Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

20 days annual leave is Dickensian

323 replies

Palacelife · 01/10/2023 14:56

Most firms now start on 25. I think 20 just smacks of a mean firm and not a place you want to be. AIBU?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Swingwhenyourewinning · 01/10/2023 14:58

The minimum in the UK is 28 days Inc blank holidays

Theeyeballsinthesky · 01/10/2023 14:58

It depends on whether it’s 20 plus bank holidays. I see a lot of firms say 25 days and then you find it includes BH as well

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 14:59

YANBU it’s why I chose to work somewhere with unlimited annual leave

Id never work somewhere with 20 plus bank holidays

BeyondMyWits · 01/10/2023 14:59

Palacelife · 01/10/2023 14:56

Most firms now start on 25. I think 20 just smacks of a mean firm and not a place you want to be. AIBU?

Which country?
UK minimum is 5.6weeks including bank Holidays. (So 28 days for a 5 day a week job, with some of those days possibly being no-choice)

UsingChangeofName · 01/10/2023 15:00

Well, with 8 BHs in a 'normal' year (I know we've had more, recently), that still makes up to nearly 6 weeks. Factoring in that some people also have extra (say between Christmas and NY, or it is tradition here to have the Tuesday after Easer Monday) given them by their employers, I don't think it is unreasonable.

Even before those who can buy extra leave or take flexi-time or even flexi - days.

Like most things though - everyone will be thinking of their own circumstance. Not many things apply to all jobs.

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 15:00

@Theeyeballsinthesky

You've most likely never seen a firm do that as it’s illegal

PinkiOcelot · 01/10/2023 15:03

Totally agree. I wouldn’t work somewhere with 20 days AL.

EmotionSickness · 01/10/2023 15:04

Yep I agree. When I was employed a lot of companies were moving towards an unlimited holiday model, which is what I’d want if I were to go back into an office job!

StripeyDeckchair · 01/10/2023 15:05

20+8 is OK.

Ask an American how much annual leave they get & you might see it in a different light.

If annual leave is highly important to you then only apply for roles with a higher a/l entitlement. Problem solved.

A lot if companies increase the amount of leave to reflect length of service
So increasing at (say) 3, 5 & 10 years

I'm currently on 31+8

ApolloandDaphne · 01/10/2023 15:05

How does unlimited holidays work?

Justifiedcheese · 01/10/2023 15:06

No, Dickensian is no paid leave ever and a six day week.

Normalsizedsalad · 01/10/2023 15:06

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 14:59

YANBU it’s why I chose to work somewhere with unlimited annual leave

Id never work somewhere with 20 plus bank holidays

How is that going? I read that in lots of places it's more of a gimmick and many people end up taking really just the statutory number due to work load or worried they will look like they take piss if they take more. Would be good if it actually works somewhere well

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 15:08

@Normalsizedsalad its going great. I work for a large company (think Unilever sized) and it works really well

I took 54 days annual leave last year. I took 40 this year but that’s due to some restrictions in place when you’re due to take maternity leave (as otherwise people could try and use it for unlimited Mat leave!)

My director took about 60 last year as it was his daughters last year before starting primary school and wanted to travel more with her.

It’s fab

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 15:10

@ApolloandDaphne

well it’s quite self explanatory, unlimited days annual leave, no arbitrary number (for my company there is a limit when taking maternity leave or paternity leave to manage those who use AL to extend their leave)

PuttingDownRoots · 01/10/2023 15:10

@Fabshab how does work with salary? Do you get paid pro rata or is it you are just expected to fulfil your work load like extreme flexi time

FindingMeno · 01/10/2023 15:11

28 days is the minimum holiday entitled, set in law.
I have never had more, and used all of mine for many years for childcare.
It is what it is, but I have to say that if working people keep insisting on voting tory it'll never change.

Dontcallmescarface · 01/10/2023 15:12

We get 26 days + Bank Holidays + Birthday (or a day in lieu if the birthday falls on a non-working day). Having left a job that only gave the minimum legal entitlement I'm actually struggling to use up all my A/L now.

Fabshab · 01/10/2023 15:12

@PuttingDownRoots

We are treated like adults, we have our responsibilities/goals and are trusted to know how many working days it requires to fulfil those duties.

For example June is a very quiet month for me in my role so I took 20 days leave in June last year.

Original poster
Palacelife · 01/10/2023 15:13

harsh then, a lot of companies have 25 plus BH and that increases to 30

OP posts:
RidingMyBike · 01/10/2023 15:13

I worked somewhere with this amount (20 days + 8 BH) and they also had statutory minimum everything else such as maternity and paternity pay.

Unsurprisingly staff turnover was high.

Watchitsunshine · 01/10/2023 15:18

Yep, 20 days is very poor. We start on 30 (+ bank holidays) and can buy up to 5 days more.

For those saying it's average/Americans have it worse etc. It's not a race to the bottom! 30 + BH should be the acceptable standard for a decent standard of living.

5foot5 · 01/10/2023 15:24

Most places I worked the issue wasn't so much how many days leave but when you could take them. If the organisation requires certain staffing levels and for key roles to be covered then you could find that even if you had enough leave left you might not be able to take the particular week you want because other people in your team or in the same role have already booked that.

Maybe this isn't such an issue in large organisations but if you work for a smaller employer it certainly is.

And BTW, Dickensian is putting it a bit strong!

TheMurderousGoose · 01/10/2023 15:25

Ask an American how much annual leave they get & you might see it in a different light.

Why?

I think most of us are aware of the shitty annual leave allowances many Americans are given. Still wouldn't make me view a 20 day annual leave allowance in the UK as being anything other than shit.

jenpil · 01/10/2023 15:29

Justifiedcheese · 01/10/2023 15:06

No, Dickensian is no paid leave ever and a six day week.

Well, that's how it is for many UK jobs now, with all these zero hour contracts and gig economy. .....and let's hope for the many on MN, it won't come to the world of office work. (Although you never know! If a company can get away with it they will, and many do.)

Justcallmebebes · 01/10/2023 15:29

Swingwhenyourewinning · 01/10/2023 14:58

The minimum in the UK is 28 days Inc blank holidays

No it's not at all. Where did you get that from?