to think I am right!

[freddiefrog]

This has been going round and round for weeks now, I'm sick of arguing about it and getting to the point where I'm doubting myself.

I'm contracted to work 2 days a week (Wednesday & Thursday) so my holiday allowance is pro-rata - 35 days for full time employees, mine is 14 days.

I want a week off during the Easter holidays so put in a holiday request ages and ages ago, it was signed off and all ok.

Then I get an email to say that my days had changed to Monday & Tuesday due to my holiday on Weds/Thurs.

So I phone and point out I'm not working at all I have booked holiday for the 2 days I'm contracted.

Office lady says yes, she knows I'm on holiday, that's why she's changed my days

I say no, I'm using my holiday allowance, I'm not swapping days, I'm on holiday all week.

She says, no, if I want the whole week off, I need to book the whole week off - i.e. use up 5 days.

I've tried explaining until I'm blue in the face that I only need to book holiday to cover my actual contracted hours, if I'm just swapping days, I'm not on holiday. We're now in a stand off.

AIBU to think I am right? Aren't I?

I'm managing to completely confuse myself, so I'm not sure anymore

[fascicle]

The woman's level of incompetence is staggering. Is there anyone else in the HR department you can deal with (if not, you could refer the woman to ACAS or the Instute of Personnel and Development so they can tell her how to calculate holidays). Or is the holiday policy for part-time workers included in your contract or written down somewhere so that you can refer to it?

Presumably she doesn't think full time workers should work weekends and do extra hours to make up for their time off?!

[HotCrossCatPuss]

Crikey, she sounds like a real asset to HR! not

[Pandemoniaa]

You are right. You work 2 days a week therefore you have a pro-rata holiday allowance. If you had to book 5 days holiday in order to be absent from work for 2 days then you'd be entitled to a deal more holiday allowance!

[verytellytubby]

Let us know when she replies. I'm still flabbergasted at her stupidity.

[GoldenGreen]

Oh dear. HR lady is going to feel very silly indeed when this finally dawns on her.

[AnastasiaBieverhausen]

Shamelessly marking my place to see the outcome of this.

[Bambalam]

She is a dick, of course you're right. If she's full time, ask her if she has to take 14 days annual leave, or just ten, when she has a fortnight off.

[foxrivereight]

euphemia afaik bank holidays arent pro ratad , everyone is entitled to the same no matter how many hours (that's how my company work anyway)

[freddiefrog]

My boss replied, just short and sweet - don't worry, will sort it out

She's not replied, I know she's read it as I get a read receipt.

Euphemia everyone gets bank holidays, then the 35 days on top. Although I'm not contracted to work bank holidays anyway, so does that mean I technically should get extra days?

It's only a small company, about 5 full time staff plus me. She is the HR Department!

She was actually beginning to convince me she was right

[ModreB]

Ha, we have an electronic leave system, so if someone works only half days, say mornings, but 5 days a week, which works out at 17.5hrs a week, they are entitled to a full holiday entitlement as their working day is half a normal day. This also means that they cant book half days leave.

But, if someone works 17.5 hrs over 3 days, say Monday,Tuesday and half day Wednesday, they are only entitled to half the full time holiday allowance as they only work half the week, and they can book half days as part of the time they work full days.

Try explaining that to our thick HR department Took me about a month before they understood.

[pompompom]

We get 40% of 35 days, then 40% of bank holidays regardless of which days of the week we work.

But it depends on your contract

[foxrivereight]

Maybe its the type of work i do then ? We are 24 hour service with shiftwork so we all get the same bank holidays , because it's nor fair if someone is always off the bank holidays and someone works every one because of the way the rotas work .

[Startail]

And the prize for one brain cell goes to Freddiefrogs office lady.

[raisah]

sounds like HR at my place, bit clueless about employment rules!

[InLoveWithDavidTennant]

yanbu! but you know this already

what utter madness!

[2beornot]

Freddie, do you work in the NHS by any chance? And have you recently moved to e-rostering? This is the type of issue that can happen, particularly when you are part time and not a shift worker. She has to request that you have all five days off (so that the system doesn't just change your hours), but you only need to use 2 days leave.

I'd keep a close eye on your leave entitlement if I were you!!

[bringonyourwreckingball]

Euphemia the part timers/bank holiday issue is actually a bit of a legal grey area. My employer does give me a pro-rated amount of extra holiday in lieu of bank holidays as I don't work Mondays and I do think that's legally the right approach but there's a case that suggests otherwise.

Freddiefrog - she's bonkers. If she won't back down ultimately you can tell her she's proposing to discriminate against you under the part time employees (prevention of less favourable) treatment regs. But you might not want to take it that far if your manager is backing you.

[Jux]

This happens so often. Can't they teach HR people what pro rata means before they let them loose on the world? . It's not even difficult.

I once had two guys working piggy-back for our department (alternate days so there was always cover). They got x holiday each, but somehow HR had decided that if one was on holiday the other had to cover him. Which meant that in the end neither actually got any holiday at all. Took ages to show HR how it worked, and many diagrams and coloured pencils died in the demonstration.

[Fakebook]

Sounds like a simple case of thickitis.