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Original poster

Bank holidays and annual leave - AIBU?

69 replies

Ambernectarine22 · 12/04/2023 19:21

I work a 4 day week (Tuesday to Friday at my employers' request). There are 7 bank holiday Mondays this year and I don't get any pay or time off in lieu for them. Is this normal? I have to take them off my annual leave allowance. There are also 2 bank holiday Fridays this year and I am told I have to take 3 days of my annual leave at Christmas. This only leaves 10.4 days for me to take whenever I want. Measly? Or reasonable?

I'd be very grateful for your views!

OP posts:
Sausagerolex · 12/04/2023 19:22

Why are you taking time out your AL when you don’t work the day?

Changingplace · 12/04/2023 19:23

Why do you need to use leave for the Mondays when you don’t work Mondays?

Tealsofa · 12/04/2023 19:23

You are working 80% of full time? Then you are entitled to 80% of what the full timers get

Legal UK minimum is 20 plus 8 bank holidays (standard)
So you are entitled to 80% of 28 which is 22.4 days

Augend23 · 12/04/2023 19:24

Tealsofa · 12/04/2023 19:23

You are working 80% of full time? Then you are entitled to 80% of what the full timers get

Legal UK minimum is 20 plus 8 bank holidays (standard)
So you are entitled to 80% of 28 which is 22.4 days

And then you don't need to take any bank holidays you aren't scheduled to work out of it, so you'd have to take good Friday out, and potentially some of the Christmas ones, but nothing else.

kweeble · 12/04/2023 19:25

Work it out in hours - you should only have to book the bank holiday days which fall on your work days. Join a Union / raise a grievance - what they are doing is illegal.

MsWhitworth · 12/04/2023 19:26

That’s not normal, no. You are meant to get a pro rata amount of bank holidays added to your leave (so 80% of 8). You do have to use leave for any bank holidays that fall on a working day. So that’s 2. You shouldn’t have to take any for bank holiday Mondays as you don’t work Mondays.

potatowhale · 12/04/2023 19:26

There's a government calculator to work it out somewhere. It also depends on wording of your contract. Is it x days PLUS bank holidays or X days including bank holidays.

potatowhale · 12/04/2023 19:27

MsWhitworth · 12/04/2023 19:26

That’s not normal, no. You are meant to get a pro rata amount of bank holidays added to your leave (so 80% of 8). You do have to use leave for any bank holidays that fall on a working day. So that’s 2. You shouldn’t have to take any for bank holiday Mondays as you don’t work Mondays.

Yes you should be getting more holiday if you don't work the Mondays.

dementedpixie · 12/04/2023 19:27

Minimum leave is 28 days (is this what full time staff get at your place of work?)
As you work â…˜ of full time you'd get 22.4 days which incudes pro rata bank holidays

You deduct any bank holidays that you are due to work (I.e. you dont deduct any Monday bank holidays) and then you get to choose the rest yourself

Zanatdy · 12/04/2023 19:29

In our place you’re given your proportion of the bank holidays in hours, so you then book off any that fall on a working day. So if you don’t work Monday you generally have quite a lot left over that’s transferred to your AL. You should definitely be getting your share, check with HR if your share of the hours has been added to your AL balance. I expect they will have and that’s why they are expecting you to book off the ones on your working days

Original poster
Ambernectarine22 · 12/04/2023 19:41

Wow! Thanks for all your answers. I get the statutory 22.4 days leave (for being a 4-day worker) but my employers expect me to take all 9 bank holidays out of this even tho Mondays are not a working day for me (their choice) and 7 out of 9 bank holidays this year are on a Monday. My contract states "You will be entitled to 28 days holiday each year including bank holidays (calculated pro rata in your first and last year of employment)."

I've been working there for nearly 3y and should have sorted it out before...

OP posts:
dementedpixie · 12/04/2023 19:48

You should only be deducting the bank holidays you are due to work or you are being treated unfairly.

HauntedPencil · 12/04/2023 19:57

I worked 4 days and had Mondays off. For each BH That falls on a Monday you are entitled to 4/5 of one. For every bank holiday you have off from a working day you owe them 1/5.

For people saying your off anyway, she isn't working and not being paid. All the full time staff will be working 4/5 of that week and she'll be working a full week, hence she's entitled to take it.

MsWhitworth · 12/04/2023 20:01

You should absolutely not be having to use your leave for the Monday bank holidays.

OMGitsnotgood · 12/04/2023 20:12

If full time employees in your organisation are given Bank Holidays, then as a part timer you are entitled to them too. You should have the Bank Holiday allowance pro rata added to your annual leave to make your total holiday entitlement. If you normally work a Bank Holiday (eg Good Friday or if Christmas/New Year falls on a working day in your case), then you deduct the relevant number of hours from your holiday entitlement. As you don't work Mondays, you don't have to deduct those hours.

Linio · 12/04/2023 20:12

It’s my understanding that you should be entitled to 6.4 bank holidays. If only 2 of these fall on a Friday, then you should actually get more days.

So 16 days plus the 4.4 days that fall on a Monday but you don’t get because you don’t work on a Monday.

It makes no sense for you to take the bank holidays from your annual leave when most of them are on your non-working day.

Carpetmoth · 12/04/2023 20:13

Surely the bank holiday days come out of the 28 (which is AL+BH) not the 22.4?

Greensleevevssnotnose · 12/04/2023 20:16

Carpetmoth · 12/04/2023 20:13

Surely the bank holiday days come out of the 28 (which is AL+BH) not the 22.4?

She's part-time

HauntedPencil · 12/04/2023 20:17

ACAS are very helpful on this type of stuff if you need to chat it through with anyone

Carpetmoth · 12/04/2023 20:19

Sorry is the 22.4 the pro-rated amount to include BH. If that's the case you wouldn't count the Mondays as you don't work then and have been removed from the equation.

Original poster
Ambernectarine22 · 12/04/2023 20:36

And even more thanks! It seems pretty unanimous (although I realise that doesn't mean it's legal). I think I will chat it through with ACAS, @HauntedPencil

OP posts:
AnotherSaturdayNight · 12/04/2023 20:46

No, it isn’t normal. You shouldn’t be using your holiday allowance when you don’t work on a Monday.

Ella6 · 12/04/2023 20:48

Linio · 12/04/2023 20:12

It’s my understanding that you should be entitled to 6.4 bank holidays. If only 2 of these fall on a Friday, then you should actually get more days.

So 16 days plus the 4.4 days that fall on a Monday but you don’t get because you don’t work on a Monday.

It makes no sense for you to take the bank holidays from your annual leave when most of them are on your non-working day.

Exactly this - it’s why no part timers want to work Mondays at my work!

AnotherSaturdayNight · 12/04/2023 20:53

Do the full timers get 20 + 9 bank holidays or do they have to take the extra bank holiday out of their 28 days holiday allowance?

Aturnipforthebooks · 12/04/2023 20:55

You have been doing this for 3 years and not questioned why you are taking annual leave on a non working day?

Do they actually pay you for a 5 day week when there's a bank holiday?