Holiday entitlement for compressed hours

[violetmarcel]

Hiya,

I currently work 4 days a week (28 hours) and get 80% of FTE annual leave, which including bank holidays is equal to 28 days. As I don't work Mondays, most years this leaves me with 24 days to choose ie 6 weeks at 4 days a week.

I've been asked to increase my hours to full time (35) but been told I can do them over 4 days still. However, my new contract states 35 hours per week "flexible". I understand this has been done so that I can genuinely fit the hours in according to business and personal need, but by not stipulating 4 days will that affect my holiday entitlement?

So if 35 days is FTE including bank holidays, that leaves me with 27 days after bank holidays, then that's 5 weeks and 2 days left to choose, so less holiday?

I suppose if it's truly flexible then it should be stipulated in hours, and I'd have to book a bank holiday off if I want it as leave, unless I did the 35 hours the rest of the week?

Confused! Can you help at all?

Thank you

I work compressed hours ‘flexibly’....but my official day off is Monday.....I can always change my day off tho to suit service needs or if I have appts of my own...lthis means that I only have to take bank holiday leave hours on non Monday bank holidays ( at 9 hours).... the other hours are mine to take when I want.

I find that for anything non-standard in terms of hours (e.g. I work short days 4 days a week) it is easier and clearer to think of annual leave (and % of Bank Holiday days) in terms of hours rather than days. This is particularly important if you're working flexibly.

Ok if you are working full time 35 hours a week then you should get the full 28 days annual leave per year.

However because you work compressed hours, working those 35 hours across 4 days not 5, each time you take a day of annual leave you should be deducting 1.25 days from your annual leave allowance, not just 1 day.

So that means that the 28 days of leave still gives you the same amount of leave in weeks.

However you have been having too much leave while you were on 0.8fte terms. 80% of 28 days of leave is 22.8 days, not 24 days. You have been having 1.2 days free extra leave. This mistake has presumably now been realised.

Oh hang on is 28 days the pro-rata leave allowance or the full time leave allowance. The above may be wrong.

Because so many of us work part time where I am, our holiday is calculated in hours, which makes it much clearer. You could suggest that to your manager/HR if it would make it easier/fairer to keep track.

”However because you work compressed hours, working those 35 hours across 4 days not 5, each time you take a day of annual leave you should be deducting 1.25 days from your annual leave allowance, not just 1 day.”

Oh good grief! Why on earth make it so complicated?! Taking 1.25 days to take a day off! No no no. Working compressed hours just means OP gets paid (say) 9 hours when she takes a day off rather than (say) 7. Reducing the number of days holiday she gets is absolutely fair and makes life a lot easier. Every time she takes a day off she gets paid for more hours, so it works out correct.

If you use the method you’re suggesting, presumably that means a part timer who works 9-2 would have to deduct a set percentage of one day from her holiday entitlement every time she wanted to take a day off, and a colleague working 2-5 would have to take a smaller percentage, and everyone’s head explodes!

OP if you’re going to be working 4 days a week your holiday entitlement should be 35/5x4= 28 days, inclusive of bank holidays. Same as you get now. All you’re doing is increasing how many hours you work in a day.

Thank you everyone!

Flowery, if my contract were to stipulate 35 hours flexible, is the assumption that it's over 5 days, or is that something I need to talk to HR about? I know my manager is expecting me to compress my hours over 4, but I don't know where I stand with bank holidays etc if I don't have a defined working week.

I think it’s a good thing that it’s on hours not days.

So. You work 35 hours, when you want.

To take a week off work (5 days) you take 35 hours off. It’s fine.

*in hours.

@violetmarcel

Thank you everyone!

Flowery, if my contract were to stipulate 35 hours flexible, is the assumption that it's over 5 days, or is that something I need to talk to HR about? I know my manager is expecting me to compress my hours over 4, but I don't know where I stand with bank holidays etc if I don't have a defined working week.

I don’t know what HR are assuming but I would make it a priority to ensure the contract is accurate. If you and your manager both anticipate that you’ll continue four days a week, make sure it says that. If your manager wants more “flexibility” then thrash out exactly what that could look like. Will it involve changing your days sometimes (but retaining the four days a week) or are they going to drift into wanting you to come in five days a week.

Get it crystal clear what you’ll be doing and what flexibility both parties will have.

If you might be working five days a week and/or doing different number of hours each day, then calculating and booking your holiday in hours makes sense.

If you’re going to continue doing four days then nothing needs to change. 28 days a year, and any bank holidays you would be working but would like to take off come out of that total.

Thank you