NHS Bank holiday entitlement for part timers

[pixipie151]

Hi There

I wondered if any NHS part time staff could help me. I work Tue, wed and thurs 7.5hrs per day (22.5hrs per week). My contract says I get my pro rata annual leave entitlement of 16 days plus a bank holiday pro rata entitlement which works out at 5 days. The HR guy I spoke to said I only use the bank holiday entitlement when it falls on a day I work (which basically will only ever be at Christmas/NY) as all the others are mons and fri which I dont work). The rest I loose.

Does this mean that other people who work part time mon, tue, weds get overall more leave than me as they use more of their BH entitlement?

I thought Id be able to use up the remainder BH entitlement as I wished. This doesn't seem fair!

Can anyone advise?

Thats not how it works where I am. The Pro-Rata BH entitlement is just added on to your AL (so you get 16+5 = 21 days). If a BH falls on one of your working days you have to take it out of your leave entitlement on that day, otherwise it's just normal holiday request rules. Have a look at the Agenda for Change T&C, they're on the web somewhere.

I'm sure those 5 days are extra for you to take when you wish. When I worked part-time in a dept that was closed over bank holidays I didn't have to book it as annual leave. Nor do the full timers it's automatically given. Or part-timers who work Monday to Friday short hours.

I'm sure they are yours to take when you want.

I am prepared to stand corrected though by someone with a better memory than me.

The law was changed in the last few years to allow you to get the BH pro-rata'd whether you normally work it or not. Your HR man is wrong :)

Agree with others. You use the prorated BH hours to offset those you would otherwise work (ie 7.5 per day) and what is left over becomes AL

Good grief. This is where I need a [rolls eyes] emoticon. If the NHS habitually employs such incompetent HR people then a bit of cost-saving in that area will not go amiss.It's basic HR stuff so that's quite worrying really.

As a part timer you cannot be treated less favourably than a full timer, so in terms of holiday, you must receive pro rata what a full timer would get. If your contract calculates that a pro rata holiday entitlement for you is 16+5 days, then that's what you should get. You can't be made to lose any of it because you work the 'wrong' days or anything equally ridiculous.

What rules your employer puts on how/when holiday must be taken is up to them but you must get your 21 days.

My tolerance for incompetence in my own profession is incredibly low, hence the eye-rolling and huffing and puffing!

HR are wrong - I assume you are under Agenda for Change? If you do a quick google for the Agenda for CHange handbook it explains how bank holiday entitlement works for part-timers. I suggest you print off a copy and send it to HR.

Thanks eveyone, that's what I suspected. I think I've given the HR bloke a nervous breakdown as I just couldn't make sense of what he was saying. He went off to sit down with a pen and paper and work it out - he never rang back, I wonder if he's still at his desk!

Its rubbish isn't it? Because he's probably told some other poor soles his version of the BH allowence and they're missing out.

Thanks one and all :)