Annual Leave for Part Timers Question

chipmoon

I had a question to ask with regards to annual leave.

I’m part time and work 6 hours per week and have long service leave.

In my organisation, a full time person (classified as anyone who works 35 hours) in my role gets 182 hours annual leave + all the bank holidays + 7 hours seperately for Spring Bank Holiday (SBH). So according to the 28 day law, it is well met. After 5 years, we are entitled to an additional 35 hours annual leave (assuming your full time) which the equivalent of 5 days work. (Each day people work 7 hours at most for full time).

My entitlement is pro rata to this.

I have calculated it to be:
182 / 35 * 6 = 31 hours = base AL

For each bank holiday, I am entitled to 7 / 35 * 6 = 1.12 hours

We also get an additional 7 hours as part of SBH for some celebration event or something (as well as having SBH off) so I get 1.12.

For long service, 35/35 * 6 = I am entitled to 6 hours

I calculate this to a total of 38.24 hours excluding all bank holidays except the extra SBH day (and thats what my line manager gave last year) and I’m more than happy with that as it is exactly pro rata'd to a full timer that way.

I have to take the BH time during that week so I take off 1.12 in the week it occurs except for the additional day for SBH which gets added to AL.

However, I’ve been told that as I’m part time, a rule applies called the 7 hour rounding off rule. If my base AL is taken and is 31 (assuming I had no long service), I am given 28 as it is the closest 7 multiple (i.e 7 x 4 = 28 and as 7/2 =3.5, I miss having it as I’m half an hour short). Therefore 3 hours of AL is chopped off my base.

Now the thing with the long service, the 7 hour rule does not seem to apply and I get 6 hours not 7 hours even though, round it to the closest 7 would make it 7 (I’m okay with that though - I just want pro rata).

Again according to their 7 hour rule, I am in effect not entitled to any BH time although I do effectively get 1.12 minutes for each BH (which I am more than happy with). So the 7 hour policy is applied just to the standard 182 and everything else is treated sepreately which I find somewhat contradictory.

Are my employer allowed to do this and enforce a 7 hour rounding off policy for the base AL? I would have thought such a policy is against Part time regulation act as basically by saying I work a certain number of hours that isn't full time means I lose out on some leave. As it’s a kind of win/lose situation depending on how many hours you do. So some part timers benefit whilst others lose.

In the past when I queried this I’ve been given my full leave as I calculated it but it involves using Unison which always then makes me look like a trouble maker and makes it difficult to work with managers (they are not very forgiving if you question them or get a union involved). I feel its a bit unfair as I think I end up losing three hours or so which does make a difference to me as leaving an hour or so early are things I use for appointments and stuff. All I want is to be pro-rata’d exactly to the full timer which makes it 38.24 hours so I get exactly the same time off as well.

Savvy_Sue

I'm fairly sure employers can round up but not down, or calculate it exactly.

And I'm also fairly sure someone posted a link to 'chapter and verse' for that, answering a previous query.

See if you can find anything on the ACAS website.

Also, is it worth sending a polite memo before involving Unison, pointing out what has happened in the past and citing chapter and verse if we can find it?

getmore4less

Ask them to provide the details of this 7 hour rule never heard of such a thing.


No official doc I know of allows this

start with
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Employees/Timeoffandholidays/DG_184563

ACAS have some info on-line
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=1374

I think there is something in the statute docs but a bit harder to find

agree a polite mail is the first thing to do.

if this does not work and this is a recuring attemt to reduce your holiday entitlement then I think this should be taken higher, it amounts to bullying to to try it on each year.

jdturk

getmore4less wrote: »

if this does not work and this is a recuring attemt to reduce your holiday entitlement then I think this should be taken higher, it amounts to bullying to to try it on each year.

Whilst it may not be right it is hardly bullying really.....

Emmzi

I think this is indirect gender discrimination as it disproprtionately disadvantages part timers (the majority of whom are women)

I do not thing it is bullying, just a lack of realisation and incompetence.

I would ask the manager/ HR person why they think it is fair, and state your case, before escalating it. And I would use your internal company grievance procedure if that does not work, before going to the union. Try and fix it yourselves first.

getmore4less

jdturk wrote: »

Whilst it may not be right it is hardly bullying really.....

If the simple request for correction(manager, copy HR) does not work then based on what the OP said

In the past when I queried this I’ve been given my full leave as I calculated it but it involves using Unison which always then makes me look like a trouble maker and makes it difficult to work with managers (they are not very forgiving if you question them or get a union involved).

I think this recuring attempts to deny an employee their rights amounts to bullying. (Just because it is once a year and not once a week it may not look like it) It look like they are ding this as a deliberate act to make the OP use the union each time.

It also look like someone is making up rules to try it on this time.

It also shows that the current process/procedures for calculating peoples holidays is broken and needs fixing.

How many years has this been going on?

jdturk

Emmzi wrote: »

I think this is indirect gender discrimination as it disproprtionately disadvantages part timers (the majority of whom are women)

I do not thing it is bullying, just a lack of realisation and incompetence.

I would ask the manager/ HR person why they think it is fair, and state your case, before escalating it. And I would use your internal company grievance procedure if that does not work, before going to the union. Try and fix it yourselves first.

I may be mistaken but I cannot see where the OP has mentioned they are female and secondly surely it's not gender discrimination even if there are 100 women and 1 man doing the same job and they work under the same conditions?

jdturk

an issue of a particular part of a contract that is brought up year after year is not bullying IMO and as such we'll just have to disagree on this.

But yes it does need to be sorted out once and for all.

Emmzi

jdturk wrote: »

I may be mistaken but I cannot see where the OP has mentioned they are female and secondly surely it's not gender discrimination even if there are 100 women and 1 man doing the same job and they work under the same conditions?

The condition can still be indirect discrimination, even if OP is not female. The fact is a majority of part time workers *are* female. This makes an unfair clause for part timers indirect discrimination against women, with greater legislative protection, and therefore more likely to be taken seriously.

jdturk

Emmzi wrote: »

The condition can still be indirect discrimination, even if OP is not female. The fact is a majority of part time workers *are* female. This makes an unfair clause for part timers indirect discrimination against women, with greater legislative protection, and therefore more likely to be taken seriously.

I'm amazed that this is true.... ah well

chipmoon

Thanks for all those who replied and sorry I'm responding late. It's taken me ages to remember my username and password and couldn't find the thread after a few days when I came back to read it!

It is true I am female and it is also true they are quite bullying. I am not the only one. As a result of sticking up for myself, I have now denied myself the chance of getting promotions. I love my job and I love what I do, I just hate the unfair practices that I face and the people I work with who are very political.

Thank you again for all your responses - it is greatly appreciated.