DH works as a video editor. He's fairly senior in a small company which covers jobs abroad and in Lodnon, but most of the time they all work from home. Aside from the issues that they cut everyone's pay by 10% several years ago, and still haven't reinstated it, and that they regularly expect him to pay for hotels and other expenses up front, paying him back the following month, and for a long period of time weren't even paying him on time, sometimes up to a week and a half late, this last year they were so busy with work that DH ended up taking 3 weeks off in December, as they were too busy for him to take a week off earlier in the autumn. While he is now the only one doing his job, they regularly use freelancers and agency staff where needed, and by law, have to employ crew from the residing country when they work abroad. Despite this, DH often gets asked to manage film crews abroad, and edit, meaning he ends up working into the small hours while on a job, and then into the small hours when he gets back from a job to catch up with the other work. He does soemtimes get a lieu day, but I'm almost certain it never gets paid back fully.
I understand a lot of the job requirements are tough, but in trying to plan a holiday this year (our first in many years), DH keeps saying he'll have to check with work as to whether he can get that week off, or that he's certain they won't allow him to take that particular week off.
AIBU to think that his employer shouldn't be able to dictate when he does or doesn't take holiday? While having him off for most of December has been lovely, he's worked himself ragged this year, and has been getting more illnesses than usual, which he works through (as he works from home). I just feel his work is taking the piss? Or AIBU and this is just the way it goes now? I'm self-employed, so I'm not used to the employer/employee relationship these days.