So angry, have I got any options

[Gils]

Came back to work at start of July, before I came back I have a meeting with my boss who told me I would have 21 days holiday entitlement, something to do with OML. Anyway I sent him an email on July 10th asking him to confirm if it was 21 days because I forgot how he worked it out. At that time he came back and said it should actually be 29. I have just put a holiday request in and have received an email asking how I am working out my entitlement so I forwarded him the email he sent me saying I had 29 days.
Now had meeting with him and he said no its def only 21 days and pointed out I know don't have enough for Xmas holidays and the other days I had requested until then. Can he do this? Our holiday year runs Jan - Jan, I only work 4 days so he has now just taken 2 weeks worth or holidays of me and is talking about unpaid leave!!!!

What a unprofessional boss! Do you have an HR department you can speak to?

You are entitled to 24 days per annum including bank holidays.

How much annual leave had you taken this year? or were you on mat leave since last year?

24 days is the basic statutory minimum for full time staff, so if you work 4 days a week you'd get...um...19.2 days.

It's changed recently, but for you, when you were on OML you will have carried on accruing holiday at your normal rate throughout. If you then took AML, you will have accrued holiday at the basic statutory rate above during that period.

How much holiday per year is in your contract, and was any of your maternity leave AML?

I agree with the way he calculates the entitlement. I get 33 days. I carried over 1 day from 07 and you only accrue holidays for 6 months OML (obviously last years leglislation). That meant I accrued the first 8 weeks at 5 days then the rest of the year at 4 days, plus the 1 day carried over. Hope that makes sense!
I have no problem with that part its the fact I have taken holidays based on having an extra 2 weeks, took 2 weeks of when I could of taken 1 that sort of thing. How can he confirm by email its 29 days then just change his mind. I realise we spoke of it in the meeting but I couldn't remember exactly what was said, hence reason I queried it when I got back.
Just very angry, he is a very unreasonable man that you don't want to get on wrong side of.
We have no HR - he is it!!!

I got stung on this with AML, I returned part time so at that time I got 6 months OML then 6 months AML.

The AML was calculated at the part time rate for holidays accrued.

I returned to work and had less holiday than I thought. They didn't tell me this when I went off on maternity leave so it was a shock. They knew I was intending to return on a part-time basis.

33 days when you only work 4 days a week, that's exceptionally generous, you lucky thing!

Sorry if I wasn't clear, for the time you were on maternity leave, you will have accrued your normal holiday during OML, and the basic statutory rate during AML. The legislation changed recently, but that would have been the case when you were off.

I'm afraid I don't understand your working out. Was any of this year AML or was it only normal employment and OML?

Does he mean 21 days plus 8 bank hols?

Sorry I am being unclear. I have 33 days on full time (including Xmas day etc) it works out 26 days on a 4 day week.
I started my maternty on the 27th August and returned start of June. Way he explained it was I would accrue holidays at normal rate for OML (at the time that would be the first 6 months) and for the AML I would accrue nothing. I know there have been changes recently but I missed out on them.
I have no probs with the holiday entitlement I just don't agree that he can tell me in July I have 29 days and end of October change his mind once I have used all my holidays. I can't afford to be taking unpaid leave over Xmas

But Gils if you normally get 26 days a year even if you are there all the time, did you not think 29 days might have been incorrect when you were on AML for some of the time?

It's not a case of him 'changing his mind', it's a case of him realising he got it wrong. Obviously that's not good, but given that the figure he told you was more than you ever get in a year regardless of maternity leave, I think you need to take a bit of the responsibility as well. I'm not saying he's not in the wrong, obviously he should have made sure he calculated it right in the first place, but I just don't think it's justified for you to be quite so angry about it tbh. You aren't being denied anything that you're entitled to, you are just being inconvenienced by not being able to take it at the time you choose.

I would suggest proposing a compromise. If you can't afford to take unpaid leave, why don't you negotiate to 'borrow' a couple of days out of next year's entitlement. If I were the employer I would consider letting you have one or two days extra as well, but there's no obligation on him to do that.

The reason he said it would be 29 days was it would be calculated at
First 5 months based on working 5 days a week and next 7 months based on 4 days.
Up to last week I was under the impression that I accrued my holidays, for the 9 months I was of, based on my working arrangement before I left for maternity ie 5 days.

I accept I should have looked into this OML and AML but up until last week I didn't know the leglislation for holidays.

I'm just upset I asked him to confirm the 21 days and explain it and he came back with 29 and as you said has now relaised his mistake and has no other suggestions than unpaid leave.

You do continue to accrue holidays at the rate you were working before maternity leave. If you requested a change in hours that should have taken effect on the date you returned to work, not before.

Does that change anything?