Having to book holiday leave by Jan 31st each year?

[Doomsdayiscoming]

Told this week that our new system will be that you have to book your holiday by 31st Jan each year for rest of the calendar year.

I immediately didn’t understand the email because to me this is utterly crazy. Company taken over last May by European company. We were also forced to take all our 2020 allowance by the end of 2020, no carry over (historically 8 days). All seems very controlling to me. Legally they couldn’t force the carry over thing as yet they haven’t bothered to give us new contracts.

Anyone have anything similar to this??

Sounds normal to me.

That’s nuts, no place I’ve ever worked has had a system like that

That’s really bizarre. How are you meant to know everything you’ll want all year?

Thats quite normal , my Dh works as postman and in sept 20 had to book his annual leave from April 21 to March 22 .

I’ve worked in some places where this has been advised. We aren’t allowed to carry any days over at all so that’s quite normal. When we’ve had to have it booked we’ve been allowed to change it if staffing levels permit. I like it that way because otherwise it’s first come first served on the good holidays.

I've heard is normal in some organisations thankfully none I've ever worked in.

Not normal where I’ve ever worked thank goodness!!
I would hate that. Although we are not allowed to carry any over. Used to be 5 days but that was stopped years ago.
Because of the current climate we can sell our AL. I’m not. I’d rather have the time off.

I get the non carry over if holidays except for exceptional circumstances.. This isn't unusual at companies I've worked for.

I can see why might want people to book main holidays.. But odd days for childcare, funerals and other life events can't really be pre scheduled.

I’m in a college and they brought this type of system in a few years ago. But you’re allowed to change them so people book random dates unless they know what dates they need and then change them at a later date.

Carry over no more than 5 days and that in exceptional circumstances, and has to be taken by the end of Feb.

Yeah, I kind of get booking your summer holiday if you have children etc. But most of us are child-less and under 35. So in normal times we would be booking stuff whenever we liked as long as it didn’t cause the problems for the projects we work on.

Bonus question: at what point do you think this should be revealed to prospective employees?

I’d want to know in the interview (ie before I’d left my previous place as it would be a deal breaker, as no other similar companies in our area enforce such a thing).

Bonus answer - on starting as it really isn’t an unusual set up.

DH works for the Ambulance Service and every october has to put in 75% of his holiday so his holidays are now in until March 2022.
He can cancel and re book within the year as long as there is space without more than 5 crew members off

@curlycat

DH works for the Ambulance Service and every october has to put in 75% of his holiday so his holidays are now in until March 2022. He can cancel and re book within the year as long as there is space without more than 5 crew members off

Yeah I get it for larger organisations.

We are 30 people. Our new owners 100.

@PaperMonster

I’m in a college and they brought this type of system in a few years ago. But you’re allowed to change them so people book random dates unless they know what dates they need and then change them at a later date.

Yeah, I imagine this is what will happen too.

So, what’s the point?

I've heard of this before but I'd really struggle with it, especially this year!

Can you amend them?

That would be a deal breaker for me. It it was stated in the interview, I wouldn’t take the job. I would hate to be so constrained. I love booking last minute flights to a European city (well, not in 2020 or 2021, but in normal times)

@butmumineedit snap!

I used to work somewhere where you would have to put all of your annual leave in in the October, for the next financial year which started end of March, so that was almost 18 months in advance, and most of the time you couldn't take the time off you wanted anyway. Absolutely ridiculous. Thankfully I was only there less than 2 years and I can take my holidays pretty much whenever I please now at short notice as there is only 2 of us doing the job it's very easy to arrange between us. I would not go back working somewhere with a system like that.

Dh is a postman and yes he has to book the whole year, however can change if there is availability.

I therefore always know when I went to take holiday far into advance, so I book early too.

Also we were absolutely not allowed to change them unless you really really needed to and even then you would have to beg someone to cover for you. I agree with you op that this should be told in the interview as it would also be a huge deal breaker for me too.

It’s to give everyone a fair chance. My team is only 16 people but we’d all like Christmas off, all like 2 weeks in the holidays and most want half terms too. You have the organised people (me) who know exactly when they would like to go away and what time they want off, then you have the people who decide later. But sometimes the ones who decide later can’t then have their time off when they want because other people have already booked it. So by everyone submitting it by a certain date everyone has a fair chance. It doesn’t mean it’s set in stone and you have to have it off and can’t change it (usually) but means everyone has had the opportunity to request when the want off.

It was how holiday worked in the large NHS Trust I used to work for.
Where I am now they ask you to book any “confirmed” holiday in January. So that everyone gets a chance at their main holiday. After that, you can book whatever you’ve got left as and when.

I’ve never worked anywhere that’s allowed holiday days to be carried over.

I’ve read about it a lot on MN but not happened to me.

@Indecisive12

It’s to give everyone a fair chance. My team is only 16 people but we’d all like Christmas off, all like 2 weeks in the holidays and most want half terms too. You have the organised people (me) who know exactly when they would like to go away and what time they want off, then you have the people who decide later. But sometimes the ones who decide later can’t then have their time off when they want because other people have already booked it. So by everyone submitting it by a certain date everyone has a fair chance. It doesn’t mean it’s set in stone and you have to have it off and can’t change it (usually) but means everyone has had the opportunity to request when the want off.

Yeah I can see our old system being a problem in a place where lots have children.

About 50% of us don’t, and we generally don’t book school holidays as a) it would mean a lot off, and b) expensive and busy.

We’ve never had problems before.

The first time we’ve ever had a lot of people off was this Christmas because people had tonnes of holiday as no one had gone anywhere. And they wouldn’t let us take days over. I think this new policy is partly because of this as they were angry so few people were in, and some projects ground to a halt. Couldn’t make it up.