Does this leave policy discriminates against part time workers (especially parents)??

[legalwotnot]

I have just started in a new job. I work half time (2.5 days a week).

Holidays for full time workers are 30 days per year. I get 15 pro-rata.

In addition there is leave for full time workers of 8 bank holidays ( 9 this year with the coronation).
I get pro rata leave for bank holidays - so 4.5 days this year. However, I am required to take all the bank holidays that fall on my working days (and 7 do), This means I have to make up the other 2.5 bank holiday days from my annual leave of 15 days.

Does this count as discrimination? Full time workers get all of their standard annual leave, plus all bank holidays, yet I am required to use some of my annual leave to cover bank holidays - which effectively means I get less than my half time pro rata annual leave.

This is a big deal for me as I have young children and having to arrange child care for an additional 2.5 days ( which is an entire working week for me) is obviously quite a big impact.

Any advice gratefully received.

Tell them you won't be working on a Monday so that you don't lose annual leave. I don't see why they should care unless they particularly need you to work Mondays, and if the office is closed on a BH and the full time people are off anyway.

So you want BH and more annual leave?

Your employer can quite legally tell you which days you are taking as holiday each year. They do not have to give you choice when you take any of them if they don;t want to. This used to be quite common when factories shut down for 2 weeks at a time. My first job, we got a set 2 weeks holiday at Christmas, 2 weeks in the summer and 4 "floating days" we could request to take when we wanted them.

Have you asked about options? We let p-t employees who are affected by this work extra time if they prefer to do that, instead of using up leave for BHs. Basically like Time Off In Lieu (or whatever you're supposed to call it now) in reverse.

This is one of the reasons I worked Tuesday, Wednesday and half day Thursday - it meant I got all the bank holidays "free" and the hours added on to my annual leave sheet. The only exception was Christmas Day and Boxing Day, NYD, which obviously change with the years, so some years Id have to use hours from my annual leave to cover them.

Read the thread. That is not what I am asking at all.

I have never worked anywhere where you can't work on BH Mondays if you want to. So I'd concentrate on ensuring you can work them (or enough of them so that you don't need to use AL). Sounds like there's no reason why you couldn't if weekend and evening work is accepted.

Yeah I think I will go to my manager with options.

1. Change my contract to Weds-Friday ( I haven't actually been given a contract to sign yet, so may be possible to change it!)
2. Change my working days when there are BH - I can, and actually have to to accommodate some meetings, change my days some weeks. But as someone else said, this depends on manager agreeing so may be best to change the contract.
3. See if HR allow BH to be a working day.

It's common practice but yes it's also a bit rubbish if you work a Monday.

My organisation has recently started to allow staff to flex some bank holidays (but we all still have to take Christmas and Easter off). Before this, everyone had to take all bank holidays off work - it was just standard and is in many places.

All you can do at the moment is change your working days or ask your manager if you can work BH's.

Totally standard for part time work - I have to deduct bank Holidays from my leave allowance (also public sector). Its not discrimination although I do understand its hard, especially when juggling childcare/school holidays etc. My non working day is currently Friday but I'm debating asking to swap it to Monday for this reason, think that's the easiest solution if an option for you

Did you mean to be so fatuous?

What about working Tues, Wed, Thurs then you always have a very long weekend?

I worked 2.5 days and worked a Monday as everyone was getting up for work on Mondays so I felt like I was finishing early every week, but I had flex that I could build to cover the bank holidays. Could you build flexi time up? That is another option.

I really want two days off in a row! Its my weekend without the kids : )

So working Weds- Fri best for me.

I can take six days flexi a year but want to use those for school holidays.

I like working Fridays. Everyone is always happy on a Friday!

Totally normal way of dealing with pt workers. I've done it for years. Some years you'll win, some you'll lose depending on what day of the week Christmas, Boxing Day and new year are. Of the standard 8 bh a year, 4 are Mondays. If you don't work Mondays, you can use your prorata bank holiday days at another time.

You’re mis interpreting the word ‘discrimination’.
Discrimination isn’t illegal - only discrimination of a protected characteristic is.

They can discriminate because you’re part time because that’s not a protected characteristic.

Not discrimination. You’ll get nowhere challenging it.

There is actually legislation protecting part time workers from less favourable treatment and also indirect sex discrimination can apply as a lot of part timers are women.

It still isn’t unlawful discrimination though. She gets the same amount of holidays as
everyone else. Just less days that she can book. It’s just a downside of being part time
and working a Monday.

Agree completely - apologies, I should have been a bit more clear :)

Some employers set all the leave their staff take and they don’t get to choose when to take any of it. Schools are obviously the main example but factories etc can do so too. You have the right to take the holiday but not necessarily at a time of your choosing. I agree with trying to change your working day

It is absolutely correct how they are calculating it, bog standard and in fact you are lucky that they are doing it correctly! And employers are allowed to tell employees when to take leave. Your full time colleagues are also having to use up leave to take bank holidays.

I am also part time, although I do partial days now, but previously I worked three days a week. I didn’t work Mondays which was good because it meant more flexibility over when I could take my leave, although I still got the correct number of pro rated days.

@legalwotnot

1. Fine
2. This may not work. HR/payroll system will have your contractual working pattern and assume you are paid for the BH falling on a Monday. So assumed you took leave that day. The flexibility you talk about is usually informal.
3. This may be fine. Be aware legally employers can specify BH as leave. This is because there can be an issue about some BH falling on Christian festivals e.g. Easter. Some non-Christians may also want to work BH and take another day. This could cause issues so they use the legal ability to specify office closed on BH and employees take a days leave.

I had someone raise a similar grievance and basically demanded to come into work on the bank holiday. We had no need for that. The union supported them with initial legal advice that I understood was " it is perfectly legal. There is no discrimination taking place in these circumstances"