Holiday Entitlement

[Mablethorpe]

Can my boss refuse a holiday request?

Background - although I can work from home, and have done previously in this job, he now refuses to let me work this way as he says 'I'm not as effective when working from home'. Ultimately, this means I book leave during school holidays where necessary to care for my DC. This makes little sense to me as he is then without my support completely. I am an office manager, just one of me, no other admin in office of 13.

He has ignored my request to take leave on Friday and has been away on business since Friday last week.

What's my plan of action? I really do need Friday off as there really isn't anyone else who can have my DC and lord knows I've tried!

Yes he can. He must allow you to take your holiday entitlement but he does not have to agree to your preferred dates. Are you able to contact him? If you can I would be completely open about your childcare problems for Friday and see if he will agree. But if he won't I'm afraid you will have to make other arrangements for your children. There may be a holiday club at a local school that will take them, for example.

Sorry, but it makes every sense to me that he wouldn't want to pay you for working from home and looking after DCs as well, loss of efficiency is inevitable, the expectation is that if you work from home you use childcare, generally. The only exceptions would be if you still completed your entire day's normal workload by carrying on longer say into the evening or in a genuine emergency.

However if he has been accepting this practice and has given you very little notice to change it it is unreasonable to refuse holiday at such short notice and more unreasonable to not respond at all. Who normally deals with holiday requests when he is on holiday himself, can you speak to them?

No employer wants you to 'work from home' so that you can look after your child. They're paying you to work and trusting you to do so. Your boss has already told you you're not working as effectively when you 'work from home'. Which is hardly surprising really if you're using the opportunity as childcare.

I should have said I work part-time (20 hours a week) and that my children are 9 and 12. They hardly need watching as they do their own thing in the house but someone has to be home.

Re the effectiveness thing - my manager is fully aware that I work the whole four hours at home, can see my online in Skype and frequently contacts me via that. Last time I worked from home, I made calls and shored up almost £45k in owed money and also invoiced for another £30k. I do not slack from home!

As others have said, you are entitled to request holiday, and you must be allowed to take it within the year, however, yes your boss can refuse specific dates