two questions about fixed term contracts

[dollybird]

I have a couple of colleagues who are on fixed term contracts covering maternity leave. Colleague 1 has been told to take all her remaining holiday before the end of her contract - is this right? When I left my old job (permanent role) I was paid for holiday I hadn't taken - is it different for fixed term contracts?

Colleague 2's contract is due to end at the end of the first week in January to enable a weeks handover back to the lady whose maternity leave she is covering. She has told me that she is going to ask for holiday for the last two weeks, and if they say no she'll hand in her notice so that her last day will be the last working day before Christmas anyway. I suppose that this is allowed, but I wondered if this happens a lot? Personally I wouldn't do it, as I'd worry about burning my bridges, maybe not getting a great reference and making my last weeks awkward, but then I'm a cautious type and haven't done a fixed term contract myself before.

The fixed term contract allows for whatever is written in it. 6 month’s is six months and not six months and 12 days.

As for colleague #2, it’s pretty bloody selfish if a handover is required. I wouldn’t bother to employ her again.

An employer is perfectly entitled to require an employee to take holiday at any point during or at the end of employment. Your colleague 1 being on a fixed term contract is irrelevant.

Colleague 2 is being shortsighted if she wants a good reference or to be employed by this company again.

Thank you. As I suspected for colleague 2. I think she's finding the job stressful, so wants an excuse to leave early without going too early if that makes sense. And she thinks not much handover is required as other colleague will have only had 7 months mat leave and she's tried not to change any procedures too much, but I still think it will make her look bad.

Makes sense for colleague 1, I suppose when I left my old job they only had four weeks notice for me to update all my procedures, make sure everything was up to date, and handover, so they wouldn't have wanted me to take all my holiday anyway.

With colleague 1 they may not have budget to pay for accrued holiday leave as well as the time of her contract.

Good point TheClacksareDown. They definitely don't.