work refuses annual leave help

amberspy

what are my rights if any ?
i work for local goverment and my annual leave start every october
i spoke to my line manager when i had supervision about my hol nxt yr as was worried as there going be shifts changes so worried if i put in now for nxt yr shift changes i wont get it she said dont worry as she worked it out on piece paper and said it be fine
i only work fri sat sun so need 4 wkends of as going 22 days said was fine
told me put in for them mid sept which i did girl who deals with it sent be email said it should be fine and she send away when paperwork comes throu
now hr later got called from line manager saying no way etc i explain she said was ok etc so i said instead 4wks i take 3 wkend 1 day go work day i come bk putted in writing to head the dept i got eail this morning state was refused due staff shortages and shift changes this is 9 month away!
she also said it cos was in july only asked 1 day in july !
even if i went 2 wks i need 3 wkends off she wasnt interested in listening u see funny thing i had 5 wks annual this july lol
sorry its long winded but have i any right would contracting union help

KiKi

Your post is very difficult to read. However, I get the jist, and the simple answer is that until your Annual Leave is approved, you have no legal rights. Even then, if it is approved, your employer can cancel it, as long as they give you notice which is twice as long as the leave itself. (Eg, if you're taking a week off, they'd have to give you two weeks' notice to cancel).

Your employer has total control of your paid leave, I'm afraid. What one person said earlier this year doesn't matter, except you can try and argue your case. If they won't approve it, you have no legal recourse.

HTH
KiKi

browneyedbazzi

Hmm...I'm not sure I completely understand what's gone on because the your post is a bit difficult to read. From what I can tell, you mentioned a holiday to your line manager and they said it shouldn't be a problem and to put in a leave request when the leave cards/entitlements for the year came out. You've now put in the request and it has been denied for business reasons (lack of staff cover/busy time of year?).

Have you actually booked and paid for the holiday you want to take?

What is your leave entitlement for the year and how much of that would you need to take for the holiday you want?

What does the annual leave policy at your employer say? (although it's local government, there are differences from one employer to another particularly about things like the amount of leave you are allowed to take in one go and in some departments there are specific policies about not being able to take any leave at particular times of year).

Are you in a union?

Questions rather than answers, but without knowing it's hard to give advice!

KiKi

browneyedbazzi wrote: »

Have you actually booked and paid for the holiday you want to take?

What is your leave entitlement for the year and how much of that would you need to take for the holiday you want?

What does the annual leave policy at your employer say? (although it's local government, there are differences from one employer to another particularly about things like the amount of leave you are allowed to take in one go and in some departments there are specific policies about not being able to take any leave at particular times of year).

Are you in a union?

Questions rather than answers, but without knowing it's hard to give advice!

None of these things really matter, though, because the leave hasn't been booked, yet (as far as I can understand from the post!). So the OP has no legal recourse.

All she (he?) can do is ask nicely, say the manager said so, and hope for the best. There is no statutory right to paid leave at the time you want it, and I cannot imagine in a million years that the employer would allow a contractual right to paid leave at the employee's whim (as nice as that would be!).

KiKi

paddedjohn

KiKi wrote: »

Your post is very difficult to read. However, I get the jist, and the simple answer is that until your Annual Leave is approved, you have no legal rights. Even then, if it is approved, your employer can cancel it, as long as they give you notice which is twice as long as the leave itself. (Eg, if you're taking a week off, they'd have to give you two weeks' notice to cancel).

Your employer has total control of your paid leave, I'm afraid. What one person said earlier this year doesn't matter, except you can try and argue your case. If they won't approve it, you have no legal recourse.

HTH
KiKi

I thought the regs say that for the employer to refuse leave, they must give notice of at least as long as the holiday requested, so 1 weeks leave would be 1 weeks notice.

KiKi

paddedjohn wrote: »

I thought the regs say that for the employer to refuse leave, they must give notice of at least as long as the holiday requested, so 1 weeks leave would be 1 weeks notice.

To refuse leave, then can do that as and when, as it's not yet approved. To cancel leave once booked, I'm very sure it's twice as long. Happy to be corrected, though.

KiKi

paddedjohn

I cant find a link on cancelling but it says this on Directgov....

Your employer can refuse permission for your holiday as long as they give you notice which is at least as long as the holiday requested. So to refuse a request for a week's leave, they would have to tell you a week in advance.

paddedjohn

Found this on the 'unite' website but it may be outdated as they still refer to 20 days leave inc bank holidays.


Being forced to work over time or prevented from taking holiday:

Whether overtime is compulsory depends on your contract of employment, although this is judged by 'custom and practice' as well as by written terms.

If your employer tries to force you to cancel holiday which they had previously approved this might amount to a fundamental breach of contract – however there is little you can do about it unless you feel forced to resign and then sue them for 'constructive dismissal' and breach of contract. This would be a risky route and you are strongly advised to discuss your case with a union officer or specialist lawyer before resigning. If your employer's cancellation means that you lose out financially you may have other legal remedies (including in Court) to cover those losses. You should set your complaints out to your employer in writing as a formal grievance as soon as you can.

bendix

amberspy wrote: »

what are my rights if any ?
i work for local goverment and my annual leave start every october
i spoke to my line manager when i had supervision about my hol nxt yr as was worried as there going be shifts changes so worried if i put in now for nxt yr shift changes i wont get it she said dont worry as she worked it out on piece paper and said it be fine
i only work fri sat sun so need 4 wkends of as going 22 days said was fine
told me put in for them mid sept which i did girl who deals with it sent be email said it should be fine and she send away when paperwork comes throu
now hr later got called from line manager saying no way etc i explain she said was ok etc so i said instead 4wks i take 3 wkend 1 day go work day i come bk putted in writing to head the dept i got eail this morning state was refused due staff shortages and shift changes this is 9 month away!
she also said it cos was in july only asked 1 day in july !
even if i went 2 wks i need 3 wkends off she wasnt interested in listening u see funny thing i had 5 wks annual this july lol
sorry its long winded but have i any right would contracting union help

How old are you, may I ask? Genuine question.

paddedjohn

bendix wrote: »

How old are you, may I ask? Genuine question.

whats the relevence with the op's age? genuine question.

Hammyman

amberspy wrote: »

what are my rights if any ?
i work for local goverment and my annual leave start every october
i spoke to my line manager when i had supervision about my hol nxt yr as was worried as there going be shifts changes so worried if i put in now for nxt yr shift changes i wont get it she said dont worry as she worked it out on piece paper and said it be fine
i only work fri sat sun so need 4 wkends of as going 22 days said was fine
told me put in for them mid sept which i did girl who deals with it sent be email said it should be fine and she send away when paperwork comes throu
now hr later got called from line manager saying no way etc i explain she said was ok etc so i said instead 4wks i take 3 wkend 1 day go work day i come bk putted in writing to head the dept i got eail this morning state was refused due staff shortages and shift changes this is 9 month away!
she also said it cos was in july only asked 1 day in july !
even if i went 2 wks i need 3 wkends off she wasnt interested in listening u see funny thing i had 5 wks annual this july lol
sorry its long winded but have i any right would contracting union help

If anyone wants to know why the public sector is in the mess it is in, you just have to look at that completely incomprehensible drivel quoted above. The worst part is that the OP probably has a position where they make decisions that affect people's lives.