Holiday entitlement this Xmas. I’m adamant my employer is wrong!

[Rallyaround]

So I have 28 days annual leave. But 8 of those are for public holiday and 20 when I choose.
These 8 obviously cover bank holidays and Xmas and new year. In Scotland the 2nd is a bank holiday therefore covered by those 8.
So I was told two of the annual leave days will cover the Xmas and new year weeks. So as Xmas is on a Sunday I assumed the days would be Monday and Tuesday. However I have been told this morning that we are expected to work Tuesday to Friday. So I said ok I’ll presumably have that day in lieu. I was told no I just lose it.
I have argued that this I’m sure is incorrect.
they want the business operating on the Tuesday which I get and I’m fine with, but you then get the day back in lieu.
They are adamant I don’t and it’s just tough if Xmas lands at the weekend. This has been going on for years with nobody questioning it. I’m new this year.
Please tell me I haven’t got this wrong?

@Rallyaround @ChillyB The OP only gets 28 days leave including BH I.e. the statutory minimum. So whilst they can require the OP to work on a BH they cannot also deduct a days leave for the BH leaving her with 27 days leave.

It could be different depending on an employees contract.

The issue may be in 2022 there have been 2 extra BH, for the Jubilee and Queen’s funeral. Depending on her contract these 2 days could have been taken out of the 28 days. However, as OP has stated she worked the funeral and only started in August then she is not impacted by this.

I agree with @Gazelda set out entitlement and actual days taken and see what they say. If they insist on deducting the day talk to ACAS.

Thanks for all the replies. They have got back to me and said I can take the Tuesday if I want but nobody else is getting it so I should go and enjoy it. It just feels like they are making out I’m asking for something special or something I shouldn’t be getting.
I don’t know how I can explain it to them anymore than I have.
I feel for alone if the part timers as Sunday and Monday are not part of her working week so she will be doing her normal hours and told me that she will be getting those two days deducted. 😳
She has been there years and said it’s the way it’s always been.
Either the staff don’t have a backbone or they don’t know.

*feel for one of the part timers

@Rallyaround they are breaking the law if they deduct BH falling on non-working days.

Surely it is straight forward. You are entitled to a total of 28 days. Each day you don't work is deducted from the 28. If there are 9 bank holidays, and you want to take them all off, you will left with only 19 days of holidays outside BH.

Officially, Tuesday is a BH, so if you take it off, it counts as 1 day of you 28. If you are working it, it doesn't.

I'd try explaining it simply.

I am legally entitled to a minimum of 5.6 weeks paid holiday (5 x 5.6 is 28 days holiday). This includes bank holidays if you wish me to take them off.
I work pro rata to 4 days so I am entitled to 22.5 days per year (4 x 5.6 is 22.4 rounded up).
However I didn't start work until August. Leave year end is March I am therefore entitled to 3/4 of my annual holiday entitlement (8 months) which is 16.8 days rounded up to 17 days.
I have taken the 11 following days as leave (list them) which leaves me 6 days remaining.
The following bank holidays will be leave (list them) which leaves me x days remaining.

Yes RappScallion I am going to put it in writing exactly like that. Hopefully they get that.
I will probably get fired. as much as I like the boss/owner, he has a reputation for his temper and getting on his wrong side. So will wait and see.

If you do, if I were you I'd be making sure all my colleagues knew what their holiday entitlement was supposed to be when I left.

Part timers are entitled to a pro-rata'd share of the bank holidays. Whether you win or lose on these depends on which days of the week you work.

It's why our HR person chose to work Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays when she cut down to part time, to maximise her annual leave!