Am I took fussy/is annual leave a deal breaker for you

[Ladyoftheapple]

New to a new role. Smaller team, I work part-time, my husband works full-time. In my old job, I could pretty much pick the weeks I wanted off and they would be approved the majority of the time.
In this new job, one person can be off per week so it's limited. I love having two weeks off over the school summer holidays so that I can have that time with my husband and children but it's looking like I'll be lucky if I get a full week approved!
I'm struggling with this more than I thought and actually I am feeling like the quality time with my small children is more important. However, I have family members telling me that I need to suck it up, "I'm lucky to have a good job and I should want to get somewhere in life" 😳

Def not fussy at all and I'd be looking for another job, if it was that restricted. I work in a low paid job retail job but our boss is fairly reasonable with the holidays. I do put them in fairly early but I nearly always it's ok. Christmas is the only time that it's a problem. My boss has agreed I can have the week off this year though😀, as I don't often ask for it.

Deal breaker for me. I take a week at Easter, may, 2 weeks in summer, a week in October half term and a week at Christmas.

I suggest making them stick to what they promised so you get your 2 weeks in summer and then find another job. It's not fair you can't take holidays in school holidays.

I don’t think you’re fussy. That’s very limiting. I think employers should expect their employees to have a good break where they can truly switch off from work. Your life outside of work is important not an afterthought.

@SleepToad

Just because people don't have children, it doesn't mean they don't have other obligations.

@LostittoBostik

I personally wouldn't be fussed about the summer school holiday but when it comes to Christmas, I think it should be on a rota. I'd happily avoid the other holidays as I'd rather go away when it's quieter (and cheaper).

It's just the expectation that those without kids have to fit in around parents which pisses me off. We have families too.

Deal breaker for me too. I left a job where my Manager and I couldn't take leave at the same time (fair enough) except she hadn't told me before I started there that she was on a term time contract. Meaning I couldn't take any leave in school holidays.

Do all 10 of you do the same work? Or all cover for one another? I am in a larger team of 10, I manage a team of 3 others. I will allow 2 of them to take 1 or 2 days overlapping, but full weeks only 1 at a time. Same with my Manager and I - the odd day we can both be off, but for full weeks we don't take at the same time. That is restrictive enough - with 10 people each having 5-6 weeks leave and not allowing multiple off at the same time, that means someone on leave every single week, which is unrealistic as the weeks are not all as desirable.

Perhaps child-free people want to go to things on fixed dates or aren’t going on the sort of holidays where prices are ramped up? They could be going climbing in Albania or to a festival in Finland. I don’t want to go to an AI in Greece at any time of year, but if I wanted to follow the Tour du France I’d need time off in summer holidays too.

@LostittoBostik

Perhaps your dp is a teacher, perhaps you are going to a destination wedding or the Edinburgh Fringe ... or perhaps it's a set itinerary that's at that time, I'm doing a cruise that leaves in august, with adult dd who gets set holidays (military)

Who are you to decide when is a good holiday time for others? DH and I always go on hiking/climbing holidays which are only possible in the summer months because there is too much snow at other times of year. And because we spend much of our summer wild camping in the mountains there's not much difference in cost either.

To be fair, you are asking a bit close to Easter. Existing staff probably booked holiday for this Easter months ago.

As people have said, it will get easier. Find out how far in advance you can book holiday, find out the school holiday dates that you would like, and start booking as far in advance as you can.

I agree with this.

If the terms of your employment were not clear, then you have taken the job under a misapprehension.

I would say you are partly to blame for this, but so are they. You at least raised it at interview.

How flexible are they with your days?

I work 3 days but if I need to, or indeed if there is a business need, I can change my days off.

Could you move your days off during the summer holidays so you have more days off together?

Could you work full time one week and then take TOIL the following week?

You can one week blocks of unpaid leave under parental leave?

That would be a deal breaker for me, yes (unless it was an industry wide thing). I work full time an my job is demanding so don't spend quality time in the weekday evenings with my kids (as the routine of homework, bedtime, clubs etc doesn't leave much time) and quality time on holiday is very important to me.

Plus it would be costing me a shitload more as every day in the school holidays where we are not off is £60 in holiday club.

This reminds me of when I was job hunting years ago and applied for a job as receptionist/admin in a small family dentist. Job seemed perfect until they told me they closed the practice for 3 weeks in the summer to go on holiday and all the other staff had to take their holidays then.

I changed jobs when my child was about to start school because of huge restrictions on leave as summer holidays was our peak time and leave was restricted, University housing officer.

that would be an absolute deal breaker for me too @Ladyoftheapple

Yes and some people in our company are married to teachers so also want school holidays.

I think if you can’t get time off in the school holidays then that’s a problem and I’d look for another job.

It would be a deal breaker for me and I'd be looking for another job urgently.
I work long hours during the week and so my weekends and holidays are so very important to me especially with small children.

I get 33 days, I buy an extra 5, I can use 12 flexi days per year plus bank holiday credits (as Monday is my non working day).
I take at least 3 days off Feb and October half terms, all of May half term, a week at Easter, a week at Christmas, 3 weeks in the summer plus odd days. Looking forward to holidays keeps me going.

@Createausername1970 I'm not asking for Easter too late, our manager has told us to put all our requests on paper and she will look at them all at the same time so no one gets first pick! And in fact, she hasn't looked at anyone's yet! So no one knows what leave will be granted for the next financial year yet 😳 I've actually been asking her for my sheet to write on for the last few weeks and still don't have it! So I have done all mine on the online roster (which she doesn't want) she's just declined my April request because that is the next off-duty she is looking at 😳

That is crazy! How can you plan a holiday or book accommodation etc if they do a lucky dip!!

Most places I have worked it is first come first served - with the added proviso that the same person couldn't keep nabbing Christmas leave.

This was the advantage of working in a school - your holidays were dictated, but you knew exactly when they would be. Made planning simpler.

Now I am self employed so I suit myself.

That’s insane - you can’t be booking things like flights last minute - lost holidays are planned ages in advance

That’s dysfunctional. I’d reconsider the job. I work full time so it’s important to me to take some leave when my kids are on school holidays. And to be able to plan holidays!

Oh absolutely not OP! The restriction on number of people off is fair enough and I guess happens everywhere, we can only have so many at the same time to ensure adequate resourcing which makes sense. But the fact it's not first come first served and they do it in batches? How on earth do you plan anything?

I need to coordinate leave between me, DH, DSD mum and school holidays so I'm always booked early to make sure it works for everyone. There's just no way I could work somewhere the leave was so disorganised, we'd never get on holiday and childcare would be a logistical nightmare.

Would be a deal breaker for me, what a mess!

I agree, dysfunctional sounds like the right word, and actually quite controlling to make everyone wait until she has a pile of leave requests and then look through and decide (and how is she deciding anyway, if it's not first come first serve? - Probably something arbitrary and unfair).

Just no.

I would be looking for a new job if I were you.