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Original poster

Part time hours - which would be the better day off?

21 replies

Petrie99 · 04/10/2023 15:04

I'm returning to work part time next year. I plan to do 32 hours over 4 days, full time is 37 hours over 5 (Mon to fri) currently. I plan to work equal days on the 4 days although have flexible working so this can be give or take as long as im not too up or down on my hours. I understand my annual leave and bank Holidays will be pro rata and given in hours (presumably calculated at the 32/37 proportion). I understand how I would therefore book a days leave in hours. No one works bank Holidays in my role - we are not closed as such and I could wfh but no work is required. I think I'm being really silly though because I just can't work out how it works in practice. Do I need to book the bank Holidays as annual leave? Is this the same regardless of whether they fall on my day in or day off? For this reason would it be more beneficial to me to have mondays off or fridays? Or does it not make a difference as I would need to use the Monday bank hols as leave regardless unless I chose to work them? Please explain like I'm 5 😅

OP posts:

BigBoysDontCry · 04/10/2023 15:36

I work 4 days with a Monday off. Our public holidays are fixed, most fall on a Monday. I get the day credited back into my holiday entitlement so I get to take those holidays when I choose rather than the fixed holiday.

If none of your public holidays are fixed days then I presume you just have the hours credited to your allowance so it makes no odds which day you don't work?

headcheffer · 04/10/2023 17:09

I take a Wednesday off as that way I am off for all bank holidays and still get the Wednesday off that week too.

Original poster

Petrie99 · 04/10/2023 20:47

@headcheffer do you book the bank Holidays as leave?

OP posts:

parcelpanic · 04/10/2023 20:50

If you get a choice go Monday

Vickivicks · 05/10/2023 22:58

I don't work Wednesdays. Where I am the FT annual leave entitlement is added to the 8 bank holidays and then multiplied by 0.8. I then have to take all the bank holidays which fall on work days as annual leave.
It means that no matter what day you have off you have exactly the same annual leave and public holiday entitlement.

BigBoysDontCry · 06/10/2023 11:54

At the end of the day you'll get the same number of days off, but between 4 and 6 of the 8 public holidays will fall on a Monday. Good Friday is always a Friday and both Christmas and boxing day can't be a Monday in the same year.

In practical terms, if you think of Easter Monday. If you don't work on a Monday, you are still off that day but you also get a day credit to take at any other time that you choose. If you don't work a Wednesday, you get both the Monday and Wednesday off that week.

It's just picking what you prefer/work is happy to accommodate. I like having the extra days to have when I want. As I work a 4 day week, that's at least an extra week I can take. I usually have a fortnight off at the beginning of summer and a week at the end as well whilst still having all the bank holidays off.

With a Wednesday off you are never working more than 2 days in a row which is appealling, but a Monday or Friday gives you a 3 day weekend every weekend.

It just really depends on what would suit you best.

Octobermeterreadtime · 06/10/2023 11:55

Mondays off are fab! Seeing the dc off and knowing your weekend isn't over is great!

Angrymum22 · 06/10/2023 12:15

I used to take Thursdays off. I used to hate Thursdays, they felt like they should be Fridays but there was still a day left until the weekend. It meant that I could do all the jobs I normally did at the weekend so could have the weekend free. I was self employed with my own business. When DS was older and playing sport at school I changed it so I could go and watch matches.
Now I work one day a week and have 6day weekends.

greyhairnomore · 06/10/2023 12:16

Friday or Tuesday off then you get long weekends with BH.

Mindymomo · 06/10/2023 12:28

I never worked Mondays but wouldn’t get a day off in lieu, so basically I missed out on 4 days holiday, but I did like having Mondays off so I could clean house after weekend, do shopping for the week and a whole loads of washing.

Soccermumamir · 06/10/2023 16:54

I have recently gone down to 4 days as I am volunteering elsewhere on my day off. I have the Monday off 🙂

UsingChangeofName · 06/10/2023 17:23

I work 3 days, none of which is a Monday.

So, each time there is a BH, I get 3/5 of a full day's hours (for me it is 4.38hours) added on to my leave allowance. I can then take that back, when I want.

However, if - say Christmas day, Boxing Day and NY Day fall on my working days, then I can't work, and a full day's hours get taken from my annual leave.

So with my contract, it would be a bad idea to work Mondays, as there are 4 BHs that are always Mondays, alongside the 3 that move through the week (so potentially you could have 6 BH Mondays occasionally).

In your position I would work Tue - Fri, or you will be giving them hours from your AL.

Yours might need tweaking a bit though, as you are working more than 4/5 of the week, so I don't know how they calculate that.

WeightoftheWorld · 06/10/2023 17:37

Vickivicks · 05/10/2023 22:58

I always thought this is is how everywhere calculated holiday entitlement for PT workers?

WeightoftheWorld · 06/10/2023 17:39

Anyway personally I think Fridays or Mondays off is the best, for weekends away etc. I work PT just Mon-Wed and DH works PT just Tues-Fri. So between us it's quite convenient to have a long weekend away, as we could do Thurs-Mon and that would only mean him taking 2 days leave and me only 1.

confusedlots · 06/10/2023 17:43

Definitely not working Mondays works out much better in terms of the bank holidays

AnotherEmma · 06/10/2023 17:44

My advice is to take Mondays off. The reason is that for every bank holiday Monday, you will get additional leave to take when you want. Based on the hours you're planning, I think you'll get 6.4 hours of annual leave for every bank holiday, but if a bank holiday falls on one of your working days, you will have to use 8 hours of leave to take the day off. Most bank holidays are on Mondays so you'll end up with more leave to take when you want.

I work part time but Monday is one of my days and it's a pain tbh because I end up with less annual leave to use when i want.

motherofawhirlwind · 06/10/2023 17:45

Have Mondays off if possible as then you get lots more annual leave to use as you like :)

Zippedydoodahday · 06/10/2023 17:45

It depends on how your company does it. In my company part timers have their holiday allowance in hours based on % of the full amount. In addition to regular holiday you also get given additional holiday hours based on the same percentage of the bank holidays in that year. And then you have to book annual leave for Bank Holidays from that. So it makes no difference which day you have off in my company.

confusedlots · 06/10/2023 17:47

And when I used to be off on a Friday I ended up wasting it most of the time, it just felt like the weekend was starting earlier. I'm much more productive now on my Monday's off as I get up and get the kids to school and am much more motivated to get stuff done

shakeitoffsis · 06/10/2023 18:03

I have Fridays off and I love it. I can get everything done before the weekend and the Thursday afternoon feeling is great. School Uniforms get washed at 3.30pm Friday as soon as kids get home and all mine will be done before that so minimal washing on a weekend. Love a Friday off.

UsingChangeofName · 06/10/2023 22:51

confusedlots · 06/10/2023 17:47

This is me too.

Friday feels relaxed - start of the weekend. I rarely achieve much on a Friday, but when I have Monday off I am so much more productive with what needs to be done.
There's something lovely about Sunday evenings too - knowing that yes, you have to make sure the dcs' are ready for school, but if you aren't going to work for the next 8 hours, it somehow makes Sunday evening much nicer. Like you don't have to 'complete everything' by the end of Sunday.

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