'Summer hours' for a four day week

[SteelMagnolia]

Just posted in AIBU, but someone rightly pointed out I should post here. For June/July/August, 13 weeks, employees at my company (800 employees, public company) get to leave at 3pm. Normal leaving hours for Fridays are 5pm, so that is 2 hours off. So, over the three months, that is a total of 26 hours off.

I don't work on Fridays. I work Mon-Thurs. My salary, bonus, public holidays, etc are all 4/5ths of what it was when I was full time. I assumed I would be entitled to some kind of summer concession, to equal 4/5ths of 26 hours, which is 20.8 hours. I sent an email to my HR rep today asking if they'd decided what to do about summer hours for those not working Fridays (there are several mums in the office on a reduced schedule.)

My HR team's response, via an official "summer hours Q&A" she attached to an email:
'Q: What happens if I don?t work on a Friday?
A: Lucky you! That's just one of those things unfortunately; you won't be able to carry over to another day."

However the Q&A says they ARE going to make concessions for people who are unable to leave early on Fridays because of their duties. So, they are making some adjustments.

AIBU to think this is not right? (And to be annoyed at the language they used, ie "Lucky you!" Anyone not working Fridays probably have kids and ARE working their butts off that day, at home!)

It almost sounds like that question on the Q&A was for those taking a Friday holiday. But I was quite clear in my email that I was asking about my reduced schedule, and this is the document she sent back. I'll go into the office tomorrow to clarify, but it would be great to know more about any legal standards or just general HR best practice that might apply!

Thanks in advance.

so you leave at 3 during those months m-thursday too?

The 3pm leave time only applies to Fridays during summer months. So HR is saying that I don't get any reduced hours on the days I do work, Mon-Thurs, as this benefit is only available on a Friday.

Seems a bit unfair to me and I would challenge it, though do they forfeit a lunch break maybe? We often leave an hour early because my team don't take refreshment breaks.

YANBU to think it's not right and also to be annoyed at the highly irritating 'Lucky you' as if you get paid for your Fridays off or something and are at home with your feet up!

As a part timer you can't be treated less favourably as compared to a full timer, simple as that. That includes paid leave. So if full timers are getting an extra 26 hours paid leave over the summer period, those working part time should get a pro rata amount accordingly. From an HR point of view it's really not rocket science and your HR team are clearly incompetent.

Part timers protection

This is slightly different but might be relevant. When we had the extra bank holiday the other week for the Royal Wedding this was on a Friday. Did you get extra holiday time back for this?

I work Mon-Thur and did get 4/5ths of a day back for the Royal Wedding day. Is it worth checking your contract - are you contracted for 30 hours per week or specifically Monday to Thursday each week?

Flowery - I see your point (and I agree it would be best practice to pro rate), but I'm not 100% sure its totally legally cut and dried in this situation. Surely there's an argument that it's not part timers who are disadvantaged per se, but part timers who don't work Fridays. Other part timers will not lose out at all. In fact, they will benefit more than full timers proportionately. Isn't it potentially analagous to those cases where full timers lost bank holidays if they were on the 7 day rota and weren't scheduled for that day? Not a test case I'd want to argue but still...

Thank you for that link, Flowery.

Cal: didn't get that Royal Holiday pro rated. Didn't think to ask about that one at the time! Interesting that you did!

I work tues-thurs and I have always phrased my questions to my boss like this...

'if I was in the office on a mon/fri when there is a bank holiday i'm sure you'd want me to make up hours, so as I work tues-thurs surely i'm due some kind of entitlement'

I would do the same with the friday extra leave. In fact I do that when everyone else has half a day off for christmas eve and other 'do's' during the year.

They cannot have one rule for full timers and another for part timers no matter which days you work. IME

I see what you mean Ribena, and I guess they could defend it by saying the extra leave isn't only applied to full timers as some part timers are also benefiting. But the only people being excluded from the benefit are part timers and it's their part time status which is causing them to be excluded. Unless there are full timers working eg Sun - Thurs who are also missing out or something, which would obviously be different.

Strikes me this HR team hasn't actually given it any that amount of thought anyway!

I think the HR dept hasn't dealt with this much, and they've not thought it through. It's a very "young" company in terms of average age of employee, so not too many employees with kids, at least in the main office where I work.

I emailed my HR contact today, just to clarify the policy and ask about the process they went through to come to that decision. As luck would have it, all of HR was at an offsite today. But I mentioned it (as casually as possible) to the woman that runs our department (about 60 people) and she said that the HR policy is nuts. She said that they are giving some free holiday time to those who cannot leave early on Fridays due to job obligations, and that they would certainly do something as well for part time workers. So, no matter what HR thinks, it is great to know I have her support!

4/5 of 2 hours is 1hr 36 minutes so i think that you should be allowed to leave at 3.24pm on a thursday.