Part time workers and bank holidays. Fair or unfair?

[crunchiesnuts]

I know that it’s completely legal and up to the employer, but I’m just curious about what people think about this.

I’m part of a small team (there are 7 of us in total). Everyone works full time, 5 days a week, except for one person who is part time, working 3 days a week. This person works Monday-Wednesday. When there’s a bank holiday, they switch their days and work from Tuesday to Thursday instead. Like I said, I know this is all above board and our manager is fine with it, but the rest of the team feels it’s a bit unfair since they don’t have a say and have to use their annual leave regardless.

I’m kind of torn on it. I know this person asked to work Mondays when she took the job, so it feels a bit like having the best of both worlds, but I also get not wanting to burn through almost all your annual leave just for the bank holidays. Recently, this person has mentioned how she doesn’t complain about the fact that the rest of us get more holidays and better pay (which is a bit confusing since we work more hours, so naturally, we would), but it’s stirred up some tension in the office, and I guess, some people think she’s rubbing it in their face. I’m just interested in hearing what others think. Even though it’s legal, do you see it as fair or unfair?

Not sure what your point is. We get lots of "can I swap my day because of..." which are almost always granted whereas "can you come in" is frequently refused.

Her bank holidays will be adjusted and she will only recieve 60% of them in her allowance. She probably has to adjust her days because working Mondays will mean more bank holidays fall on a working day than her allocation.

My contract does NOT say I am a Monday Tuesday worker.
but that I work 2 days a week. Nominally that’s Monday and Tuesday (for example) so people can book meeting with me easily. But it can be moved around based on mone and the business needs.

ignoring bank holidays, in a normal week if u have a hospital appointment on Tuesday I’d simply work Wednesday instead. Would people argue I must take Tuesday off and not catch up Wednesday? My work just waits for my return so best I am there doing it.

yes it’s flexible but my work is often “this legal contract needs reviewing today” so I do that and take my non working days another day.

That you giving your of necessity extremely limited personal experience doesn't tell us much here. Also I notice you're caveating it now. We've gone from the flexibility only goes one way to frequently refused, which are not at all the same thing.

But even if we were to assume your experiences are representative, which would be daft given the massive diversity of job roles and sectors, a pretty small percentage of flexibility requests being accepted by workers is still enough to make it an important benefit for some employers. One they wouldn't care to lose. Even the poster who originally made the point gets that.

Your coworkers are being nasty and petty.

You get fewer leave days as a part timer, so she doesn't want to waste them.

Surely it's an advantage to everyone to have another pair of hands around for an extra day when it's a shortened week.

You do sound pathetic though.

You signed a contract that surely stated your annual leave entitlement and the policy including bank holidays.

Your part time colleague’s contract and annual leave entitlement is nothing to do with you.

If you feel it’s “unfair” then how about you cut your hours down and go part time so you can swap your days how you see fit.

In case you missed it. My point:
full timer, pro earns more, con less free time
part timer, pro more free time, con earns less

as the saying goes, you can’t have it all.

I’ve just started working part time Monday, Wednesday, Friday and I only get 12.5 days annual leave this year when my full time colleagues get 24. So I don’t get the equivalent number of weeks. Which is a bit annoying. I think working on a Monday does disadvantage you a bit. But I have this pattern at work’s request, nursery availability and my husband’s working pattern. Maybe I should switch Thursday for Friday

The employee should not move their working days. On a week with a Monday bank holiday they should work Tuesday and Wednesday only.

The way to work it out is look at the bank holidays that fall on her days off i.e. on Thursday or Friday.

In 2026, there are 3 bank holiday days that fall into this category.

This employee works 60% of normal hours, 3 days out of 5, Monday to Wednesday.

This employee will get 3 days x 60% added onto their annual leave for the year. In this case 1.8 days.

I am a payroll manager and work 80% of the time, with Fridays off. In 2026, I have had 2 days x 80% added to my holidays entitlement ie 1.6 days for bank holidays that fall on a Friday.

The extra holiday to add will change each year depending on the days the bank holidays fall on.

This is the correct way to deal with it.

You make it sound as if we should have to feel sorry for part timers because they don't get a full time wage.

She'll have pro rata bank holiday and annual leave. If she had to take off all her bank holidays, she'd probably have to use actual annual leave. I mean having 5.5 days bank holiday leave to use as normal annual leave isn't the absolute end of the world, and also I image she is forced to take Christmas and Boxing day as bank holiday leave if the office is shut so maybe she only has 3 bank holiday days to play with? Do those 3 days a year affect the rest of the team, I mean, she's in just as much as everyone else pro rata as she doesn't get any extra time off? If not, I guess it's just a little unintended perk your part timer has that's no big deal, and everyone should just be happy for her as it's no harm.

The only equaliser would be to force her to take pro rata bank holidays off but that's a bit crab bucket mentality.

You don’t have to resort to name calling to make your point. I’m fine with being told I was wrong, and I’ve already accepted that (multiple times actually if you want to read my previous comments). But it’s a bit hypocritical to accuse someone of bullying while calling them a cunt and a bitch.

I don’t work a Monday on purpose so I get some extra bank holdiays to use on other days. Ours is worked out that you get 25 days a year plus 8 bank holidays.

So if you work 3 days you get 0.6 of this allowance. So 15 days holiday and 5 bank holidays (20 days holiday in total). Then any bank holiday that falls on your working day you have use one of your 20 days. Which works out better when you don’t work Mondays.

OPs employers are mean. I have worked for the same local authority for 16 years get 30 days A/L plus 8 days public and bank holidays

20 days annual leave is seriously poor. I get 30 + bank holidays (pro rata at 85%) which as I don't work Mondays I get them added to my time I can take whenever which is very valuable when covering leaves etc.I purposefully have Monday as a NWD for this reason. I think that the source of your resentments here are that your leave allowance for all staff is the absolute legal minimum allowed.

I haven’t accused anyone of bullying 🤣
Nor have I called anyone a “cunt” or a “bitch” so not sure why that’s relevant to me.

If you think being called “pathetic” over something you were being pathetic about is name calling then you really do need thicker skin. Especially if you work in an office as toxic and childish as the one it seems you work in. Enjoy your upcoming bank holidays 👍🏼

That seems unfair to me. I worked in the civil service. When I switched to part-time, my holiday entitlement was adjusted to reflect my working hours so if I worked 3/5 days per week, I'd be allowed 3/5 of the annual leave and 3/5 of the Bank Holiday leave. That meant that it didn't matter which days I worked - my leave was always proportionate.

You are in the public sector. Outside public sector and probably high end private sectors like law, accounting, tech, and others which need highly skilled workers 28 days which includes the public holidays may well be the norm.

M and S and Sainsburys are 28 days including the public holidays.

There was a thread a couple of Christmas ago where many posters said the they didn't like that their employers weren't open on Boxing Day or New Year's day as it ate into their hoiidays.

I think the only problem you have is a toxic working environment. Hours worked, days worked, leave taken, is between managers and HR and nothing to do with anyone else. I work in a team where people are always working flexibly, swapping days and so on and it's got absolutely nothing to do with me. I have enough trouble keeping on top of my own leave arrangements. I'm glad I work in a friendly supportive team, that's priceless.

Okay, thank you for your input.

The employer isn’t doing anything wrong here - they can choose not to pay for bank holidays if the workplace closes for the day, so if employees want to be paid they have to take annual leave. This would equally apply to the part timer who can choose to take the same pro rata leave or not be paid. I don't think it’s that she’s forced to come in another day, that sounds like a choice, but it’s one that none of the full timers have so if that’s the case then I can see why others think it unfair.

That is what is happening.

she is also just choosing to work another day in a bank holiday week to avoids using one of her pro rata total holiday allowance (3/5 of the 28 days the rest get which is the legal minimum allowed)

Then go part time, earn less money overall (cost your company less money) and take one of the few perks for earning less overall, FFS

And stop talking about your colleague's contract; it's none of your business.

It’s odd that it bothers you though. Why does it annoy you? Maybe explain why you think it unfair other than it’s not something you can do. Are you picking up her work?

Then go part time, earn less money overall (cost your company less money) and take one of the few perks for earning less overall, FFS

These comments complaining about part timers earning less are irritating. You're not hard done by - you're being paid less because you do less work and you have greater flexibility.