Started my current job in local village shop 10/11 years ago. Boss said we got a 2 week holiday per year which I challenged as I knew this was incorrect so she did then reluctantly adjust all our holiday allowance based on hours worked.
It's always been difficult to get time off as whenever one of us is off it means the other person has to cover and do 7/14 days straight. So she came up with the idea of paying any unused holiday to us as cash.
Last year we wanted to move house so I saved most of my allowance thinking I could take 2 weeks off for the move but we changed our minds and then covid hit.
It was then impossible to take time off as 2 staff members went on the sick for over 4 months and although she brought in family to cover most of that there was no one to cover anyone else taking time off.
So come May I had nearly all my holiday hours left so she started adding them on to my wages instead, without me asking.
So this year now I've got roughly half my holiday hours left and have been wanting to have 1 or 2 weeks off to use them up. Thinking I have til the end of April to sort that out.
However she's once again started paying me them. At first I thought she had made a mistake and said 'you paid me double hours last week?'
She said..' yes holiday pay.. remember we had that talk about it..I've got it all written down so I'll deduct it from your holiday hours left'
I tried to say we hadn't had a talk about it that's why I was confused at the extra pay but didn't want to cause a scene in work arguing with her so I just said thanks and left it. I was thinking well I still have enough to take 2 weeks off.
However she's since written down that she paid me holiday hours in both January and February and taken them off..now I barely have enough for a week off and I'm 100% sure that she never paid me extra until this week as my wages are pretty much the same on a fortnightly basis.
So now I'm wondering how to approach this with her..yes we discussed it the previous year- after she started paying me - but not until may and on the basis that there was no one to cover my shifts so I couldn't take the time off.
This year it's not been mentioned at all and as far as I was aware I still had time to book time off.
I feel like she's done it on purpose to make me unable to take time off.
I don't understand how it works legally with unused holiday hours. But surely she should of asked me first if I wanted it as time off or pay?
That would mean in 2 years I've only had 4 weeks actual time off work.