part-timer treated less favourably - advice please

[Kbear]

My boss has given the whole company the day off on Christmas Eve. Some of us are part time, some full time. My colleague is part time and doesn't work Tuesdays so doesn't benefit from the extra day's holiday. Should she be allowed to take an extra another time?

Our feeling is yes she should. Boss says no, it's a perk and it's just unfortunate she doesn't benefit from it.

Can anyone advise please?

BTW we don't have an HR dept = very small company.

YABU. He's closing the office for Christmas Eve. This is at his discretion. She's not entitled to anything.

I would say no. I don't know if that's legal or not though. At my old work place our boss closed the office for half a day on a day that I happened to have annual leave. I didn't ask for half a day in lieu and it didn't occur to me to ask.

It’s not an extra day of holiday though, it’s closing a business down for a day.

YABU that’s standard for PTers. She doesn’t get an extra day for Christmas either, for example.

Is that HR policy though or just your opinion - Doyoumind? I'd be grateful for an HR point of view. The whole company gets an extra day's holiday and she doesn't? I thought there was law that protects part timers so they are not treated unfairly.

Thanks

My work closes for two extra days every Christmas and mine is pro rata into my holiday allowance so I don't miss out. However, everywhere I have worked let's those working on Christmas Eve go home at lunch time (but if you want the whole day, you have to take it all as annual leave). So I'm torn.

Yes she does get an extra 'day' for Xmas Day pro-rata. Check the gov.uk website for details.

OK to seems most people think she's wrong - interesting.... Thanks for your views.

Any one else?

She is entitled to a pro rata percentage of bank holidays including Good Friday and Christmas etc.

As a part timer there's no way I'd be making a fuss about this. The other staff aren't getting an extra day off to take as they wish - the office is closed.

It boils down to me getting an extra day off this year and she doesn't get one.

I'm full time - she's not.

So she is being treated less favourably? no?

Would it be better if boss agrees it's unfair and nobody now gets it? Id just see it as boss doing something nice for Christmas Eve.

No she shouldn’t get the day off another day. She sounds entitled.

Disclaimer: I don’t work in HR but I am pretty sure you’re correct. This is effectively an additional day’s leave, albeit one that’s being forced on a particular day. Your colleague should be given a pro rata equivalent.

No. He just happens to be using his discretion and closing early. It is one of those things.

We have someone like this at work who kicks up a fuss about every little thing, perceiving a slight or less favourable treatment; the result has been that all discretionary days have been axed completely, even the ones she did benefit from. So nobody benefits at all.

No. Its stuff like this why employers stop nice things. Too much hassle. Id be happy that my colleagues got xmas eve off. Genuinely.

No. The business is closing down for the day. Thos happens all the time. I always book in annual leave for xmas eve but every job I've ever had allows staff to finish early, often after a half day. I don't get back a half days leave as its just how it is.

I work part time, sometimes thats just the way the cookie crumbles. I wouldnt be making a fuss about this. When bank holidays fall on my non working days I don't have to use any of my bank holiday allowance so I gain there.

Even when I worked full time I always booked Christmas Eve off as I had a seven hour journey to gey home, and the office would always close early.

“No she shouldn’t get the day off another day. She sounds entitled.”

she is entitled. To be treated fairly.

I know I have already commented, this is so annoying I keep thinking about it!!

It isnt annual leave or a bank holiday. She needs to stop being so bloody entitled. She is absolutely why some employers just stop doing nice things.

It's not extra holiday though, it's a treat for those in the office on that day.

If the boss brought in bacon breakfast rolls for the office on her non-working day would she expect to be bought one on her own the next time she worked?

She might be right in theory, and therefore entitled to a proportion of a day off in lieu. But in the years when Christmas Eve does fall on her working days she would also only be entitled to have part of the day off and would have to give up some of her remaining annual leave to cover the rest of the day. So win some years, lose others, I would just let it go if I was her.

It isn't an entitlement she has - like PTO for example - it's just the office happening to be closed on that day. Those circumstances just wouldn't happen on any other day.

Your colleague should be given a pro rata equivalent

But in lots of workplaces people have different contractual entitlements to annual leave - there's no law that they all have to be treated equally in terms of annual leave.

It's because the office is closed. It won't affect people's contractual entitlement to leave and will merely be discretionary, like bonuses.

OP, if your colleague worked that day, she would get it off. But she doesn't work that day so she will have It off anyway.