How are holidays defined in employment?

[lindaandrews]

I am just a student so apologise if this sounds like a silly question, however, I would like to know how holidays are defined when you are employed.

For instance, why do some people say they get “28 days paid off every year”? What does that mean? I assume they don’t mean weekends so does that mean 28 working days (Monday-Fridays) they get off every year? If so, that doesn’t seem right because it seems so low whereas at school/university students get much longer holidays and I don’t think anyone is working 48/52 weeks a year.

Can you voluntarily ask your employer to let you have a two week holiday without pay in addition to your 28 day-paid time off not in the form of a sick note but just giving up money to have time off?

I don't know where you work but I've never worked anywhere where making your morning coffee is not considered part of your working day. You're exaggerating. I'm going to guess you're also one of the "back to the office" crowd who also thinks "water-cooler conversations" are necessary for innovation. But also that you can't make a drink during office hours. 😂

OP, what age are you? Do you not have any family members or older friends who work?

as PP have said, welcome to the real world .

Legal minimum is 28 days including bank holidays and that is all some firms pay.

I was in a job for over 20 years and had gained extra days, so by the time I left, I had 25 days plus 1 at Christmas, plus 8 days bank holiday.

Different firms can offer different incentives, but the norm is 4 weeks.

Worst thing about leave entitlement is not that it is only 5.6 weeks min Inc bank holidays...
Some jobs - particularly retail - you have to cover for others when they have leave. So - realistically - you can only get your 5 weeks off if you cover someone else's. You get paid the hours you cover, but it feels like you get no time off in the year.

You often also have to make sure you have cover before you book time off. And give plenty of notice, so a lack of spontaneity. Problems over annual leave often lead to high staff turnover, making everything seem a bit more difficult - asking strangers to cover.

Glad I'm out of retail (×3)... and pharmacy counter/back room... and dinner ladying. Civil service was great though.

they have other staff members to do that for them

I work for a university and our leave allowance is 25 days a year, pro-rata for part time workers.
In addition to that the university is closed for 14 days of the year. Through talking to friends I realise that this is more generous than any other employer.
Once the students disappear at the end of term, then the real work starts! And we enjoy the peace and quiet on campus.

Your post is a bit odd tbh.
It really depends on the job wether they'd let you have extra unpaid time off. Many work places would not be happy with this, as your colleagues would have to cover you.

I work in retail and get 7 weeks off(including bank holidays). One of those weeks is due to being there a long time. So the usual is 6 weeks. The management may let me take some unpaid leave? but it would depend who else is off at that time. Unless it was due to childcare or something you really couldn't help, they may not be very happy about it.