Carrying over annual leave - is this fair?

[sleepychunky]

Our staff handbook says that we can carry over a maximum of 3 days' annual leave into the next calendar year. Great, no problem with that. Last year the CEO decided that actually people could carry over up to one week's leave (half of the staff work part-time, mainly 3 days per week). I am FT so carried over 5 days.
This year we are being told that we can only carry over 3 days into next year (I still have 8 days before the year ends on 31 March). My feeling is that this isn't fair, as this means that all the PT staff working 3 days per week get a whole working week to carry over, whereas the FT staff don't. All our other leave entitlements are done pro-rata for PT staff so surely this should be the case for this as well? I don't have a need to take any annual leave before March but I do need some right at the beginning of April, which I would like to use my carried over days for rather than eating in to next year's allowance straight away.
Do I have a case for questioning this do you think, or should I just suck it up as it's in the handbook?

Well if it went pro rata then the pt staff would be able to carry over fewer days, not you more. They've specifically reduced it for the full time staff

I think you should just let it go. The number of days being allowed to be carried over is presumably related to the delivery of whatever service you provide. So from your organisation's point of view, it's the number of A//L hours/days in total they would have to potentially accommodate, not whether those delivering the service work full or part time. Many places dont allow you to carry any leave over, and others it's at the manager's discretion. I wouldn't raise it.

Yes that's right, and that's what I feel isn't quite fair. My feeling is that it should be a week's equivalent for everybody, so 5 days for me and 3 days for the part-timers, or if it's 3 days for FT staff then it should be pro-rata for PT.

As a previous poster had pointed out this would normally be pro rata for part time staff
You can only carry over annual leave if it is over the minimum legal leave requirement

I would only question it if it has impact on your own allowance, not if it doesn't change anything for you but would negatively impact others.

As I understand it now, they have gone back to the previous policy for you/FT staff? It's just that the PTs get a benefit out of that?

In that case I wouldn't complain about the disparity (although you could still ask your boss about postponing your own days).

Our carryover is pro rata for part time as is our leave

Thanks all, I'm not going to make a deal out of it but was just wanting to see what people thought. I know we're lucky to have the opportunity to carry some over anyway and a lot of people don't get that.

Carrying over should be an 'exceptional circumstances only' thing anyway. Otherwise what happens is people keep carrying over effectively exactly the same week and never end up taking it, just like you've done this year. You carried over last year, then have only taken the 'right' amount this year, meaning the extra week you had left effectively hasn't been taken.

They don't get a week's leave to carry over though, they get the pro rata equivalent of 3 days. If that means they could have a week off because they only work Monday Tuesday and Wednesday that doesn't mean they're carrying over more leave....

@Isleepinahedgefund as it stands they do get a week to carry over if their working week is 3 days as everybody gets 3 days with no pro rata for PT. So out of the annual holiday allowance P/T staff can carry over 20% and F/T staff only 12%. But I know it's not a big deal in the scheme of things, just interested to see other people's points of view as all the other holiday/pay/whatever benefits are pro-rata for PT staff but not this aspect.
Thanks for all your input

I’d let it go. It doesn’t make any difference to what you can carry over does it?

I'm letting it go, don't worry!

The rule isn't unfair, but it doesn't mean that you can't ask if you can carry over more on the principle that you will use it shortly into the new year.

This happened to me one year and my boss was absolutely fine with me carrying over 3 more days than allowed on the basis that the holiday covered days over both years.

No harm asking.

Was this staff handbook amended when the five day carry over was implemented or was this just in the form of a whole staff communication? In either case, was it made clear whether the arrangement was for one year or ongoing? The answers to those questions would inform how I would phrase my request for an exception to be made in my case for this year only, in that I had considered that the increased carry over would apply to this year also and had structured my work timetable and personal arrangements accordingly.

I wouldn't push for a reversion to a policy that was in place for one year only though. Yes, in the interests of fairness it should all be pro rata'd out but as long as your actual leave is allocated pro rata that's all they need to do. An employer can in theory dictate every single day of leave an employee takes, so they're well within their rights to limit how much anyone can carry over, for operational reasons

As a manager I ensure all my staff take their entitlement and I take mine. If they need to carry days over I would be looking for the cause eg are we understaffed. Unless anyone needs to keep days to have an extended holiday they should be taking their leave. In UK also required by law to take 28 days or appropriate pro rata.