Holiday decline aibu

[Namechange19op]

Worked at my current employer just over 1 year less than 2

Im a single mum one little boy aged 7 my parents and family live in wales and I am in london and his dad isnt around much

Work told me today the holiday I requested for easter school holidays are declined because its over a busy period and they dont allow holidays at that time

I did work there last year at the same busy time but they altered my role to wfh with covid. My job cant really be done at home full time I open post do filing print alot of docs etc and so am back in our office. I asked if I could wfh this time but the tasks i need to do are office based.

The company is small around 20 people and 1 other lady does same job as me but no kids so she doesnt care about holidays ban

Aibu to think this is unfair. I have ZERO help. I earn a pittance (around 11k) work either mornings or afternoons depending on the day.

Senior management are not budging as other people asked for holidays and got declined. Hr is outsourced.

Aibu to think i should be given this time off

I’m sorry to be the Covid Party Pooper but we’re not supposed to travel outside of our local areas until April 12th? I’ve got a holiday home in Cornwall but I’m not going until we’re allowed to. I’m not risking the fine and although it’s a pain and I want to go at Easter I’ll wait the extra couple of weeks.
If your job hours and money suit you then is it worth the risk of going sick and either not getting paid or possibly loosing your job?

Have you considered moving back to be near your parents? You could have a look at what office jobs are available, and look into childminders. Should be cheaper than London. I would understand staying where you are if you were in the middle of a great career, but you're not. And you've got no support.

I was in your situation and when I split from my ex, I moved from the city centre I was living in back out to the country where my parents lived. I worked for myself so it was fairly easy for me; didnt need to look for work etc but childcare was much cheaper, and I had support. Great schools around so that wasnt an issue. Have you thought about it?

Can you ask to work more hours on some days and have some off entirely? So work a full week's hours over 2 or 3 days, where your child goes to a holiday club or childminder, then you still get a fee days completely off?

@Dreamscomingtrue

She can travel for her childcare bubble.

Hi OP that’s tough for you.
People spouting after school activities well these won’t be open will they.
Nor will a child minder be likely available.
I’d be tempted to phone in sick for a week.
Asking other mums is your only possibility.
You need also let the child’s Dad know you need him to do his share of childcare as you have no one to have him.
I’m in a similar situation.
Some of us don’t have the luxury of supportive families.

@Dreamscomingtrue she didn't mention travelling anywhere?

If that’s the way it is then theres not much you can do about it. They clearly have rules about annual leave at certain times.
But I’d look for another job. This one isn’t family friendly and the pay is poor. What is the advantage to staying in London in a crappy job, far from your supportive family?

www.gov.uk/parental-leave

It's unpaid but the beauty is they can't refuse it but you will need to request tomorrow if you want Easter off as you have to give 21 days notice.

Can work be flexible with your hours for Easter, so you work your hours over say 3 longer days each week? Giving you time at home bit the work still gets done?

YABU your childcare is not your employers problem

And calling in sick the week you’ve been declined holidays is absolutely asking to be sacked.

Upkey, I think they can delay parental leave if the timing requested is unsuitable for the employer.

they dont allow holidays at that time

that is very standard, but they really should have made you aware of this when you signed your contract and started working!

There's something wrong if you only found out when asking for time off.

Not sure what you can do for Easter, but if I was you as soon as covid rules permitted I'd be moving to Wales.
You need a support network, unless you find a well paid role where you are valued, you'll work for less flexible employers.

My first thought was Parental Leave because to my knowledge it cannot be refused. Its unpaid but at least you know you will have that time off. I may have to do the same if my May half term and a couple of weeks in August requests are denied, for the same reason. ie: no childcare.

@MirandaWestsNewBFF

Reading the comments I can see I’m going to strike a different note here.

Your work aren’t obliged to give you the holiday BUT they should take into account your circumstances, especially given that you are a lone parent and Covid is limiting available childcare options right now. If your colleague is not particularly bothered about having time off in school holidays then it feels a bit unfair of your employer to deny the time.

This exactly

God some of the attitudes on here. They are a pretty shitty employer if they don’t have sufficient staff to allow 1 person a bit of time off in school holidays. I expect they’ll have trouble retaining decent staff.

And yes I know they can decline holidays but so many employers are just arses who behave with no compassion or decency and yet expect the moon on a stick in return.

@Namechange19op

In 6 week break my parents will come collect him and take him to theirs for a week or even 2 that gives me a break.

They cant help in easter because they are too busy with work themselves (not to mention covid)

I will have to take dependency leave on the day but obv not paid

Well this is the thing. OP can’t leave a 7 year old home alone so if she has no childcare she can’t go to work. So she’ll be off anyway, and have the holiday to take at another time.

Sorry just checked and it can be refused but there must be a very good reason for it, them having a busy period probably wouldnt cut it, especially as your reason is no available childcare.

@DebbieGetsTheJobDone I did know about this last year but was wfh so wasnt an issue

Those saying compressed hours etc the nature of my job is that work comes in daily like forms and applications etc and i process them or send out letters usually my allocation is done in my time. Its a 1fte job really but me and the other lady job share so if i worked longer hours id be stood around doing nothing

@Dreamscomingtrue not sure what you read but i litterally cited covid as a reason why my parents couldnt travel to me.

I will be requesting unpaid parental leave tomorrow it will rinse me wage wise but what options do i have.

And also I am going to look into moving. Stayed here so DS could be near his dad but whats the point!

@Namechange19op

I cant help thinking that once they realise that you wont be in on those two weeks anyway, and you will still have full holiday entitlement, they will do a U-turn on your holiday request......

Oh and you can move right now if you want to. Its within the rules, and you could travel to your parents as they are your support bubble.

And i cant do the same job as i did when wfh when it was initial lockdown as it wasnt really my job/my offices job as a goodwill gesture they let me cover a mat leave but she returned to her old role so wfh isn't an option now

I think it is unfair and would look for a more accommodating job.

Parental leave cannot be refused, but it can be delayed if there is a good reason to do so. Presumably, the employer would argue that there is a good reason to delay, which is the same reason why OP's leave request wasn't granted in the first place.

Unfortunately, OP, there is very little you can do. Your childcare is not your employer's problem. It's a shame that they didn't warn you about the limitations on annual leave before you accepted the job. In my previous role, we had an exceptionally busy period in the summer in which there was a total ban on annual leave, and I always made sure that this was clearly communicated at interview so that people could make an informed choice about whether they wanted to sign up for that. The reality is, though, employers can refuse leave requests as they see fit, so you're going to have to find a way around this.

@pyongyangKipperbang
I did state one way or another I won't be in. But i dont think holidays will be approved as others (with kids) were declined. Basically they said if we give you a holiday then we would need to review the requests that were declined to be fair

I dont think another job will give me the 3.5-4 hours a day and tbh its easy steady paced work in a nice calm office with no stress. I wont get that elsewhere

You're most likely right, and it's one more reason not to suddenly "go sick"

Never mind whether they'd pay you for it ... in the current climate, and with less than 2 years' service, you'd probably end up with no job at all

They are a pretty shitty employer if they don’t have sufficient staff to allow 1 person a bit of time off in school holidays. I expect they’ll have trouble retaining decent staff.

it's not that simple.

It's generally accepted that teachers cant' take "a bit of time off" during the school year for example, even one at a time. Your head chef can't take time off on Mother's Day weekend...

If it's a decent company, it's very obvious why holidays are denied at certain times. It could be seasonal, it could be towards the end of a big project.