Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3

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:

RandomFriday · 07/08/2019 20:40

Is there a minimum about of people that can be off on any one day?

Ninkaninus · 07/08/2019 20:40

Plenty of jobs have a holiday policy that says you can’t take loads of single days off. For precisely this reason - it impacts negatively on everyone else in the team. It’s not because you’re going on maternity leave, it’s just the way it is, and employers are within their rights to dictate when you can or can’t take holiday., and in what pattern. It’s annoying, and of course it’s lovely if your workplace can accommodate requests like this, but I really don’t think you can reasonably be too pissed off about it.

Maybe a compromise? A half week off in two lots?

icelollycraving · 07/08/2019 20:41

I wouldn’t be able to approve this. No two can be on holiday at the same time so you’d be ruling out other’s holidays for 8 weeks.
Some companies may consider it, some may do it, yours has said no. Finish 8 days earlier.
Are you struggling with feeling unwell? I ended up leaving to go on mat leave earlier than I thought. I thought I’d finish at 38 weeks, I finished at 33 I think. Simply couldn’t go another day!
Yanbu to be disappointed but yabu if you mske it into a real issue.

Belenus · 07/08/2019 20:42

I don’t think I should have to consider how she balances the work load as she is the team leader and is one of the reasons she’s paid a team leaders salary?

She has considered the work load, that's why she's said you can't have the next 8 Fridays in a row off. I can see why because as pp have explained, if you have a policy of only allowed a certain number of people having annual leave at once, you are restricting everyone else's leave for 8 weeks. And that rule will be there so that if someone is sick, on top of a/leave, there is still cover.

Cherrysoup · 07/08/2019 20:52

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.

Why not? She seems to have-spitefully-told the others to book holiday and allowed them to take the days you want. What a bitch!

MaybeitsMaybelline · 07/08/2019 20:52

I work with someone who given the chance would take every Friday off and it’s not on. Not only does she prevent anyone else having a Friday off but it screws up a number of full weeks when only one person can be off at a time.

Fridays are also when shit hits the fan and someone invariably gets left with huge problem at five to five.

Seems pretty selfish to me.

SoyDora · 07/08/2019 21:08

I don’t think I should have to consider how she balances the work load as she is the team leader and is one of the reasons she’s paid a team leaders salary?

But that’s exactly what she is doing, balancing the work load of her team. Not just your needs.

Of course you can’t just use your annual leave ‘as you please’. Very very few companies would allow all employees to take it as they please. It would lead to chaos.

M3lon · 07/08/2019 21:26

YABU - its perfectly normal to have to negotiate over when and how you use holiday, you don't get to pick and choose unless there is no knock on consequence from a business perspective.

ElizaDee · 07/08/2019 21:27

I'd invent pregnancy related reasons that they can't argue with to have every Friday off AND block book AL for the days immediately before ML.

ZenNudist · 07/08/2019 21:32

Just book holiday in a block before starting mat leave. Then youve got something to look forward to and its easier for the team to plan.

dustarr73 · 07/08/2019 21:45

If you wanted to be spiteful.you could take the block holiday.Then just go sick for the couple of weeks before maternity kicks in.

Thebabynamegame · 07/08/2019 21:51

I won't say you're bu as I do understand your frusrations. However as a colleague this would annoy me. People I work with often take last minute Fridays off because things come up or perhaps they have things going on in their lives or are just tired. It would be unfair if they couldn't do this for two months. Also as others have said, it may mean they can't take a week off for 8 weeks.

Taking a day off per week wouldn't usually be done and you are only in a position to do this because you are going on maternity leave and obviously won't need your holidays during this time. Normally your holidays would be generally staggered across your a/l year.

This comes from someone who is also heavily pregnant.

bee222 · 07/08/2019 21:59

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)

What makes you think your needs are more important than theirs?

Original poster

Heartburn888 · 07/08/2019 22:10

I don’t think their needs are more important but just like if I booked a day it’s the same thing, if it was booked first by someone then I think it should be honoured by the first person booking.

In response to blocking others we can have more than 1 person off at a time, I would even say we would have 3 at a time as on the Friday (if you minus myself and the part time person) there would be 6 people in on the team including the team leader. We load quotes and sales orders amongst other tasks which sometimes require us to be away from our desk but at the minute 1 team member deals with tasks away from the desk and the rest are covering emails and phone.

No one has commented with hard facts that I am actually allowed so I get that its company discretion but given the fact the number of bums on seats if I was able to do it I think I should be able to.

I need to give a weeks notice before booking holiday so might just have to wait till the week before and if no one is off then book it off.

OP posts:

Original poster

Heartburn888 · 07/08/2019 22:11

Wouldn’t want to create pregnancy related issues in case they told me I need to go off on maternity early

OP posts:

PennyGold · 07/08/2019 22:14

Please don't do what other people suggest of 'inventing pregnancy related appointments' or 'calling in sick for weeks'.
Their part of the reason there's so much resentment for pregnant women at work! And it completely takes away from the genuine appointments and sickness that pregnant women experience/ need.
The only way I can comprehend someone saying to do that is someone who's never worked with,
or managed a team of people.
The most selfish and ridiculous advice I've ever seen. @ElizaDee @dustarr73

Purpleartichoke · 07/08/2019 22:20

Where I work, it wouldn’t be a problem, but we don’t worry about cover. If a person is out, their work is on pause. So there are no limits to how many people can be off on any given day. If your employer has a cap on how many people can be put, then taking one day a week would make it really hard for anyone else to take off a full week.

LovePoppy · 07/08/2019 22:21

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)

What makes you think your needs are more important than theirs?

Why are theirs more important than hers?

Sounds like they need to sort out a better way to do coverage

Original poster

Heartburn888 · 07/08/2019 22:40

Well it’s been a mixed bag on here tonight but I’m going to go and discuss my point and hopefully come to a compromise on this. She sent out an email with remaining holiday days on and as the holiday planner is updated then I suppose I can say well so and so has now booked their remaining entitlement so it rules them out from taking a week off and so on.

It has got my back up a bit and no I don’t think I deserve special treatment because I’m having a baby but do actually want to work up until a week before my due date but also don’t want to take it as a block of 8.5 before hand - but I do think it’s unfair to be told I can take them as 3 days etc.

OP posts:

Teachermaths · 08/08/2019 07:48

Why is it unfair to be told.you have to take them as blocks?

If you weren't pregnant would they allow it? If not then you don't have any reason to be upset at all.

Dotty1970 · 08/08/2019 09:46

Yanbu she provisionally said yes and I don't see why you can't with all that cover.
They're being very arsey.

Daisydaisychain · 08/08/2019 09:50

I can see why she's made the decision. She's doing her job. I can see why you're upset that it was provisionally approved, but that was her only mistake. It's up to her to balance workload, and that's what she's doing.

EttyG · 08/08/2019 09:55

Why do you think she's saying no then OP? Jus to be spiteful?

FryerGal · 24/01/2022 18:00

YANBU to be annoyed, but not sure there is much you can do to get round it.

Mrsmadevans · 24/01/2022 18:02

ZOMBIE THREAD

Flip

1 2 3