Re. my holiday allowance?

[SpunBodgeSquarepants]

I started a new job last June - holiday year runs 1st January to 3st December. I work 3 days a week - 5 hours a day, totalling 15 hours a week.
My colleague works 42.5 hours a week and receives 20 days holiday. I get 7. This means I can only take 2 full weeks off per year, which is really not great for me, being a single parent. It's really difficult to find childcare during the school holidays! Am I right in thinking that this has been worked out wrong? I see where they've got this figure from - I work roughly a third of the hours my colleague does, therefore. I get a third of the holiday days too. But this would be based on full, 8.5 hour days wouldn't it?
Help!!

Sounds right to me I'm afraid. Our company also bases annual leave on hours rather than days.

You are working less than 2 full days a week if a full day is 8.5 hours.

Is there any room for flexibility by working more days one week in return for less another?

If you work a 3 day week you are entitled to 16.8 days a year I believe. I don’t think it matters that you only work 5 hours a day as you should only be paid 5 hours for each day of annual leave, it’s the number of days that count. Do you belong to a union? If so, bring it up with your rep.

You holiday should be 5.6 weeks a year. Which can include band holidays. So I guess technically could mean you get 8.8 days of actual annual leave if you also get all the bank holidays off.

Holiday for me (also part time) is worked out on an hourly basis rather than days. So I have X amount of hours holiday. I guess for this reason. Worth chatting with HR?

It's a very small company - no HR department and no union.

Is it 7 full days i.e. 7x7.5hours or whatever your work standard is? 7x3 hours doesn't sound enough, as like you say it is less than 2 of your weeks, when full time you get 4 weeks.

You can join a union even if there is no official one for your work eg GMB.

You get 16.8 days holiday a year (which they have to round up so 17 days) or 84 hours holiday a year. By law. If they don't give you that they are breaking the law.

The Gov website has a very good holiday calculator which you can use.

What days do you work? It may be an adjustment for bank holidays. Based on 20 days for a full timer you should get 12 days, but this will be adjusted to take into account bank holidays.

Why would it be 8.5 hours when you work 5? I see what you mean but it appears right. Do you get bank holidays as well? What days do you work?

It's wrong in a right sort of way.

If they have calculated it in full days (so 8.5 hour days) then every time you take leave you should only have to take 2/3rds of a days leave.

They either need to calculate in days where a day = your working day length, or in hours. They can't do it as a full day when you don't work a full day.

I would think you should still be off four weeks though. So four of your weeks at 15 hrs.

I think they’ve given you 7 full days off. Ask for it in hours and it might sort itself out.

They should calculate your holiday entitlement in hours and pro rata it. This entitlement should also include 8 bank holidays. It sounds as though your colleague probably works 37.5 hours per week with 5 additional unpaid hours for lunch. Their total annual entitlement for the year in hours would be 37.5 (hours) x 4 (weeks) + 8 x 7.5 hours (bank hols). This is a total of 210 hours. If you work 20 hours, you work 53.3% of what they work and are entitled to 53.3% of the holiday, which is 112 hours. This includes bank hols. If a bank holiday falls on a day you are scheduled to work this should be booked off out of your entitlement.

I take it thats its 7 full days, so just needs to be converted to hours for you

They’ve definitely worked that out incorrectly. Her 20 days is equivalent to 170 hours a year. Yours should be 170/42.5 * 15 = 60 hours. As you work 5 hours a day that gives you 12 days holiday.

That’s a very long winded way of saying you each get 4 weeks off a year.

By law you are entitled to 5.6weeks holiday per year, so pro rata that is 84 hours. You work 5 hours a day so would be 16.8 days leave. This includes bank holidays which you only have to take if they fall on your contracted days. I don't work Fridays so on Good Fri or the next May bank hol I don't have to use my annual leave

As a single parent do you get help with childcare costs?

I need to know this as a SP trying to go back to work! I can't do it if I don't get childcare help. Mine get 1 week off in Feb, 2 weeks off for Easter, then 2 weeks after that for Spring break! Their dad doesn't want to know. How do I do it?

^ Obviously following Spring break it's the flipping 6 weeks straight.

You started in June 2019 but in 2020 you will work a full year and so be entitled to a full year's holiday allowance.
And that should still be 20 days.
The only difference is that your colleague will get paid holiday for days of 8 and a half hours, and you will get paid holiday for 3 hour days.
7 days holiday last year also seems wrong. You were with the company 7 months, more than half a year, so should have received just over half a year's holiday allowance. That will be 10 and a bit days.
Really holiday should be worked out in hours. It makes it a lot easier!

Marnie76 - I think the 20 days is excl bank holidays though, otherwise they are breaking the law. 28 day incl bank hol = 5.6 weeks.

37.5 hours a week (full time) would be 210 hours, 15 hours per week would be 84 hours

Surely you should get at least 4 weeks off a year. So a minimum of 60 hours?

Unless you work Monday's or Fridays which sometimes seems to alter part timers holiday entitlement.

Full Time = 42.5 hours p/w. Holiday Allowance = 20 days. 20 x 8.5 hours = 170 hours holiday p.a. plus 8 days (68 hours) Bank Holiday allowance for FT workers.

You work Part Time = 15 hours p/w, or 0.353 of a Full Time role. So your holiday allowance should be 0.353 of 170 hours, or 60 hours p.a. You'll also be entitled to a pro rata Bank Holiday allowance, so 0.353 of 8 full days (68 hours) = 24 hours p.a.

If you are due to work on a BH, then you will need to book the day off as holiday - but if not, then it's just 'extra bonus' holiday for you! Those PT workers who work Tues-Thurs get the most benefit from this, as most BHs fall on a Monday or Friday.

So your total holiday allowance for the year will be 60 + 24 = 84 hours p.a. You will only need to book 5 hours for each day off, so this equates to 16.8 days for you.

I'm HR, and do these calculations all the time (this is when someone comes along and points out a glaring error I've made ! I hope this helps!

No that’s wrong!

@Digitalash is right

Use the online calculator

Should add, they’ve just taken the 20 days and /42.5 * 15. This is wrong as they haven’t accounted for your different hours.

Your minimum is 5.6 weeks of holidays. In your case 5.6 x 3 = 16.8 days or 84 hours.

I assume full timers get 20 days plus 8 bank holidays to give the legal minimum of 28 days?

You would be entitled to 84 hours (inclusive of bank hols). You would need to deduct 5 hours for each bank hol that falls on your working day then the remainder would be yours to use when you wanted. This year, there are 4 BH on a Monday and 4 on a Friday so the days you work are key. Worst case scenario (and you work Mondays and Fridays), this would be 8x5 so 40 hours leaving 44 hours for you to use which is just short of 9 days.