course they will be able to cover it
Perhaps offer to leave notes and/or 'train' whoever is covering it, if that's relevant to the situation - goodwill tends to make them look more favourably on it.

[dizzydixies]

gigglewitch it would have to be someone already trained to cover as otherwise they wouldn't manage- they've 4 full shifts of personnel to ask but haven't bothered - I'm supposed to have made the effort to do that even though I'm off on matty leave

[flowerybeanbag]

I think they are probably more likely to be happy to give you one day off as holiday than a week parental leave anyway tbh, one days is much less disruptive at a busy time of year.

They could postpone the parental leave if it was not at a convenient time for the business - it's not necessarily about giving them loads and loads of notice so that they can get cover, it's more that if it's a particularly busy time for the business they can perfectly legitimately postpone the leave until a less busy time regardless of how much notice they've been given.

[dizzydixies]

parental leave isn't an option due to the nature of my work

it has to be agreed by the head of our dept who is practically only a myth which is why I'm asking for help with the wording

the nature of my job isn't to do with 'business' per say so they have more scope for refusal iyswim?