To think my employer has got my holiday wrong?

[Randomname85]

I’ll try to keep this brief. I work 2.5 days spread over 5 days (so 5 half days per week). Full time employees are entitled to 30 days holiday, I am therefore entitled to 15. I assumed then if I was to book a ‘day off’ (my working day) I would be booking a half day off. For a better example:

A full time employee with 30 days holiday wants to take 2 weeks off they use 10 days leaving them 20 days , you would take 5 days from your 15 leaving you with 10

However my employer is saying I would have to book FULL days off - so I’d need to book 10 days for those 2 weeks and not 5! I’ve never known this to be the case anywhere I’ve ever worked before but I can’t find solid proof anywhere online.

Help?!

This should help...
www.gov.uk/government/publications/calculating-holiday-entitlement-for-workers/how-to-calculate-holiday-entitlement-for-workers-on-different-types-of-contract

@Randomname85 have they told you 30 days or 15? 30 is correct but your day off is smaller than a full time workers day

Yes what Vanquish said - that's how I interpret what your manager says.

I think you stating you get 15 full days leave is confusing everyone - you don't! You get 30 days. Same as everyone else. It's just your days are short.

Here's the info you need.

If you work the same amount of days as your full time colleagues you get the same amount of days.

www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2000/1551/regulation/5

In any case if you work 5 days a week it's illegal to give you fewer than 28 days holiday.

www.acas.org.uk/checking-holiday-entitlement

That 28 days can include bank holidays though

Thanks all - on my holiday booking system I have only 15 days to book, not 30. And have been told as an example if I wanted tomorrow off I would need to book a full day!

My bad! That's what I get for reading whilst keeping a eye on my child. Good job he's not with me in the office...

I misunderstood.

If your HR as told you that you have 15 days, it's wrong. Never mind the rest of it...

Converting to hours works, but if you have a system, that wouldn't allow for that.

They are wrong then. It needs to say 30 days not 15

Unless you can book ½ days

Thank you all SO MUCH

If you want it in black and white refer to statutory leave as set out in working time regulations www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/contents/made
Regulation 13 gives you 4 weeks leave
Regulation 13a gives you 1.6 weeks leave.

Contractually full time employees get 30 days which is 6 weeks leave so you are entitled to 6 weeks leave.

What your manager and HR are doing is using different methods, to calculate your entitlement and when you take leave. You either get:
30 days leave entitlement and book a whole day each time you take leave
15 days leave entitlement and book 1/2 a days leave each time you take leave
Xx hours leave entitlement and book xx hours leave each time you take leave

The government website only helps if you're given the statutory minimum holiday. Your employer gives more than this, and ACAS says "If your employer gives full-time employees more than the statutory annual leave (for example, 6 weeks), then part-time employees must get the same, calculated pro rata." Clicky Link

From your manager's point of view, they're looking at it like you're in work 3 days a week, not that you're only doing 2.5 days work.

It will be much easier to explain in terms of hours worked. You work 17.5 hours, rather than 35. Someone that works 35 hour weeks gets 210 hours holiday, you get 105 hours. If you decide to take a full week you obviously use 17.5 hours, but if you chose to only take your days off on your half days it means you'd get 30 "days" off.

It's the nature of the beast when it comes to annual leave.

Does the 30 days include or exclude bank holidays? That confuses matters further with part time staff particularly as some years your working days fall on bank holidays and other years they don't!

wherever I've run payroll, part time staff and staff with irregular hours have annual leave accounted for by hours, rather than days.

www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights

speak to your union if you're in one?

Call citizens advice. They will talk you through it and give you all the sources to refer to with your manager. They may also actually speak to your manager for you and explain the law.

Maybe you should ask your manager if you'd be getting double pay during your holidays then. If they're telling you to book a full day, and use a full day of holiday leave, then you should get a full days pay rather than your part time pay. Maybe that will make them realise that they are, in fact, being thick.

If you want, I can try and write you something that you can copy, paste and send to them. They don't need to know it's come from a Mumsnet, just advice from a HR manager...

I spend a lot of time explaining how holiday works to people. Even HR professionals.

I would need to know how many hours you work a day and what the full time equivalent work day is (incase it is not exactly double yours for any reason)

I will give it a go this evening when my baby has gone to bed.

@VanquishGirl

That is so kind. What a lovely thing to do for someone having issues with their employer. Well done you!

@VanquishGirl would you really do that? That is so kind I can’t thank you enough!

In my job everyone gets the same amount of days, my days are 6 hours long, compared with some of my colleagues days which are 9, so my holiday days are paid for 6 hours each day, exactly what I'd earn, my colleagues holidays are paid for 9 hours, exactly what they would earn

So working hours are 9-5.30 - so 42.5 per week I assume with an hour for lunch (I should probably know that but I’m not full time!) - my hours aren’t specified per day, I am just contracted to 2.5 days per week so half of the FTE.

Already my hero of 2021 you are and it’s only January 5th!

@Randomname85

So working hours are 9-5.30 - so 42.5 per week I assume with an hour for lunch (I should probably know that but I’m not full time!) - my hours aren’t specified per day, I am just contracted to 2.5 days per week so half of the FTE.

Already my hero of 2021 you are and it’s only January 5th!

Happy to help. It's good to use my brain as I'm currently on mat leave.

So you're contracted to 2.5 days a week but you work them over 5 days? Is the working over 5 days a permanent arrangement?

How many hours do you actually work a day?

Your "day" is 3.5 hours (for example). So you should have 30 of your "days"

It’s a tricky one - I was self employed and tracking my time which was 100 hours per month but I didn’t have set hours. We agreed I’d go perm and I said I do around 21-22 hours per month so we just agreed on 2.5 days a week - I don’t sit down 9-1 for example - I might do a couple of hours in the morning, and a couple in the afternoon. Not sure if I’ve shot myself in the foot there or it makes it harder to go back to them? But essentially I am paid for 2.5 days per week.

Honestly the holiday was one of the things that enticed me to go perm!!

We agreed I’d go perm and I said I do around 21-22 hours per month week

Ask for it to be done in hours should be easier for them to understand why they are wrong then