20 days annual leave is Dickensian

[Palacelife]

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

It's poor, I agree. My DS has just taken a job that offers 20+8, but it's only for a year, very part time and the shifts suit him so we'll suck it up until he goes back for his third year at uni. I want better for him once he graduates.

I'm NHS, over 10 years' service, and I get 33 days + bank holidays, so 41 in total. My nest is empty so I don't know what to do with it all, but it does mean that I now have spare days to take for emergencies if I need to.

You're spot on. Most unhealthy place I ever worked at had unlimited annual leave. Never even got to take the full statutory due to workload and insane targets. BE WARNED.

It's usually quite low paid jobs that give the basic 20, average is probably about 25-30, plus the BHs for salaried jobs

It can also make it really hard on families. DH gets 20, I get 48 (including long service additional annual leave). When it comes to taking time off to care for DD, it's on me and DH never gets those special daddy and daughter days. We can't book holidays really because he has hardly anything. And it just always feels a bit sore when he says "I only have x al days left" (usually a very small number) and I still have more than his total allowance. Awful.

I don't think I'd take a job that only offered 20, if I could avoid it. I get 30 plus bank holidays.

I don’t think it’s Dickensian but I wouldn’t work somewhere with 20 days as their offer. I get 29 plus bh on top and in 14 months I’ll get 31 days plus 8bh for my long service. I also have flexible working so I’ve been able to wfh for 2 weeks while I’ve been unable to drive due to illness. Alternative was getting signed off so my employer did benefit but I was able to work.

No wonder the rest of the world call Europeans lazy.

what a load of shit.

@Reality25 do they? In what context? You realise we’re European in the UK? Is it Scandinavia that introduced 4 day weeks?

'ewwwwww, gross. imagine having a work life balance rather than working their fingers to the bone and saying 'thank you, sir' for 10 days holiday. they're so lazy'

It’s a very bad sign, in terms of how the company sees workers.

They don't. It's just some people in US.
Edit: Mainly 4am wake upCEOs on Linkedin

@UsingChangeofName but it is self explanatory

the clue is in the name

’unlimited’ annual leave

Even with legislation so many employers find a way to get around the bare legal minimum in terms of holidays, minimum wage and statutory breaks.

I did a job for a few weeks just a year ago and left as we weren't allowed breaks, holiday could only be taken in December if slots were available, and they were paying below minimum wage and saying tips would make up the rest but we were not allowed to keep tips

20 days holiday , plus bank holidays, plus weekends equates to about 19 weeks off per year which is about 36% of a year not working. Hardly mean fir a firm to pay a full-time employee on that basis.

So can you answer any of the questions in my last post please?

Thanks @NumberTheory for the link.
From that link, it seems that 'Unlimited leave' is far from "doing what it says on the tin" and isn't unlimited AT ALL.

Perhaps you can answer some of people's questions @Fabshab as to how it works, in practise, where you work ?

@UsingChangeofName i already replied to the first person who asked how it worked.

you must have seen it to have used some of it in your comment.

look at you including weekends as reasons to be grateful. you were probably a Victorian mill owner in a previous life.

I had a friend who worked for a company with unlimited AL, free tea/coffee, free lunch each day etc brought round to your desk. This was the company's way of getting the most out of their staff. They give a £3 lunch at the desk but get an extra hour's work, no one took a break as coffee was brought to them. It was very cut throat, who could be the 'most productive' type environment, so no one took very much AL as they did not want to be seen as that staff member who was not committed to the company and get over-looked for a promotion.

My friend left after 6 months.

I mean, why would an employer pay someone for working 5 days a month, when another employee works an average of 17 or 18 days a month ?
How would it work for all those of us who always have work to do, and don't have "a quiet month" ?
How does it work for customers / patients / clients / service users is the person dealing with their situation toddles off for 6 weeks because they don't feel like coming in ?
How does it work for the person that organises the rota or cover or schedules the theatre list, or manages the project if a crucial part of the team is taking 3 months off, or a crucial part of the work isn't done before the next part is due ?

But you don't want to answer any of these ?

Which is obviously fine, but I'd have thought if you were such an advocate of unlimited AL, you'd want to help people understand how it works so well, that's all.

DH and I run a small business. We give our staff 20 days plus bank holidays. When they're off, our production lowers and we bring less money in.

I'm all ears as to how that can change

@UsingChangeofName why would I answer?

none of those make an ounce of difference to the term ‘unlimited annual leave’ being self explanatory

it doesn’t work for every organization or job - never said it did and tbh you’d be an idiot for thinking it would.

but for me and many in professional roles it works well.

Not sure why you think ‘I’ need to answer those questions tbh.

I am with the people talking about 4 day week more than jnlimited AL unless I could take every Monday off😁
Not sure that would be signed off though.

Unlimited AL doesn't mean trotting off whenever btw. I think some think that. It still has to fit around business needs and be approved. The word "unlimited" is just because you can't put number on it really. Some places allow for 40 days some for 100, some still call you on your AL anyway

Yes, the UK is part of Europe?

So, who thinks we’re lazy?