Bank Holidays and how to request a change in contract

[Willowwisp23]

I currently work 2 days a week, one of which is a Monday. My leave entitlement is 25 days plus bank holidays pro rata. My issue is, my employer has worked this out as 13.25 days less any bank holidays applicable to me this year (they say 6 even though it's 5) which leaves me with 7.25 days annual leave between now and January 2021.

This works out as 3.5 weeks which is not the 5 weeks I was expecting (25 days pro rata).

I have enquired with HR and was basically told it is correct so that's that. I want to take it further but would appreciate some advice from someone who works in HR as to how to word this. I'm considering requesting my days are changed so I no longer work Mondays but again, am unsure what to say without coming across a bit pissed off!

Should I be entitled to the 5 weeks off I thought I was? I left my last job due to similar bank holiday issues and moved on thinking I wouldn't have any of those problems this time around.

So full time is 25 + 8 by = 33 days
0.4 pro rata would be 3.3 x 4 = 13.2
Is this the sum they did? Then from that taken the bank holiday you automatically take. It is a reason why I do not work Mondays, also for the fact nursery closes on bank holidays and I still have to pay

You could ply for flexible working asking for a day change and see if they are able to accommodate.

It’s 6 Monday’s if you don’t work a Saturday as Christmas Day is a Friday, sat is Boxing Day so you get the Monday off to compensate.

Not sure why a move in employer made you think working Mondays wouldn’t have the same issue.

My last employer wouldn't pay me bank holidays at all but I got 5 weeks off. In my interview for my current job the HR person said 'oh we won't do that here, you'll get 5 weeks plus your bank holidays paid'.

If I have to work Mondays ive said I'd rather not get paid for a few of them if it means it doesn't eat into my annual leave. I was told they can't do that.

if You work on the Mondays you would get the day back to take as another day off.

Their calculation is correct as you get 2/5 of the 33 day entitlement which is 13.2 days which they have rounded up to 13.25. You have less choice in when to take those days due to bank holidays but you are still getting the correct amount. Try to change from a Monday working day to get more choice in when to take your leave

They have calculated it correctly and if they weren't doing it that way they would be treating you more favourably than those that work full time. That said, if your preferred working day is a Monday then I would suggest having a conversation with them about switching days in at least some of the weeks to cover the BHs. Ultimately, they want you to work so they may well be open to this.

If you don't want to take the bank Holiday off will they allow you to work a different day that week?

When a job offers holiday and it’s pro data, thats the full time equivalent. 5 weeks is the full time equivalent. As a part time employee you get a portion of that. As a part time employee, you will also be given a portion of bank holidays, 40% as you are working 40% of the week.

25 days (5 weeks holiday entitlement) *0.4 = 10 days
8 days (Bank holiday entitlement) *0.4 = 3.2 days

Seems like everything they’ve told you is right. You don’t full time holidays when you only work part time.

13.25 days with you working 2 days a week works out as 6.6 weeks holiday

Yes another thought I had was asking to just leave my days as they are but work a few days extra on bank holiday weeks to build up some time off in lieu for holidays.

I'll send an email to manager so I can hopefully get points across clearly before seeing him when I'm next at work.

I understand I am only entitled to 40% of a full timers entitlement. It's them deducting bank holidays automatically leaving me with less than 5 weeks holidays I have a problem with.

You dont build up time off in lieu normally. Can you not just ask to swap a day in the bank holiday week so they dont take the day out of your entitlement

I have this issue too and it's a pain in the arse. I get just 12 days though!!

I tend to work extra days in the bank holiday week so I don't have to use my holiday. I do have to rely on my parents though for childcare on my extra days, which I know not everyone can do.

That's what happens when you work mondays. You still get the correct number of days off but fewer of them are of your choice

Your entitlement is perfectly correct. The only ways you could get more leave to take on days of your choosing would be:

a) your employer gives you more paid leave than everyone else gets
b) you work bank holidays (if they are open)
c) you use unpaid leave to be off on bank holidays to free up some holiday
d) you work different days on bank holiday weeks to preserve some annual leave entitlement
e) you swap days and don’t work a Monday.

I suggest you remove any sense of ‘taking it further’ or it being an ‘issue’ from your discussions. They are currently being fair and you are requesting some additional flexibility that they are not obliged to agree to. Hopefully they will but be careful not to come across as being whingy...

You have the right no of hols, just less choice over when to take them because of when BHs fall.

They won't change this as it would be treating you more favorably than everyone else.

Change your day is the best bet,via a flex working request. Nothing to get annoyed about,unless you want to get annoyed at whoever decides bank hols in the first place

The bank holiday entitlement though is 3.2 days, not the 6 or 5 you state in your OP. You have 10 days of leave, 5 weeks. There are 3 bank holidays that fall on a Monday between now and January 2021 - Easter Monday, second May Bank holiday and August Bank holiday. You then have 0.2 holiday of bank holiday for the other bank holidays when you aren’t working as that is what you are entitled to. I don’t understand where the 5 or 6 days has come from. Unless your other working day is Friday so they are taking the first May bank holiday, Good Friday and Christmas Day? Which would be correct that it’s 6 days bank holidays, not 5 as you believe.

Hi OP - way to look at it is if you are part time you are entitled to pro-rata annual leave and public holidays - so if you work 40% of full time hours you will only be entitled to 40% of the annual leave and public holiday entitlement.

Because you will be getting every public holiday off that falls on a Monday - if you add this up in hours taken over the year, this will be way more than 40% (i.e. more than your entitlement). Employers therefore need to deduct time from your annual leave to balance it up.

Way around this is to change your working days - work any day except Monday!

Thank you everyone for your opinions. Some very helpful comments to assist me with my email.

look at it this way:

Say it worked the way you wanted with bank holidays not subtracted so you get 10 days (five weeks)

Someone who worked Wed/Thurs in the same job with the same pay would get 10 + 1 paid days where they don’t have to be at work (one Wednesday bank holiday).

Someone (working mon/tues in this example) would get 10 + 4 (4 mon/tues bank holidays) paid days off for the same salary

Why should the second person get more days pay than the first person?

First May bank holiday of 2020 (4th)has been moved to Friday 8th for VE celebrations.