Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5

Original poster

What's fair? Team of working mums and annual leave in school holidays

111 replies

Lovingmylife · 13/01/2020 17:13

I started a new role not so long ago and we are all working mums. Most with school age children, two with babies/preschool and two with older teenagers.

Our manager has told us that too many of us want Easter holidays/May half term and so it's causing a bit of a hoohaa.

Manager has said she will do first come first served unless we come up with a better solution.

OP posts:

FourDecades · 13/01/2020 18:28

I have school age children and l don't agree that parents should be given priority over non-parents. I also don't agree that seniority is also allowed.

Everyone plays a role in keeping that department running - cleaners, post staff, admin and CEO'S - in my opinion everyone is equal and should have equal opportunity to requesting leave

MarySidney · 13/01/2020 18:38

What about those without children? Are they just supposed to suck it up and not get an opportunity to take leave at Easter or Summer?

Quite. Each year I attend a summer school which is held in August. All kinds of residential schools, music festivals, conferences and so on are held in the Easter and summer holidays, often because they use university accommodation when the students aren't there. There are reasons, other than having children, why people might want time off in school holidays.

Chloemol · 13/01/2020 18:41

We had this issue and shared the annual leave out across the various holiday so everyone got their fair share. We tried the first come first served but that did not work as one person kept asking and got most of them!

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Families

Drabarni · 13/01/2020 18:41

People with children shouldn't trump those without.
It should be first come, first served.
I hate parents who think they automatically have special conditions in the workplace. Everyone is the same irrespective of reproducing.

Chloemol · 13/01/2020 18:42

Meant to say that also shared it out across all staff not just those with children as there were grandparents in the mix and some wanted holiday for nieces

Hollyhead · 13/01/2020 18:45

I’m a manager - the first step is to work out what the minimum staffing level is for each holiday (for example Easter and Christmas are very quiet for us so I only need 25% of people in), half terms are busier so I need more in. Once you know how many slots there are you should be able to divide fairly this year and then rotate the rota in the future.

janj2301 · 13/01/2020 18:48

I work in a large store. We had to book ALL our 2020 leave on October 1st. No time off allowed Easter or Christmas. Every year we get a survey and they ask us about our work life balance HAHA....

LolaSmiles · 13/01/2020 18:50

I hate parents who think they automatically have special conditions in the workplace. Everyone is the same irrespective of reproducing
I don't think parents should have special privileges, but I don't agree everyone is the same. Sometimes personal situations matter.

If there was a tie between two people then in a fair and progressive workplace I would expect some consideration of personal circumstances.
E.g someone wanting a given week as normal holiday Vs someone wanting a given week because their sibling does the bulk of care for a parent and they need respite care in order to have their own holiday. In that situation the person giving respite would get priority to me.

One of my friend's husband teaches in a different LA to the one they live in so sometimes has different half terms to their DC. Their DC has autism and struggles with busy places so she always asks for DH's half term off so they can go away as a family. In that situation I would say she should get priority.

Sometimes personal circumstances mean that all isn't equal.

Original poster

Lovingmylife · 13/01/2020 18:51

Good question re what I want. I just want to be able to take leave when I want it 😂

I have worked Oct and February half term And just used holiday clubs. I booked May half term ages ago but still waiting for it to be approved as I want to go away. I also only want to take one week at Easter. Which I think is probably ok to say can only take one of the two weeks. Summer holidays won't be an issue as unlikely we will all want the same weeks and there are enough of us to cover. Christmas ended up not being a problem as it just worked out the minimum staff were met without the need to negotiate.
The only person who doesn't have kids is my manager and she is trying to be fair and also trying to get us to sort it out ourselves.

This is my first time back in the workplace for a number of year and the last time no one on my team had kids so it wasn't an issue.

OP posts:

gamerwidow · 13/01/2020 19:02

We book all leave as first come first served with the exception of Christmas at my work. In theory no one gets priority, in practice my manager books his leave first then everyone else has to fit in round him (but that's another issue).
For Christmas leave we give those who had to work the previous year first refusal for the holiday (apart from my manager who just refuses to take a turn of being in, again whole other issue!)

AlexaAmbidextra · 13/01/2020 19:37

The school holidays are initially reserved for anyone with school age children, then opened up to anyone at the end of January.

This system has worked well for the 17 years I have worked here.

That’s outrageous. I’m amazed that in 17 years no childfree employee has complained.

HunterHearstHelmsley · 13/01/2020 20:13

First come first served unless the team work it between themselves. That's between all the team, not just parents.

As a manager, I would work out Christmas leave. It's an absolute ball ache. It takes a ridiculous amount of time. I wouldn't be willing to do that for all annual leave.

Cremebrule · 13/01/2020 20:26

I don’t really like first come first serve or ranking by seniority. I think it would be fairer for the manager to work it out if there are major clashes at Easter and at half term but defining the criteria must be a bit of a nightmare eg does a holiday abroad trump childcare requirements etc.

Half terms may well be trickier as there tend to be more childcare options available at Easter and summer.

I’m just glad it’s not likely to be an issue for me in my current workplace as there tends to be enough cover regardless.

AlexaShutUp · 14/01/2020 00:27

I'm shocked that some employers prioritise on the basis of seniority. It's totally unfair to give senior staff the flexibility to choose if more junior staff then find that their options are limited. I've always taken the opposite view - that if there is a clash between the leave that I want to take and that of a more junior member of staff, then I should be the one to suck it up and provide cover because I'm the one who gets paid more! Generally speaking, it's possible to compromise anyway, but I'm gobsmacked that anyone might think it's reasonable for managers to throw their weight around in this way.

teenagetantrums · 14/01/2020 00:38

Well we're l work is a first come first serve basis. We have a holiday timesheet for whole year and if you book it first it's your holiday. We are a small team and not allowed to overlap holiday. However it two people have school aged kids so they always want school holidays off. That suits me as l don't want to be going on holiday when kids are off.
I can see it would be a nightmare if we all had young kids though. I guess the fairest thing would be to split school holidays in that caei

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 14/01/2020 00:40

List the 13 weeks of school leave on a board now starting with September 2020 for the school year ahead.
Tell all the staff they can put their name against two specific weeks with a maximum of two names each week. This will then be guaranteed.

Once everyone has their guaranteed two weeks off, open the remainder of the slots on a rolling basis depending on how kuch cover you need.

So if a max of 4 people can be off on one week, open October half term 3 now, first come first served for the remaining slots.

Next month open the December holiday slots for anyone to fill them. Month after the Feb leave, month after Easter, month after May and month after that the summer.

In January start again.

cabbageking · 14/01/2020 00:56

There are other term holidays and it would be sensible to share these over the year so no one person books the lot off.

It would be unfair to open up a date to one set of employees but not another.

BarbaraofSeville · 14/01/2020 06:03

First come first served isn't fair because then the sharp-elbowed just get their first pick all the time, leaving little or nothing for anyone else. Such as the example of taking laptops home to make requests at 00.01 on NYD.

Requests for peak weeks should have to be submitted by a certain date, and then what is available shared out evenly so anyone who has made a request gets a fair share of the popular weeks.

Do men fuck about like this at work? No, probably not

Probably because most men won't think to make holiday requests months in advance unless asked to by their wives ( insert obligatory NAMALT disclaimer)

SimonJT · 14/01/2020 06:25

We have first come first served at work, I’m a lone parent so I also buy additional holiday and take unpaid parental leave. It isn’t cheaper than childcare, but it is the better option for my son.

AlaskaElfForGin · 14/01/2020 06:43

The school holidays are initially reserved for anyone with school age children, then opened up to anyone at the end of January.

That's a dreadful way to do it. Before I had my DCs we always used to go on holiday with my sister, BIL and their DCs. I would have been mightily pissed off if we hadn't been able to go because of a rule like that.

Stompythedinosaur · 14/01/2020 06:51

I share school holidays put equally between those who want them and put in their requests by a certain date.

tangledyarn · 14/01/2020 07:01

No children here. I like taking some leave at easter and during the summer holidays. Firstly over Easter due to bank holidays you can get a long stretch off for little leave. It's my birthday in august and all my friends have kids so if I want to go away with them I also need holiday then. Sounds like it's not an issue in your workplace but I'd be very annoyed if I could never have leave in the school holidays because I dont have kids.

SnuggyBuggy · 14/01/2020 07:02

People should have to take turns for Christmas and Easter. I once worked somewhere where the same people hogged all the leave at Christmas and it caused resentment.

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 14/01/2020 07:07

Oh fuck off. Of course people with no children or very young ones might want to take school holidays off.

I'm child free but have booked Easter off because with the bank holidays I get more leave. So shoot me. Don't be so selfish.

Dozer · 14/01/2020 07:10

First come first served is simplest for the employer, but not fairest. Fairest IMO involves keeping track of holidays over a few years and negotiating, which is harder to manage but can be done if people are up for it.

Flip

1 2 3 4 5