Job Share response to hol request

[Stargazer75]

I'm fairly new to my jobshare with another lady (I've been there 1 year). She's older, single and no DC.
She loves her cruises and goes on around 3 a year, I cover the days she is absent.

As yet, she hasn't booked any days off this year, but as I have a husband, grandchild, elderly Mum etc, occasionally I book things in advance as have a busy life outside of work.

The other day I asked my jobshare if she could please cover 2 days for me in September as I would like to book annual leave.

She went all red in the face and said 'I just don't know if I'll be available, I don't know when I'm going on my cruises yet'. I could tell she was very annoyed at me asking! She asked if I needed to actually book something such as travel or accommodation etc? I don't personally think its any of her business what I plan to do on annual leave and I think 7 months notice is pretty decent. In the end, in a huff, she just said 'well, you may as well go ahead and book then and I'll let you know closer to'.

My DH needs to book his annual leave to coincide - and we were hoping to visit friends in London who would also book annual leave, but obviously if she changes her mind closer to it will mess everything up 😬

I guess she's pretty much saying 'I'll cover if I don't book a cruise' in effect saying her holiday plans trump mine (unless I'm getting it wrong)

I put my holiday form in to HR, but how would you address this going forward?

I'm not just going to sit back each year, wait for her to book the days she wants, then have the crumbs that are left.

Anyone else jobshare and how do you navigate?

Surely jobsharing is about you both discussing things like committments & the need for advance planning sometimes,if you have given 7 months notice for that 1 week off surely she can't then book the same date at a later date??It isn't about 1 person's plans being more important than the other's.You are equals sharing a job & need to respect each other's plans & opinions & reach a solution.

I would just book the holiday. You have given plenty of notice.
It sounds like she thinks her holiday arrangements should trump yours . What happens if she books and you say ' oh sorry I have plans for that week I can't cover '

You are job sharing if she needs to cover as part of the deal 7m notice is plenty of time to avoid the same dates as you.
I'd talk to her frankly. Your holiday is as important as hers and since she hasn't booked anything she needs to avoid those dates.
I'd personally book more time off soon, she thinks she entitled to boss you about them.
I'd also mention to your manager so they're aware.

Just book it in, and notify the others. Say in your email ‘Amy, I mentioned this and you didn’t currently have plans, I needed to lock dates in with family so have booked these two days.’

end of. It’s 7 months in advance, you checked she didn’t have plans, it’s only 2 bloody days!!! So you have booked it. You will not change your booking.

It’s called giving context. If OP had mentioned in updates that she had children and other commitments while her job share colleague doesn’t have the same considerations, she would have been accused of drip feeding. She didn’t say her colleague didn’t have as much going on, just different priorities, as evidenced by the fact that she can arrange her holidays spontaneously while OP has to plan. No-one is saying parents are more deserving, just that more planning is needed.

All checked with acas. Perfectly legal. In all the job shares I've had we cover if the other is off and received overtime pay. This is my 4th job share and we have always done it this way, so pretty normal.

It doesn't sound even remotely legal - you're basically getting no annual leave!

Just book it and let your manager sort it out. That’s what they’re paid for. None of you need permission from the other for holidays, only your manager grants it.

I just wouldn't ask her in future, just submit your form/request to HR for approval and they will check if she is already off before approving surely? If she hasn't already asked for it off, then tough on her part.

She is not your manager, she is your equal, so you don't need to ask her permission for annual leave, and if she does want those days off further down the line and yours has already been approved, it will be down to your manager or HR to decide if they can be without both of you for that period of time out reject the request submitted last.

Request your holiday whenever you want and once approved keep the approval email for future reference of dates approved etc

Be aware that you would probably find life challenging in her position - no partner or children. I don’t know how old she is but it must be hard if she has no one to consider. Imagine that - no one in your life you’d need to consider. I imagine that would be lonely rather than a ‘luxury’! -I’m not sure people would consider themselves to have the ‘luxury of spontaneity’ if their partner and children were suddenly permanently absent. Would you be equally upset about the situation if it was a woman in a similar situation to yourself - with husband and children?

Honestly there's nothing wrong with this job share arrangement what are people like??? Op was never getting no holidays or any other nonsense being spouted. They cover for each other and get paid, leave dates known in advance all works for those involved so no idea what people are projecting??????

Honestly op I'd have a word with your manager to tell them about your exchange in case it happens again. You need to plan leave as much as she does.

This is really not a normal way to operate a job share. Most people I've job shared with have small kids in childcare and need their days/mornings/afternoons off because that's when their kid is NOT at childcare. I'd be able to work an extra day as an exception if there was something super crucial (DP could book leave, grandparents could come to stay, etc) but I couldn't cover every single time my job share partner went on leave, that's batshit.

People need to get over the OP mentioning her job share was single with no kids. It was clearly just context not meant in a derogatory way, jeez.

Just book your days OP, if it’s only 2 days it’s hardly like you’re taking the whole of September off. Surely when she comes to booking her holiday she either has to avoid those days or your managers have to make a decision about whether she can also have the time off. You can’t hang about waiting to see when she might possibly take time off, that’s ridiculous. You know when you want to go away so book it off, it’s not that hard.

Tell her you’re taking it, don’t ask. You’re not asking her permission. She sounds very selfish “I might”.

This whole thread is wierd. The job share bit is irrelevant. Any company that can't cope with an employee taking AL has got issues.

There doesn’t seem a lot of spare capacity to cover a long term illness. But again that’s not your problem it’s the manager's.

I would definitely frame it in future oh by the way I’m booking xx off especially if it’s months in advance. If colleague has a problem they need to speak to the manager, as that’s what they get paid for.

Haven’t RTFT but I think all the details about
job sharing and family circumstances don’t really come into it - the colleague is just being a CF saying the OP can’t book the time just in case she wants it herself when she hasn’t booked the cruises at all yet.

I do a jobshare and would be really put out if I had to cover other people's holiday on my days off, irrespective of how well we got on. I work part time by choice because of other life commitments. It is no one's business what these are (could be another job, children, caring responsibilities, mental health reasons). I get where this woman is coming from. The employer is at fault putting you in this position.

Clearly it doesn't work for all involved though does it.

I don't think it's illegal - it's effectively compulsory overtime which is allowed if it's in OP's contract - but it's not a working pattern that would work for lots and lots of people who job share.

You have given her the heads up, she has nothing booked and didn’t say that overlaps with when I’m off and it’s approved by your manager or hr it’s an absolute non issue. First come first serve for annual leave

I don’t think it should be your job to check others can cover your annual leave! You should book it through HR and if someone else has booked a holiday at the time they come back and say ‘sorry X has booked those days off, you can’t have them’ or ‘yes, that’s fine’. They should then arrange the cover as required. That’s how it works in most places, that way one person doesn’t get to over ride another.

DH has to book his well in advance to make sure he gets the times we want as we have a school age DC and I teach so he can only take holidays in school holidays if we are all going to do stuff together.

Wow, there's some vitriol on here! Op, I think it is perfectly ok to book in advance regardless of whether you have children or not. It would only be unreasonable if you block booked several weeks; a couple of days doesn't seem like a lot to ask.

Sorry but this is an insane set up for a job share. As plenty others have said, you effectively don’t get any annual leave!

I’ve done a job share before and I was given the option to cover my job share if I wanted overtime pay or if not we’d get a temp in to cover. I’m not sure what job you do OP, but my job share was a reception job so we had to have cover. However I had external commitments so couldn’t always cover (no DC at this point) and my job share had kids.

Of course she has other people to consider! She has to be able to get the same dates off work as all the friends she wants to go with. It doesn't stop you putting your request in to HR though. That's all you need to consider really, and they will tell you if it's viable or not.

I don't think it's illegal - it's effectively compulsory overtime which is allowed

It is allowed, but if you're part-time then extra overtime has to be reflected in your annual leave allowance.

If Jane only contracted three days a week (or whatever) then her annual leave will be reduced to reflect that.

If she then works all her annual leave back because she has to cover all of Sue's holidays, that's illegal because she'll effectively be losing her paid time off.

If Jane is expected to work 5.6 weeks extra each year to cover Sue, that needs to be reflected in her annual leave as well as in her pay packet.

But if they're always having to cover each other's time off, it effectively becomes a vicious circle where nobody actually gets any paid annual leave.

It’s a fact of life that some people’s commitments are more complicated/fixed than others. That’s just life. The OP knows her better than you.

I can currently book leave any time I like: it‘a one of the reasons I’m reluctant to change jobs. I hate having to coordinate leave with other people.It’s especially hard when you have to factor in school holidays, partner’s leave, other family member’s leave etc.

All you can do OP is discuss with this lady what dates you’d like and then request them. If she hasn’t booked yet, I’d get in there before she does as her reaction makes me think she’s considering going away at the same time. There has to be some give and take and you are giving her plenty of notice.