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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think it's a bit unfair to expect staff to use leave

77 replies

Shrunkenwasps · 04/01/2025 15:36

I've been in a new role for around 6 weeks, dislike it for a number of reasons so looking to leave atm.
The training is 9 months which is bad enough, I could understand if it were an apprenticeship or something I were studying for but I really don't see this as necessary.

When I started our manager was saying to us 'Oooh get your Christmas leave booked in now, take as much as you want!' I get 26 days after 2 years , plus bank holidays and the privilege day, so it's not bad really, but I didn't need to use 2 weeks over Christmas.

There hasn't been any work between 20th December and 7th January, and our office is only closed on 25th, 26th and 1st January.
Since 20th December I've only done the odd bit of online learning, there is honestly nothing to do. It might sound great but now I see why they were trying to get us to take our leave over Christmas.
I know I sound stubborn but I also think 9 months of training for a role paying under 30k is ridiculous. Anyway I made a mistake coming here. Does anyone else's work try to pressure them/expect them to use leave during quiet periods?

OP posts:
LlynTegid · 05/01/2025 14:10

Mine don't expect leave in quiet periods, and the time between Christmas and New Year is one where you can choose to come in to work as I did.

MollyButton · 05/01/2025 18:20

LightLadies · 05/01/2025 13:15

I was once worked as a temporary PA in the civil service, for a manager in social care. I had nothing to do. As in - I opened a few envelopes in the morning and took post to her office ( I was in an office on my own), forwarded some emails and took a couple of phone messages.

It was so boring it was unreal. When I asked someone why she had a PA, I was told “There are 37 hours in the budget and if she doesn’t use them then she won’t get them next year”… they were also paying over the odds as I was there through an agency.

This was over ten years ago, no idea if it’s the same now but I’m not surprised that councils are going bankrupt if they all have that approach! It seemed to be accepted as a normal way to handle a budget and staffing levels.

I worked as a PA for a while - and was insanely busy. I hard to manage my "persons" email box (she probably got 50+ a day. Juggle her calendar, knowing what the priorities and rankings were. Know when to contact her about changes, and spend a lot of time liaising with other people including PAs. But at least in my area you have to be at least a Director to get a PA, and Deputy Directors get a shared PA.
There is also a lot of other admin stuff to do (organise meetings and webinars for example).

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