Dd17 work won’t let her book some time off for her driving test

[Blueybingomum]

dd17 is currently doing an appearance in a nursery. She’s been there a year and absolutely loves it but the managers can’t be abit funny.

she passed her theory test last week straight away booked her driving test, now these are horrific to get atm and she luckily managed to get one in 11 weeks time.

she went to work yesterday and asked if she could book it off but manager has said it’s unlikely. She asked if she could just take the morning off as it’s at 11am but again, said unlikely. They told her she has to look at the staff rota and rebook her test. They have more staff than needed atm and are constantly sending staff home early.

Aibu to think it’s abit harsh.

Don't tell them when it is and just call in sick. Who cares if they suspect? They're not going to come right out and call her a liar.

OP, this is illegal. They have to let her take her holiday.

Does she have a training supervisor or an HR manager she can involve? Why can she not go higher than the manager who is stopping her from taking her legal holiday entitlement?

Whatever you do don't feel pressurised to cancel this test any time soon. I can't believe the lack of awareness from some posters regarding booking tests. It's been a hot news topic since covid. I hope she takes this one and I really bloody hope she passes!!

She’s gone back to the manager today and begged as the next available dates are March, she said no. The only dates she can do is the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the first week of November at that’s it for the rest of the year.

i am absolutely fuming.

she qualifies her level 2 at the end of the month and the she can leave but it all depends if she qualifies before the test! If she doesn’t then what does she do?

she’s applied for another job last night as a trainee teaching assistant at a local primary school. It’s only a few hours a day but it would be so much better.

Just leave it’s disgusting they’re treating her like it. I’d get her to write a letter to manager say she won’t be in on xx date, she understands that leave hasn’t been agreed for that day so please advise if she can have it unpaid or if she needs to leave by that date. Driving tests are a nightmare to book it’s too important to back down and wait 6 months. Did she speak to her sponsor assuming the apprenticeship is through a training company?

It’s through the nursery company the training is. I’m going to email the actual company x

As she’s doing an apprenticeship she should have an assessor, they can speak up for her if she feels unable to, my daughter did the same type of apprenticeship and had that support.

@Blueybingomum Has she followed any of the advice on this thread about reminding them of their legal obligations?

If all she is doing is asking the same question without giving any indication that she knows her legal rights, it's not surprising that they keep saying no.

People keep giving you advice and every so often you come back and say she has asked again and they have said no again. It's not clear where you're going with this.

make sure you list the key facts - the date she first asked for this day off, the amount of leave she has outstanding and has been unable to take, that booking a driving test is very difficult with a long wait til next March if she doesn’t do this date. This should have been your approach as soon as the manager said no the first time.

And also the fact that their standard response seems to be to say no to all her requests for leave even if other people aren't off, in case other people might want to book leave. They're basically stopping her from ever taking time off, which is illegal.

But it seems to me that despite all the advice the OP has been given on this thread, she and her daughter haven't actually done anything except continue to plead with the manager who is breaking the law.

It looks like the test date will come and go without the OP or her daughter actually asserting themselves.

Surely she’s entitled to holiday. Giving almost 3mths for 1 day is more then acceptable

I’m not sure what she’s saying, she says her boss is intimidating and she is only 17 so abit timid 😒🤦🏻‍♀️

Have you shared with her the advice in this thread? Has she put anything in writing or used any of the template letters people have suggested?

This.

Yes cancellations are difficult to get but as someone who has managed it very recently, twice, by following advice I have already given you up thread, it's not completely impossible.

If she absolutely cannot get resolution by escalating to manager, company grievance procedure, whatever else you have no doubt already found by checking her contract/employee handbook/policies, calling in her tutor etc etc then I would suggest:

• she should make sure she secures her Level 2 before test date and discusses fully with her tutor any possible ramifications of being unavailable to work on one single morning the day of her test. If the worst outcome for that is a warning, is it worth just doing it? At my daughter's work they "punished" this informally by giving fewer shifts the following month, then it was all forgotten.
• swapping her test date for whatever she can get in March for now, pursuing cancellations at a pragmatic choice of test centre, and calling in sick for any future test dates that (1) fall while she is still being employed by them, (2) clash with her work schedule and (3) cannot be explained away as being late in due to roadworks etc. Some tests start at 7.30am, are on Saturdays etc so points 2 and 3 are not inevitable.

If she is intimidated then write it all down and send it in an email.

Iv emailed HR for her,

I have the app for cancellations on my phone and none have came up for ages. Plus the manager has said the only dates she can do this year is the 3 days at the start of November..

How many days' leave has she taken so far this year? How many days does she have left to take, until when?

She has 4 days left I think but I’ll double check.

they replied with this.

I’ll say it again. ACAS.

This is absolute bollocks, OP.

They can't possibly argue that an apprentice taking half a day's leave with 11 weeks' notice will hinder the operational effectiveness of the nursery.

Of course, if it's now in 2 weeks then that makes things more difficult, but that's not your daughter's fault.

Seriously, she’s tried doing it the right way. I’d get her to call in sick on the day at this point. Moving a driving test is harder than moving a hospital appointment!

I should add that nurseries are crying out for staff, she will be able to move to a new setting and get a job if she wants to take that line of action due to this. Not all nurseries are this awful. My manager is amazing at sorting out things like this and juggling staff.

If she takes the morning for her test then presumably, by the time they take this up with her and the education provider she will have passed her L2

Her provider should have supported her, a driving license makes her more employable and both parties are actually there to help her be more employable. Back when I worked with apprentices we would have actively supported any student whose placement made this more compliant, especially with that original timeline

Will
they withhold her level 2 qualification if they sack her if she calls in sick etc?

If they do you can absolutely wreck their accreditation. I'd be tempted to contact your Council and whichever of the exam boards they are affiliated to anyway.

They really are not doing half of the job - supporting students into the permanent workplace

So rude