Boss calling him in to work during holidays

[Thatcosymorningfeeling]

Dh was meant to be off work from Christmas Eve until Monday 3rd Jan. The company he works for closed, all workers off. He barely has any other holidays as they’re always so busy.
Nice morning downstairs, his turn to do breakfast for toddler, his boss calls at 9 and asks if he can go in and open up as a delivery is being made. Boss himself at home with his wife.
Aibu in wondering why he couldn’t have gone in himself?
Dh just called and said they’re arriving at 12.30 and he’ll need to stay to help, so there goes our planned day out with Dd.

Well DH could have said no. Why didn't he?

The Boss didn't go in because he knew he could make someone else go in.

Is your husband an employee with permanent full time contract?

Or is he zero hours/Flexi contract or self employed contractor?

Does he really not get to take holiday at any other time of the year?

I'd be angry at my husband not my husband's manager.

Your husband should have said no. Nobody is obliged to work on their pre-booked holiday days especially not for a routine delivery that presumably your DH's boss booked in despite knowing that there wouldn't have been anyone there to accept it without disrupting DH's holiday.

Likewise, 'he hardly gets any other holidays' - assuming he has a contract of employment (not a zero hours / contract worker) and you're in the UK, he's entitled to 28 days' paid leave if he works 5 days a week.

I suggest a chat with ACAS is in order here to ascertain his rights, and then he needs to raise this with his boss. Or get a new job.

Your DH should have said he had plans and had taken holiday. And I say this as someone who worked Christmas Eve to resolve a problem that came up at 4pm on 23/12 because I know her husband would make more fuss than mine would (and the only plans it affected was cleaning the house).

OP that sounds very disappointing.

To the people saying why did he go in, blah blah blah. They honestly have limited cognitive abilities to not be able deduce why that be. OP has not told us anything about company dynamics. Is it a small firm, a large one, is your husband in supervisory or managerial capacity. Is he perm, temp etc. Why do people do as their employer asks them - to earn a living. Why can they not say no? That really depends on the nature of the business, his relationship with his boss, company culture and his position in the company.

@MojoMoon He has a full time contract. They’re able to take extra holidays at other times, but won’t be paid for it.

He pays well and gave him a bonus of £500 in an envelope and paid for a meal on the last day before holidays.
Dh *Is at a good workplace, doesn’t want to lose his job/disappoint him. I suppose he also feels he’s second in command and pleased the boss calls on him and not others (Dh gets paid more than the others)

Taking all these things into account, should he go in/be able to be called in?

I was just a bit surprised he was called and asked to do this, boss lives the same distance away and could’ve gone in

I think the boss has every right to ask and your husband has every right to say no I have plans that can’t be changed. (Unless your husband was the one that arranged this delivery for today).

If I were the boss I’d ask too just in case. I think the onus is on your husband but frustrating for you.

The delivery wasn’t planned for today, it was finished earlier than anticipated

Personally if I was a boss and my employees were taking a well earned break with their families and it was a simple task I could nip
down and do myself, I would, I wouldn’t bother them.

Have a separate ring tone for the boss's number and don't answer if he rings on a day off. Later that evening text 'Sorry, had phone on silent and missed your calls'. It's fine to go in if your DH wants to and isn't letting other people down by going in, but in this case he ruined your day out.

[quote Thatcosymorningfeeling]@MojoMoon He has a full time contract. They’re able to take extra holidays at other times, but won’t be paid for it.

He pays well and gave him a bonus of £500 in an envelope and paid for a meal on the last day before holidays.
Dh *Is at a good workplace, doesn’t want to lose his job/disappoint him. I suppose he also feels he’s second in command and pleased the boss calls on him and not others (Dh gets paid more than the others)

Taking all these things into account, should he go in/be able to be called in?

I was just a bit surprised he was called and asked to do this, boss lives the same distance away and could’ve gone in[/quote]
are you trying to say that your husband is only entitled to 3 days holiday? (the rest of that period is covered by bank holidays/weekend) and that if they have any other time off later in the year they wont get paid for it? he needs to speak to acas and get this sorted as soon as possible after asking to see a copy of his employment contract

that is why my husband loves it so much as he gets such a long time off without it digging into the rest of the years allowance of 28 days plus bank holidays

my husband had a phone call asking for him to come in, he told them no he was on holiday, but already had a plan of if that hadnt worked then they where getting told he had been drinking so wouldnt have been allowed on site at work

Boss isn’t the primary problem, DH is the problem.

This still doesnt make sense with the "he hardly gets any holiday" thing. He is legally required to have 28 days paid holiday a year. That could be 20 days paid annual leave and 8 days paid bank holiday but he should be taking them. Paying for a meal over xmas is what the boss should be doing as a minimum , he wont have paid for it, the company will have paid in order to get tax relief on the payment. It sounds like your DH thinks he has a good job but the only good thing in your post sounds like the £500 bonus

And he should be getting paid annual leave.

He has a full time contract. They’re able to take extra holidays at other times, but won’t be paid for it.

Your husband has an entitlement by law to a minimum 5.6 weeks paid holiday per year. If he isn’t getting that then no, he doesn’t work for a good employer. £500 cash in an envelope screams dodgy as fuck as well.

Sorry, we live abroad. He’s full
time and paid a good wage for where we are, but extra holidays aren’t paid for, it’s very frustrating but able to be done here.
I just feel sad as it’s not a proper break away from things for him as he’s had a few days and now been called in

The boss didn't go in because he's the boss. He can ask someone else to do it and eventually someone will say yes.

Your dh likes thinking he's second in command and gets paid more than the rest. That's why he got asked. He could say no still and I suspect either boss would go in himself or call someone else. Your dh probably doesn't want to say no as he wants to show he's flexible and stay above the rest.

Have you discussed with your husband?

@WouldIBeATwat We’re abroad, lots of things v different and dodgy in lots of companies sadly.
But, he *Does get paid very well, which is hard to come by here and by all accounts boss is a decent guy and much fairer than any other bosses we’ve both had here.

Yeah, £500 in an envelope is not a good thing at all. As PP says, dodgy as fuck. The whole set up sounds dodgy to be honest.

It’s not ‘extra’ annual leave if he gets no paid annual leave! If you’re in the EU similar employment law will apply.

Are you really ‘sad’ and not angry? Your H has choices and has consistently chosen to prioritise work over you and the familiy.

Ah, ok. All sounded dodgy based in the assumption this was UK. No idea how it works where you are.

@ChuckMater Yes I get all that and I’d probably do the same, I understand he doesn’t want to seem like he can’t be relied on stay in his good books etc.
That’s why I’m more pissed off at the boss, seems unfair to take him away from a bit of a break with his child to call him in because he can’t be arsed

[quote Thatcosymorningfeeling]@WouldIBeATwat We’re abroad, lots of things v different and dodgy in lots of companies sadly.
But, he *Does get paid very well, which is hard to come by here and by all accounts boss is a decent guy and much fairer than any other bosses we’ve both had here.[/quote]
By abroad you mean outside of the EU as well? Would have been helpful to know.

Sounds like my partner who can't say no and thinks he holds the world on his shoulders. It's frustrating when you get hardly any time together.