AIBU ?? Holliday pays ?

[looneyloo88]

My boss has been really funny about my holidays ( he tries to forget about it etc ) just before Xmas he told me I have 3.2 days left and that they will be nice and round it to 4 . Only in feb when Asked about how much Holliday I have and if I have to use it before April he got all pissed of and flustered and said " you don't have to use it " so I said but if I don't use it by April it's gone right ? And he said yes either use it or lose it before April 6th he then said I have 3 days ( he actually rounded it down - but I didn't care just glad to get some Holliday ) anyway I had two days left to use , so a couple weeks ago I asked my other boss ( his wife ) she said not to take them if possible this month as too busy in work , and I had until April 6 to use them , I agreed it's fine . So I assumed I had the first week in April off as it's the only week left now !!! I then asked to have a day off this week for my sick son , which was fine and as I left work today I said " I'm only working one day next week so which day is preferable for you ?" They we're both shocked saying " what do you mean ? And I said well it's the only week left to take my remaining Holliday and I was meant to have that week off ? My boss then said " well this is the first I heard about this " in a pissed off tone , he also said " I'm not an asshole you can take your holidays after April owed it fine " changing his tune and then getting me to move it to another date again 🤷‍♀️ . Another thing is every single one of my hollidays apart from these two are used on times they close their business to go away !!! So I never get to chose when to use my days apart from two of them out of 13 . They made me look like a complete idiot , changing their mind about things all the time !!! Sorry no point to this just a rant really 🤣 anyway they make me feel like I'm in the wrong all the time .

They sound disorganised and difficult but you were at fault too- “So I assumed I had the first week in April off as it's the only week left now !!!....as I left work today I said " I'm only working one day next week so which day is preferable for you ?"

Don’t assume. If you’ve got x days to book, put in a request for the specific days you want. Don’t assume, and don’t just announce you will only be working x days. Also don’t assume the two are communicating effectively. Book holiday properly and put it on whatever calendar the business uses.

Do you have holiday forms that you can get signed - if not, (and it's just you as the employee) then create one.

That way, you get it signed, and put it in the calendar (outlook etc).

Keep your own records if they don't.

Employers can specify when holiday is used ( for example a Christmas shutdown), but it would be pretty harsh if they tried to do that for all holiday.

We don't have Holliday forms to signs etc it's an extreme small company , I don't even have a contract that I've ever signed 😑. very laid back about these things . I only have 12 days to take and 10 are used up when they close for Xmas (4days) and another 6 when they close for work related travel . Guess next time I need to be more blunt about when to take them as I was 99% sure she said next week as it's the only week left !!

I would email them the days you want to take and keep these and any response from now on. If they don't reply but just speak to you about it then send a.confirmation eg further to our conversation I confirm I will be taking x date as annual leave and copy both of them in.

I would create a holiday form and get it signed off each time I requested leave.
It sounds chaotic. You don’t have much leave and they don’t seem to have factored leave into their business plans.

I wouldn't have assumed.. I would have sent them an email and said 'due to there only being a week left, could I request to have mom/tues/weds off' and only once they had replied would I have taken that as confirmation (plus it's in writing) - that's in the absence of holiday forms or an electronic system. They obviously haven't planned for you being off so I wouldn't be surprised if they tell you no now - however, I don't think you should lose them. A lot of companies will allow carry over into the next year if necessary - a small company shouldn't have issue with this.

Yes, it sounds unorganised but it also sounds like you had plenty of time to choose 3 days to take if you were told before Xmas?

The law states you have to take your statutory leave during that year , you can only carry over days in excess of your minimum entitlement .
You do have a contract , but turning in for work you have agreed to work to their terms , they really should be issuing you a company handbook outlining their policies
An employer can dictate when you take your leave . How many hours do you work per week ? 12 days leave per year is about 2 days work a week?

My previous job was like this (very glad I left and didn't go back after having DS).
We had holiday forms, but we had to submit, and then usually chase and chase and chase to get it signed off.
In fact I was signed off for 6 weeks due to pregnancy issues, and I had booked the four days of when I was due to return weeks before I went off sick, and still got a bollocking because my boss hadn't signed it off (because I wasn't there to chase) so I should have known that I was due to come in... despite having no access out of work to the calendar etc so didn't know it hadn't been approved.
I learnt everything had to be done in a traceable way, texts/emails etc. Even if I had a conversation, I would then follow it up with an email, making sure to cc my boss/payroll (dealt with holiday too/the other director (boss's wife) and my colleague.
They still said they knew nothing about it, but at least I had the evidence

I did ask about the three days a month ago !! But they send they were too busy for my to take them this month at all but I've got until 6th April to use them , so to me if I can't use them March at all then it only obviously leaves one option which is first week in April ?? As my boss said I'm not allowed to take them next tax year . But now he's back tracking saying he's " not an asshole " and I can carry them over 🤷‍♀️🙄