Term time workers and holiday entitlement

[Iloveburgerswaymorethanishould]

I cannot get my head around this!! So I work in a school and get 13 weeks off. Am I entitled to book holidays/days off?? Sorry if it’s a silly question!! Basically I have a lot of medical issues and so does one of my children. Contract says 5.6 holiday weeks a year, no mention of holiday pay being added to wages over the year etc.
TIA.

5.6 weeks paid, the rest of the school holidays are unpaid but generally your wage is spread over the course of the year

Do you work full time? I work part time in a school and when I cover I claim it as time in lieu. Is that an option for you? Otherwise no, we are not allowed to take holidays unless it's special circumstances.

Thankyou. 💐

You should have a specified number of days you can request leave for during termtime.

No you can't book any paid extra days off. You may request time off for appointments, 2 days dependant leave , or unpaid leave which would be at the heads discretion .

Yes it is this. 5.6 weeks is the legal minimum in england.

You should definitely ask if your holiday pay is 'rolled up' which means paid as part of your normal wage. Employers are not meant to do this, most schools still do

You will physically attend work 39 weeks of the year. On top of that you will receive another 5.6 weeks pay ( your holiday entitlement)
So you will be payed a yearly salary of the equivalent of 44.6 weeks pay. This will be spread out over the 12 months so every month you get paid the same amount.
You won't be allowed to book days off during term time (occasionally if you need time off this can be pre arranged with your employer but you will usually then lose a days pay)

Yes but if you work part term holiday allowance is pro-rata'd. There was a court case 2022 or 23 which was overuling that. I think the govt were looking at legislation to ensure that part-term employees should continue to be pro rated rather than receiving all of the 5.6. Schools have handled this differently so my school won't acknowledge the court ruling whereas other schools have adjusted staff pay.

Op said her contract states 5.6 weeks holiday per year.

If you and one of your children have lots of medical issues, it sounds like you are expecting to need a lot of time off work during the term time. Be aware, this is unlikely to be supported. Schools have far less scope for flexibility than many other employers.

The 5.6 weeks holiday pay is part of your salary. I worked in a school when we were given an extra BH for the Diamond Jubilee which fell in the half term, and we were told we'd see the extra money for that in our pay that month (not much money at all!).

Holidays are expected to be taken outside of term time. You may be granted a day or so leave either as a PP said as time in lieu (which our school stopped doing, they just paid the extra day as they found days off in term very disruptive), or with permission in an exceptional circumstance.

My contract listed types of leave that were approved. Pay was at the school's discretion.

Surely 5.6 weeks holiday = 5.6 weeks x your actual hours per week?
I work 4 days per week so I get the standard holiday allowance x 4/5. If I got a straight 5.6 weeks, I’d get more annual leave than my full time colleagues

No should about it
That isnt standard in a school

Not in a school. All leave is taken outside of term time.

Yes you’re right. There is a formula used. 5.6 weeks is for people working full time (35 hours, 52 weeks) so it is recalculated so you get the relevant portion of 5.6 weeks according to his many hours and how many weeks you work.

There is new legislation from January 2024. This is the guidance https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/simplifying-holiday-entitlement-and-holiday-pay-calculations/holiday-pay-and-entitlement-reforms-from-1-january-2024#holiday-entitlement-for-irregular-hours-workers-and-part-year-workers

Thankyou. I work in a school, term time but for a company, not the actual school. Luckily so far, my appointments have been after I finish, or in half terms etc. We are all confused about how holidays work for us. I wouldn’t book a holiday outside school holidays. Plus I only do 15 hours (which is perfect for me due to my illness). It’s been baffling me for weeks why it states the 5.6 in my contract but I can’t book days off etc. Think I’m getting it now though, so thanks ☺️