AIBU to refuse to take annual leave?

[Toddlerteaplease]

I'm a paediatric nurse. We have hardly any patients as all our elective surgery has been cancelled. The whole unit is the same. We are being told to take tine owing or annual leave. I don't have any time owing and I don't want to use up my annual leave as it's got to last a year. Can we be forced to take it? I live on my own, so finding the isolation tough going and work was saving my sanity.

I don't think there is any need for redeployment at the minute.

My gosh, I can’t believe what I’m reading. Why isn’t the NHS redeploying people like you to other parts of the country that are struggling to cope, like London?
The fact that you casually state that you’re sitting on your bums drawing rainbows in the middle of a pandemic is astonishing

@Toddlerteaplease0 I’m nhs.. all our routine GP / OP work has been cancelled. Yesterday afternoon I had one patient. Those that do long shifts have been told to take the evening section of their list as annual leave or lieu.
I was meant to be abroad next week and would like to now cancel my annual leave but have to take it still.
So I am left with a holiday I need to still take this year (according to the travel company) I can’t take the school holidays off later in the year for the holidays a they’re already booked off by other staff.. and I don’t want to have to take the dc out of school again to go on holiday as this one has been cancelled!!

But the reason we’re told to still take annual leave is to make sure we don’t burn out over the coming months when it really does hit the fan!

I can't go to adults as I'm not adult trained.

Surely they are both still people though?! Is the thinking that a paediatric nurse is no use anywhere in adult nursing?! I am so surprised by this-I would have thought the transferable skills were massive.

I’m nhs admin, we have to take annual leave to prevent everyone going when this is all over and we have the shit of sorting it all out. Plus we are going to be deployed shortly so having some time out Is recommended.

We insist in people taking annual leave during quiet times as we cannot guarantee holidays will be approved if we are busy. We are not forced to take the holidays when is convenient to the operation BUT if we don’t, and they are not in the position to approve later, we will lose the time off and be paid for it instead.

Surely you have transferrable skills, dentists are being asked to step in.

Utterly ridiculous of your trust. Whilst it's amazing that they are helping with the effort you are more likely to be useful than a student nurse finishing early or a nurse who has been retired for x amount of years. I would honestly get in touch with nmc or potentially media. My friend is an AHP and shes going to be doing basic nursing tasks or a HCSW type role from Friday.

If you are asked to take leave, you have to have 2 days notice for each day of leave. So if they want you to take a week (5 days), you'd need 10 days' notice.
If you really don't want to take leave, can you ask if you could do another job (nursing in a different department, even admin perhaps?). Or it may be that they want to ensure that a section of the workforce are well enough to work when the shit hits the fan, and the best way of doing this is to keep you home for now.

I've got 10 days of annual leave coming up that I'm like to cancel as everything I had planned was cancelled. But won't be able too. I have said I'm willing to do extra if needed.

I get what you mean. Friend of mine has had all her clinics cancelled and she said on Friday she literally sorted out the stationary cupboard etc she said by 11am pulling hair out and rang another dept and is going there Monday for an induction so that when she is redeployed she can go there - confidently

In our trust all annual leave is cancelled until end of June, are they not looking at you supporting adult wards who are going to be hammered?

If you're NHS then surely your leave year runs April to March, so you should be taking all your AL for this year in the next few weeks anyway.

@littlemefi doesn't look like it. Though I'm worried about the kids who are not presenting and will rock up in A&E sick as. One of the general surgeons was wondering where all the kids with appendicitis are.

And from a management perspective, they won’t want everyone working flat out at the moment, and then the entire workforce having a years worth of leave to cram into a few months after the crisis has ended.
That is what is going to happen though - certainly at our place - we are working still - Gov Dept - and the latest directive from the Government is that you can carry over 4 weeks for 2 years. Fortunately our leave years are all staggered down to the day you started, not all end on 1 April, so workable but will still potentially cause issues.

BUT if we don’t, and they are not in the position to approve later, we will lose the time off and be paid for it instead.

They aren't actually allowed to do that - same directive as my post above.

@toddlerteaplease I would speak to your managers and ask about helping out elsewhere if you can? Our trust is just starting to get busier but ITU not full yet either. They've just emptied our CCU to make way for more ITU beds.
They will need people to help with obs/ basic care/ drawing up IVs. They are all transferable skills. All help/ hands will be appreciated I'm sure when the time comes

Yes. I'm happy to help In any 'clean' area. I can't go to Covid areas as I'm
High risk.

We're in the same position in our trust op.
Paeds is really quiet, adults is busier but our Matron has offered to send us but they don't need us yet.
We were colouring rainbows yesterday. We were so happy when we picked up a little but with admissions yesterday afternoon.

Legally yes, employers can make you take annual leave. Can you ask to be redeployed elsewhere