Not allowed to take any holiday in June at work

[exhaustedandwholly]

Due to the nature of my job, we have a lot of events happening in June which I help organise etc. I've requested a few days in June for a holiday and they've been declined and been told we cannot request any time in June due to how busy it will be. It frustrates me because this is the only time we can really go away before summer holidays start otherwise July is too expensive (we haven't got kids) and may isn't hot enough in most places.

Does anyone else have these issues?!

That is really shit. Pull a sicky

Yes it’s common in my profession to have closed periods where you can’t take holiday.

can you give them a plan showing how the events take place without you there and without resource needed to cover your role? You do them them realising they can do without you though 😭

Yeah, I had to cancel my holiday last year after it had previously been approved and nobody was allowed to take time off between May and September. Which inevitably led to the business being in deep trouble come the Autumn because everyone was taking their annual leave at the same time because we aren't allowed to carry it over to the following year and had to fit it all in before 1st January.

It's shit but employment laws favour the employer. They are allowed to specify when you are allowed to take holiday to the extent they could insist everyone in the company had to take all their leave in November each year if they wanted.

They can cancel holiday they've previously agreed too and are under no obligation to refund you if it means you're out of pocket for the trip to Disneyland that you're no longer able to take.

Fuck it, go off sick.

That’s what sick days are for

Try being an HE lecturer. Christmas, Easter and late July or August. That’s it. First week in September if you’re lucky.

Depends what type of business you work in.
My first job as a teen was no holiday whatsoever in December.
Is this a new policy?

My company restricts holiday during crunch periods - think that’s pretty common.

early July should be more reasonable prices as schools are not done until mid/late July?

In my last job we had times when we really couldn’t take annual leave. Please don’t pull a sickie - they will know.

Where are you planning to go on holiday? If you are going to Italy or Spain, May should be pretty warm. To be honest, I am in Gibraltar now and got a sunburnt scalp yesterday.

I'm assuming the posts saying pull a sickie are joking? It's one month of the year. Annoying for you, but hardly restrictive.

Yes, worked in healthcare setting like that. No holidays authorised in July/August and December.

You've already requested AL and then you go sick for the same dates. I really wouldn't do this. It doesn't show you in a good light and if you're happy in your work and want to stay there you do not want to play silly games like this. I have loads of restrictions on AL and we have to suck it up. Please have more morals than to throw and sickie.

Couldn't you go in early July - most schools don't break up until the third week of July. Or in September.

Yes, I used to work in a job where we couldn't take annual leave at certain times of the year due to major events.

If you pull a sicky be prepared for it to be investigated.

Yeah but if you book well in advance then it's harder for them to refuse. Eg July was really busy in my last job but I needed a week off in July. I booked the request 9 months before and they approved. They had 9 months to sort cover for me.

You have a minimum legal number of days' holiday. You have no legal right to take those days at a time of your choosing. There are lots of jobs where there are constraints on timing of holidays.
So you'll have to go at a different time/to a different place - it's pretty straightforward.
And obviously you don't just go sick!

Retail and so can’t request any days I. December so have missed countless events like kids’ school plays and fairs, including only getting to partially participate in meet ups for my dad’s anniversary. It very much sucks but I get that if one person was allowed then all will want specific days off

It’s a shame, but I just wanted to say that the south of Spain is quite warm in late May

Most professions have periods of the year when it’s too busy to take leave. Eg If you worked in retail it would be December.

You could go in July before the schools break up or September once they are back.

Go in September, or early October- sea is still warm then and it’s quiet.

I’m shocked at all the posts saying “pull a sicky.” That’s lying. It also leaves your colleagues in the lurch at a busy time, so is deeply selfish. Finally, as a manager, if someone mysteriously fell sick for a week at a time they had previously requested holiday I would be investigating and asking for pretty solid evidence. If I found out they had been on holiday I would fire them for gross misconduct.

It’s fairly common for some industries, I have two months where I can’t.

dont pull a sickie, it’s blatantly obvious and deeply unfair to those who will have to pick up your slack, look for another job without restrictions for next year if it’s important to you

Kids go back in September, weather gets better.

Having periods of time with no holiday is reasonable, as long as it is the same for everyone, and there are not exceptions for some.

My team is restricted by month end / quarter end. So realistically there are only 2 weeks out of 4 available for leave (we support a massive sales team in the lead up to month end so the last week of the month is busy and we also support a massive finance team in closing every month so first week of the month is always busy)

The team is bigger now so it's not as strict but yep we've always had restrictions.

I used to in an old job (no annual leave Jan - Mar due to companies having December year ends).

You would need to ask way in advance for a special dispensation.