Been refused any annual leave this year.

[HolidayNotAvailable]

§Name changed as I don’t want my name to be associated as I know some people who work for the same company are on here.

I am entitled to 25 days annual leave, which increases every year after two years.

If you don’t take all your annual leave you can carry over 35 hours but if you don’t take the rest then you lose it.

Things are made more complicated by the fact that people are allowed to buy additional annual leave, and this means that a lot of people have up to 35 days.

The upshot of this is that there isn’t enough quota in the calendar to allow all annual leave requests.

Our annual leave system is digital, we book annual leave and receive a message to say it is either declined or accepted.

And the annual leave is based on how many people are available in the department not the team.

Most people end up booking all their annual leave at the beginning of the year, including their extra two weeks which most people have bought.

Which means that if you haven’t booked any annual leave for the next year by the end of December when the annual leave is released on to the system you pretty much don’t stand a chance.

I didn’t book as soon as the leave was released not least because I didn’t have any specific plans, but even when I started to try a couple of days in all my requests were declined.

To date I have attempted to book several weeks in every month of the year, and apart from one week in December, and one day which I know I will get over Christmas because those are booked separately, every one of my requests has been declined.

So this means that by the end of the year I am going to have about four weeks annual leave left, and I can only carry over one week.
I am certain that this is made worse by the fact that people are able to buy extra leave and that realistically we don’t have enough quota in the department to accommodate existing annual leave as wel as essentially several months worth when you take into account all that has been bought.

Some people have 6/7 weeks booked in, and I can’t even get one.

I’m sure there’s no way I can get the time off, so I’ve resigned myself to not taking any annual leave this year apart from that one week in December.

But would it be reasonable to approach my employer and request that, given I’ve been declined any leave, they buy it back off me? I don’t know what else to do.

I think I would be looking for another job.

Your manager can say your hands are tied as much as she wants but ultimately they have to give you time off so she (or someone else) needs to sort it out. They are breaking the law otherwise

AFAIK you are allowed the annual leave as stated on your contract. If there is an HR department request a meeting. They can't deny you the leave you are entitled to.

A system that doesn't leave any time for you to take leave sounds illegal, I would definitely go to management and explain the situation you're in and ask for them to solve the situation. You are entitled to your annual leave.

Honestly, I'd speak to hr. They'll know the law and what to do. I bet they'll find dates, you can take them.

Put issue in writing to HR - and ask them how they intend you to be able to take the minimal legal amount of leave this year as you've spoken to your line manager who apparently can't do anything.

I had this situation in a previous job, I sat down with my manager and we went through the diary together to see what days were available for me to book. Obviously I didn't get exactly what I wanted but it was better than nothing.

@HolidayNotAvailable I’d suggest putting in a grievance about it if you can as you’re at risk of burnout with no break which you are legally entitled to. Your manager needs to understand that the company is legally obliged to ensure employees can take holiday to avoid legal action against them, so should have taken you approaching them a lot more seriously than just being “sympathetic” but “hands tied”.

https://www.acas.org.uk/checking-holiday-entitlement/asking-for-and-taking-holiday

“An employer cannot refuse to let employees take any holiday at all. By law, an employer must make sure employees can take the amount of holiday they're entitled to during the year.”

“If an employer does not manage holiday effectively, they could risk:

• causing work-related stress for their employees
• creating an unhealthy work environment
• facing legal claims – employers have a legal responsibility to make sure employees can take the holiday they're entitled to”

YABU for saying this

I’ve resigned myself to not taking any annual leave this year apart from that one week in December.

Get a grip ! Go and tell them you need to discuss immediately how you can take your annual leave.

You need to contact HR.
They have to give you your annual leave.
They system is flawed, so they have to fix it.
This is by law, if you are in UK.
They cannot refuse you your 25 days of annual leave.

If it's not possible to maintain required staffing levels AND accommodate everyone's full entitlement to annual leave, then there aren't enough staff imo. They will need to either reduce minimum staffing levels on occasions to accommodate staff, get temps in or recruit more staff.

And it's not up to you to sort out, OP, this is for management and HR to resolve.

Email your manager and explain as you've explained it here. If you don't get a satisfactory response, email again and copy it to HR. If you still don't get a reasonable response, it may be necessary to take out a grievance to get it resolved

I worked on a team of 10 where we had a max of 2 off at a time but 7 weeks leave. They just accepted that sometimes it meant 3 people would be on leave.

What a ridiculous system. This isn’t your problem to resolve alone. Speak to your employer, detail the requests made and outline the need for you to take leave, with reasonable notice (which isn’t months btw - it’s perfectly reasonable for a request to be made and granted 8 weeks ahead) and ask for a meeting to discuss how you can be supported to take your leave entitlement. Be firm but polite and absolutely steadfast in the need for them to provide you with a solution to this.

That's an insane system.
As a business owner, I can't imagine running my company or treating my valued staff like this. I'm surprised they have anyone working for them.
Raise a grievance or ideally, find yourself a better job with a company who treat you with the respect you deserve. They can't just shrug and say their hands are tied.

Have you got a union? This is exactly the sort of scenario that makes a union useful.

The other department that approves your leave has to be accountable to someone. Go to their manager and tell them you need holiday and you expect them to give you available dates as you’re sick of being turned down all the time. Denying employees holiday is just ridiculous.

Your leave is part of your compensation. You are entitled to take it. And your employer must find a way to allow you to take it THIS year if you want to use it.

Throw the ball into their court, email HR and ask them how they're going to fulfill their contractual and legal obligations. If you still don't get any joy, contact ACAS, they should be able to help you raise a formal grievance.

It's pretty unfair that a person can take all annual leave plus buy 2 weeks extra before others have even had so much as a days normal holiday leave approved.

They do not have a choice, they legally have to let you have 28 days. Talk to your union.

Why on earth are you being so passive about this? For crying out loud, gather up the information you've been given on this thread and immediately ask your manager and HR for their solution to this, citing the law.

Agree with @Hayliebells Their system doesn't work. It's their problem not yours.

....but that particular department isn't above the law of the land....
Good luck.
Or just get signed off for stress as the nuclear option.

You need to raise the issue and they have to implement a better system.

I would approach them and say you want your leave and you want it before the end of the year and ask them to put it in

That is really outrageous. I know banks are absolutely vicious with wringing the most out of you so I hope you get a fabulous salary to compensate. I'm surprised they're getting away with this tbh