Holiday entitlement legislation

Does anybody know much about holiday (employment) legislation?

I have done a little research on the dti site and what i can find scattered around but noting specific, it all looks a bit vague.

I know that employers speculate when holidays can be taken but what about denying all holidays suggested by the employee? We are not talking short term here looking at dates month into the future and years...

Being a final year degree student and a worker, opportunities for holiday are dictated by external factors, i cant really say - "I'll have this week off" becuase i wouldnt be able to use it as holiday, i'd end up writing a thesis

It seems to me that the current legislation (i have read so far) allows employees to speculate that holiday can be taken from date C to date B and anything else (lets say date A to D, being the year) is denied.

If this is the case then my eyes have been opened!! Looks like it could be a very important factor in choosing a job, going for interviews and so forth.

I hope you can shed some light on this, its going to be a bit of a bugg3r for me in the future...

[paulyoung666]

as far as i know employers can refuse to grant holidays to suit themselves , i.e. too many ppl off at one time could cause a shortage of labour , i suppose at the end of the day it would depend on whether you work for a reasonable employer or a complete **** of an employer , i will do some digging and see if i can come up with anything for you

[Julian]

AFAIK an employer HAS to give all staff, full and part - time, 4 weeks paid holiday per annum.

I do not think there is any legislation to force employers to grant the leave at a time to suit the employee. I know some factories actually close at certain times of the year and that is when the employees must take their holidays.

Check your contract of employment/Terms and Conditions. It should be detailed there.

[Stuartbe]

This may be of some help m8 - http://www.pbs.uk.com/legislative_in...aidholiday.htm

Or This - http://www.clickforcare.co.uk/member...ues/bus009.htm

[paulyoung666]

@ schiller , i think a lot of this will be decided by any contract you sign with an employer , so i suppose it is a bit of buyer beware if you like , i know for a fact where i work if you book a holiday without agreeing you can have the time off first the company can and has refused ppl the time off if it is going to cause a shorthanded problem

Julian: (thanks) The policy documents are inline with the legistation i have read and understood. Im not saying something is wrong or illegal. But interpereting the legislation and policy to what is actually the case and happening in practice casts an nice big gray shadow over everything.

Paul: (thanks) I understand that and its very reasonable. But... In the working enviroment i am in there is no solid ground on working times, etc. Next month i may or may not be working on a tuesday but lets say i want that tuesday off. I request the date - the rota isnt published so in theory the holiday is pending, pending depending on the number of ppl who requested the same day before me and if i am working that day at all. At the moment i am unaware of anyone working under the same contract as me who has any pending holidays. all requests holidays have been denied without consideration. This is the root of my frustration...

Cheers Stuart.

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by schiller

Julian: (thanks) The policy documents are inline with the legistation i have read and understood. Im not saying something is wrong or illegal. But interpereting the legislation and policy to what is actually the case and happening in practice casts an nice big gray shadow over everything.

Paul: (thanks) I understand that and its very reasonable. But... In the working enviroment i am in there is no solid ground on working times, etc. Next month i may or may not be working on a tuesday but lets say i want that tuesday off. I request the date - the rota isnt published so in theory the holiday is pending, pending depending on the number of ppl who requested the same day before me and if i am working that day at all. At the moment i am unaware of anyone working under the same contract as me who has any pending holidays. all requests holidays have been denied without consideration. This is the root of my frustration...

Cheers Stuart.

like i said , if the company is reasonable then everything should be ok , i will try and do some asking with personnel at work tomorrow and see if i can clear this up for you

[clu]

As said before everyone is entitled to four weeks holiday, unfortunetly different companies deal with this in different ways, at my work we close for four weeks, in two week blocks, but that is made clear before to potential staff. Some companies also include bank holidays in the four weeks which is a bit tight. Your holiday entitlement should be stated in your terms and conditions and then contract.

If i was you I would ask for a copy of their policy on holiday requests, surely it would be reasonable to find out in a stated amount of time instead of waiting until the rota comes out.
Just keep asking for it in writing it will probably annoy them but at least you will know how the decisions are made.

[paulyoung666]

@ schiller , i tried to find out today , i asked personnel , i might as well have asked my cat for all the use it was , i will keep digging though and see if i can find something useful for you ----- paul

Originally Posted by paulyoung666

@ schiller , i tried to find out today , i asked personnel , i might as well have asked my cat for all the use it was

Erm, are you familar with Mr Catbert, Evil Director of Human Resources...?!

[paulyoung666]

Originally Posted by Graham

Erm, are you familar with Mr Catbert, Evil Director of Human Resources...?!

yup , i read the express , you wouldnt believe how much it mirrors where i work

[Matuka]

Dilbert mirrors where a lot of people work, its so like reality..

Along similar lines, does anyone know the entitlement for a part time worker who does 20+ hours a week?

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Matuka

Dilbert mirrors where a lot of people work, its so like reality..

Along similar lines, does anyone know the entitlement for a part time worker who does 20+ hours a week?

The same as a Full time ee.

http://www.acas.org.uk/faqs/hours.html#2

Answers a lot of these questions, including the one about ers forcing you to take specific holidays.