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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Am I being unreasonable here but I’m not so sure??

75 replies

Heartburn888 · 07/08/2019 18:32

So due to go on maternity leave soon and employer has been asking about a date I want to leave which I have told her I want the 25th to be my maternity leave to start so my last working day will be 21st nov. I have 8.5 holidays to use and I want to take every Friday counting back from the 22nd as annual leave and then the half day the last Friday in September. I spoke to her and she provisionally said yes and I thought that’s great, started making plans and starting to look forward to a series of shorter weeks coz I am getting more and more tired and less motivated because I’m not sleeping well on a night.

So booked it yesterday and today been told no I can’t take it as above as I have to consider the other team members future unhooked holidays and anything they have going on in their life (not my problem if u ask me) and if I’m taking every Friday then it stops other people from taking a Friday (there are 7 of us in the office full time and 1 person 3 days a week -mon-wed -so in my opinion, plenty of cover). I think I should be able to take the holidays I’ve accrued as I please? Don’t see why just because I’m going on maternity leave I have to be considerate of others just because I’m going off for 9 months. My team leader has said holidays should be taken as a block week and a few days here and there but I’ve never done this.

Can they do this? I may be being unreasonable but I do think it’s unfair. I’ve worked there just like everyone else so I should be able to take my holidays as I please and as there’s enough cover it wouldn’t stop anyone else taking holidays. Surely it should be a first come first serve type of booking system. Also been told I need to take them as a minimum of 3 days ??

When I booked the holidays I checked the planner and no one was off which is another reason I booked it but since then my team leader has sent an email to other colleagues telling them to get holidays booked in and I checked the planner after the conversation today and she’s approved other members on the days I wanted.

Prepared to be told to shut up moaning over such a mundane issue but to me it is an issue as I feel I need something to look forward to and I have quite a lot of time off sick and think if I ha 4 day weeks then it will motivate me to do the days I need to and rest for a longer weekend.

Thoughts please?

OP posts:

VenusTiger · 07/08/2019 19:48

Ask if you can book as you go along, i.e. if no-one is off on the Friday 2 weeks in advance (or whatever the notice period is) then book it off... if someone is off on a Friday, book the Monday etc. until you’ve used up your holiday.
I understand why you want a Friday (or Monday) so that you get a long break over the weekend.

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 19:49

I dont think yabu at all i think its just another way to punish pregnant women fpr daring to get pregnant and taking mat leave.

I took a day a week off for about 15 weeks before my mat leave. I was in a team of 3 at the time but they coped.

adaline · 07/08/2019 19:52

She’s said I can’t book a day in the week if it’s going to be consecutively that day or any other day in the week for the next 8 weeks if that makes sense.

Sorry but I do think that's fairly reasonable - you're not part-time, you're full-time, but you seem to want the benefits of both (full-time pay but part-time hours).

I know I've had staff ask for this in the past and I've had to say no because it's nearly impossible to find cover for such a long period. People don't mind swapping shifts/doing overtime for a week or two to cover someone's holiday, but arranging it for a two month period leads to real resentment (and people refusing to do it because they have plans/lives outside of work).

Can you afford to temporarily reduce your hours? It would free up some money for the company to potentially hire/pay for some cover while you're off at least.

adaline · 07/08/2019 19:53

I took a day a week off for about 15 weeks before my mat leave. I was in a team of 3 at the time but they coped.

Good for you, but not all business/workplaces are set up to accommodate things like that.

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 19:54

you're not part-time, you're full-time, but you seem to want the benefits of both (full-time pay but part-time hours

No shes wanting to take her annual leave which shes entitled to like everyone else. Taking AL doesnt make you part time. How ridiculous.

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 19:55

That suggests to me its not run very well if they cant cope with more than one member of staff off.

What happens when people are ill? Do they just close for the day?

ElizaPancakes · 07/08/2019 19:56

YABVU.

Just because you’re having a baby doesn’t mean you get every single thing you want because you’re going off soon. The same rules apply. If it doesn’t work the business then it doesn’t work; take those 8.5 days the week preceding your maternity leave like most people do.

thecatinthetwat · 07/08/2019 19:58

Check your contract.

If annual leave must be taken in blocks of 3 days minimum, it will be in your contract. If it’s not, call her on it. Sounds like bollocks to me.

adaline · 07/08/2019 19:58

No hmm shes wanting to take her annual leave which shes entitled to like everyone else. Taking AL doesnt make you part time. How ridiculous.

How is it not? She wants to work part-time for two months while getting paid to work full-time hours for that period of time. That's not an easy situation to find cover for - it means they need to find someone willing to work extra/overtime eight Fridays in a row!

That suggests to me its not run very well if they cant cope with more than one member of staff off.

But nobody is off sick just on Fridays for two months, are they?

itswinetime · 07/08/2019 20:00

So you can't book the same day of everyday for 8 weeks I can kind of see that if people need time off for appointments weddings ect I would be pissed off if I couldn't book a Friday off as a college but you can still work shorter weeks just pick different days each week to have you work less and your work is happy it's all about compromise I'm afraid.

Fibbib · 07/08/2019 20:00

Is it not because if you take. Friday off for the next 8 weeks it means no other staff member would be able to have a full week off?

I work in a small team only one can be off at a time unless it's a special occasion and we cant book loads of Friday or Mondays off as it stops other people from having a full week off.

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 20:00

Its 8 days. She wants to take 8 days holiday. Being off for 8 days no matter how you take it doesnt make you part time.

No people are sick different days all the time. With no notice. surely more difficult to cover that.

Chunkers · 07/08/2019 20:04

Are they getting someone in to cover for you when you are on maternity leave?

adaline · 07/08/2019 20:05

Its 8 days. She wants to take 8 days holiday. Being off for 8 days no matter how you take it doesnt make you part time.

But you're not looking at the bigger picture. Taking eight days holiday in a row is a much easier situation to find cover for than one day a week for eight weeks straight. Plus it means nobody else can have annual leave in that period which is extremely restrictive for everyone else.

No people are sick different days all the time. With no notice. surely more difficult to cover that.

One person being off sick is one person being off sick, it's not the same as someone planning to be off every single Friday for two months though....

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 20:06

Im surprised companies like this even have staff tbh.

CrispSandwiches19 · 07/08/2019 20:09

I can see the frustration. However holidays have to be approved to still mean that the company can still be run correctly.
Where I worked we had to book full weeks. 1 spring. 2 summer 1 autumn 1 winter. The other 0.6. Accrued for Bank Holiday had to be used between Jan and March.

If I was you I'd take a full week or so and start mat leave early.

slashlover · 07/08/2019 20:21

I took a day a week off for about 15 weeks before my mat leave. I was in a team of 3 at the time but they coped.

How did they cover holidays? Did they just have one person in for those days?

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 20:23

They just coped as we cope when anyones off. We all sort of just cover eachother as and when. We all can do eachothers jobs for this reason!

hsegfiugseskufh · 07/08/2019 20:24

And yeah just 1 person.

Ive been the 1 person in on my own several times and its not a walk in the park but 1 day a week on my own wouldn't havr bothered me (and obv didnt bother them) at all.

SilverySurfer · 07/08/2019 20:25

I can’t take it as above as I have to consider the other team members future unhooked holidays and anything they have going on in their life (not my problem if u ask me)

I'm sure the other team members feel the same way - it's not their problem if you can't have the holiday when you want it. Your supervisor is not being unreasonable as she has to balance business needs.Why don't you add the 8 days onto the beginning of your maternity leave?

ICouldBeSomebodyYouKnow · 07/08/2019 20:25

In my place, people going on mat leave often just use their annual leave immediately before they start mat leave. In your case, you'd take the whole of your last week off, plus the Friday, Thursday, Wednesday and Tuesday afternoon of the 2nd last week.

It does mean you'd have to work a lot more complete weeks though.

Alternatively, how about this:

last week: take Wednesday pm, Thursday & Friday off (2.5 days)
2nd last week: work a full week
3rd last week: take Monday-Wednesday off (3 days)
4th last week: work a full week
5th last week - take Monday & Tuesday off (2 days)
6th last week - work a full week
7th last week - take Monday off (1 day)

Spreads it out a bit, and means most of your days off are when there are more other staff in.

Neverender · 07/08/2019 20:31

It's either accrued holiday or holiday you're due.

You'll get paid it if it's accrued.

PumpkinPie2016 · 07/08/2019 20:33

I can see her point if it means no one else can book a full week or say Wed/Thur/Fri for 8 weeks.

It's your annual leave but you do need to be considerate to others.

Personally, if it was me, I'd try for something like:

3 weeks before Mat leave: Thur/Fri off

2 weeks before: Wed/Thur/Fri off

Final week: Tue afternoon/Wed/Thur/Fri off.

That way, only 3 weeks affected and short weeks/longer breaks in the last few weeks.

Or take Mon/Tue in the '3 weeks before mat leave' above so that only 2 weeks of Friday's are affected.

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 07/08/2019 20:34

Nobody can take leave as they please. Your employer has to allow you to take the days accrued in that leave year, but they can tell you when to take them. Most employers are as flexible as they can be and wouldn’t dictate every single day off, but they could. And your manager has an entirely reasonable point.

RubbishRobotFromTheDawnOfTime · 07/08/2019 20:36

You'll get paid it if it's accrued.

You can only get pay in lieu of leave if your employment terminates before you’ve taken it.

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