Time off work to move house

[catmumof1]

Pretty sure IANBU but looking for some outsider opinions.

Me and DP have just bought a house, DPs first and my second so it's a really special life moment for him.

We finally have a completion date after 4 months and as soon as we had it DP asked for the time off of work.

It's been rejected! (the same as every other bit of leave he's asked for, but we've made do and worked around it so far)
The reasoning is that they've already got 2 people off that day from the office of 150 and team of 20!
The holiday policy of 2 off is to make sure they have enough staff to cover for emergencies and sick leave, I appreciate that moving house isn't an emergency but it is short notice leave that's not possible to change so imo similar to a funeral in terms of importance.

He's basically been left with the options to call in sick or just not turn up, both will likely result in a disciplinary.

The best part is they've just offered him the 8th of October instead I'm not sure if they're clueless or just total arseholes.

Basically WWBU to call in sick when they know it's our moving day!
Are there any employment laws applying to this kind of stuff?

He was also told in the snow that because we don't have DC he would have to go into work even though it was dangerous on the roads!
They're horrible employers but we can't really afford to loose the income

It's a nuisance but there is no way you can compare a house purchase to a funeral.

You don't have children so childcare isn't an issue, he doesn't need to be there - you will all be packed in advance and the removal men won't need you there other than for any queries and you can do that. Once they have gone clean the house and job done - you can meet him at the new house when he finishes work.

Has he tried asking for unpaid leave?

I get it's a pain but needs must. If he can't be there you'll manage. It will be fine.

Can’t he just join you after work? What is he expected to do, don’t you have movers?

I’ve moved 9 times and not taken time off. Just done the heavy work at weekends (if the property sales haven’t crossed) or get removals

We can't afford to get movers and there's no one we can ask to help.
Movers aren't really the norm are they?
Maybe we are being unreasonable!
It will be a complete nightmare to move on my own, I don't know how I would be expected to move a sofa up a flight of stairs by myself! I'm capable of getting the van to the new house but unloading it and going back for the rest of the stuff (can't drive two cars by myself either) won't really be possible in the time frame.

Are you selling your house the same day then? So it needs to be emptied?

Maybe he can load up the van before work or the night before then you drive it to the new house and upload when he gets home?

Is it more than one can load? What about a renting a Luton van?

Movers are normal, but if you can’t afford it you can’t afford it. Does make life a lot more difficult though

Yes we're selling the current house and have to be completely out by 2pm but obv no guarantee when we'll get the keys as we're in a chain.

We're hiring a Luton van which should fit most things but we have stuff that 'needs' to be taken by car. The cat among other things.

I didn't realise that movers were normal, I don't know anyone who's used them. Mumsnet is worse than Pinterest for finding out new things I should be spending an entire months pay on...

I think the problem is all he can do is phone in sick or not turn up- effectively the same thing since they know he wasn’t sick. That’s likely to result in a disciplinary and that’s pretty serious- in less professional companies he could just be straight sacked. There aren’t really any options that I can see

I didn't use movers but I did use a local 'man with a van. Cheaper than actual movers. Just had everything packed when he got there, that I could pack.

I moved alone. I am a lone parent. So made sure the man helped lifting etc. You can often request 2 men, but that's process.

We'd never have been able to move house ourselves and hired movers. I understand why you're so stressed out! Can you get anyone else to pitch in and help that day?

If there's any way to get some money together, I'd try to at least hire some physical help for the move.

We’ve used man and van too. Usually pay by the hour so if you can help them out it’ll reduce the bill. We paid around £200 vs £800 ish for movers

Does 'can't afford movers' mean 'if we have movers, we'll have nothing left in the bank and won't be able to pay the mortgage next month' or 'if we have movers, we can't afford this other thing we want that isn't essential/we'll have to scrimp and scrape for a while, but we'll get by'?

If it's the second, I'd definitely have a think about which should take priority. There was quite a long thread recently about having movers vs doing it yourself, most people who'd done it themselves strongly recommended getting in a proper removals company.

You need a man with a van OP! I moved alone last year as DP had to go away with work and I got a van with two men for just under £200, they were fab. Just get everything boxes ready to go. It would be nice if employers gave time off but if they have too many offits just one of those things I’m afraid.

Sorry, is everything happening on the same day? Out of one into another? Do you have any sort of cross over period?

Worst case advertise on your local FB pages for day labourers/man with van, so at least you have some extra arms and muscle to heft the big stuff.

Prioritise that and just get it all in the front door. Moving stuff to the right rooms etc can be done later on.

It'll be a few tens/hundred cash in hand job, but needs must.

They are being horrible, you're right but not giving him time off for moving isn't unlawful unfortunately.

I'd try and get a different moving date or follow some of the suggestions up thread.

Some movers wont let you help with lifting etc as it has elf n safety implications. But yes yes to getting a removal company - its worth every single penny imo.

I don't think you can force them to let you have time off so thinking practically here are some of the things I did:

a cattery is cheaper than a removal company, you can put the cat in a cattery for 2 nights

load up your partners car with all the stuff that was going to go in the car the night before and he can drive it to work with him

A man and van might be more affordable.

any friends or relatives willing to store some extra boxes of stuff for a week either side of the move if you pack up early.

can he work a reduced day/take a longer lunch for the sofa

Complete on a Friday so he’s there to sort the house out over the weekend. Hire a man and van for the day.

Maybe his employer should be paying for your movers if his presence is that vital that day! Even teachers (who don't get term time holiday days) are allowed time off to move. My employer also a moving day which doesn't come out of our annual leave allowance.

The vendors had already put their stuff into storage so we asked if we could start moving our stuff in. We had everything, including ourselves, moved two weeks before completion!

Assuming you've got a decent relationship of sorts, ask the vendors. They may have empty rooms or a garage you can start moving stuff into right now.

cancel your luton van and get movers. it won't cost THAT much more than doing it yourself and it's worth it times a thousand

Can he see if the two who already have leave are willing to swap? Would they give him the afternoon off or allow him to leave earlier?

Can the cat go in the cattery for the night?

Can you change moving dates?

Can you pack the van the night before and sleep on the floor? You only need to pack the heavy things and then the next day you can pack the light items whilst he is at work.

YABVU to expect him to get leave.

Pack everything other than a mattress and some bedding and any expensive TV / computer stuff) the night before (hire Luton van) then before your DH leaves for work that morning, put it all in the van. You both move cars so you're not blocking driveway etc.

DH goes to work, you get keys for new house, you unpack valuables off Luton van and then unpack the rest of it when DH gets home. It'll be a tiring couple of days but you can do it.

I also agree with a pp that if your DH now phones in sick, he's likely to be disciplined.

We've never hired movers - although I do think it's the norm - but it's been a choice for us between movers and (for example last time we moved) new carpet upstairs.

Well the OP said she couldn’t afford movers ? And she had no one else to help,,,,

What country do you live in? I live in Australia and we are pretty protected.

I would just call in sick, then again I work for a massive company who tried to deny a coworker some time off so he can go to his dads funeral

Just weigh up the options and check company policy. If the date is ages away they might forget by then that he asked for it off