should colleagues with kids get preference for holidays?

Bluemeanie_2

No. No one should get priority. First come, first served. End of. You know you want the holiday - book it!

GlasweJen

bluenoseam wrote: »

As for taking time off for sick kids, anyone who moans about that is an *insert one of many censored words here to denote a negative opinion on someone* - that's not the same issue. Being sick can happen to anyone at any time and by it's very nature is NOT something you can schedule, anyone moaning about that is a numbskull of the highest order.

what about my example of someone taking at least 1 day a month off every month since coming back off maternity leave due to an ill childminder? I have very few staff who are not already on set days due to child care so is it fair on my poor new start to be called out of bed on a saturday morning to come in and help me?

How is it fair to have to reschedule hospital appointments because child minder is sick? Or tell a heavily pregnant woman that she will need to do the other persons usual work as she's not going to be in AGAIN.

When I have a 80% female work group, I'm the only female with no kids, all of the women with kids are married then I do have to start asking why can't dad cover some of these days?

bluenoseam

GlasweJen wrote: »

what about my example of someone taking at least 1 day a month off every month since coming back off maternity leave due to an ill childminder? I have very few staff who are not already on set days due to child care so is it fair on my poor new start to be called out of bed on a saturday morning to come in and help me?

How is it fair to have to reschedule hospital appointments because child minder is sick? Or tell a heavily pregnant woman that she will need to do the other persons usual work as she's not going to be in AGAIN.

When I have a 80% female work group, I'm the only female with no kids, all of the women with kids are married then I do have to start asking why can't dad cover some of these days?

If a pattern starts to appear (i.e. they're off the third Monday of every month) then it's obvious to all & sundry that it's not a genuine case - which then falls under extracting the urine. In that case then it needs to be said & as a result action taken (which would be a disciplinary). As for repeated call ins, well, unfortunately if it's the way it happens it's the way it happens - you cannot help it if a child is sick. As for the father issue well, how do you know they're not calling the father equally as often and there's the fact that when most kids are ill they generally don't want their Dad, they're more likely to look for Mum!

Not that I don't agree that sometimes it's taking the mickey, but my point was more aimed at genuine cases - I've seen workplaces where people bemoan that sort of behavior.

mysk_girl

If my childminder was ill once a month, I'd be giving my 4 weeks notice to her and finding someone more reliable! Over the last 5 years, I have used several different childminders, and have only had one day when the CM had to say she couldn't work. I cannot understand the attitude that my childcare issues are my employers issue. They pay me to be at work between X and X, X days a week - how OH and I sort that out is our problem. And he does do some of the sick children days off, depends whose appointments can be most easily rescheduled. I have to take unpaid leave, annual leave or make up time - fortunately my kids are pretty healthy!

ognum

sassyblue wrote: »

No preference for families or not. Whoever asks for the time off first should get it IMO.

I have a young family, I'm not sure it's fair to have precedence unless it involves Christmas day, but then l wouldn't choose a job where that dilemma would occur.

I had a friend who was always asked to work Christmas day because she had no children, people did not seem to understand that not having children did not mean she didn't have a life and to enjoy Christmas she needed to go to her family so need a couple of days off.

If you go into a job that requires unsocial hours then you take the job in the knowledge you will have to do your share of unsocial hours whatever day. they need to be shared equally.

sassyblue

Silaqui wrote: »

Sorry to pick on you two, but you were the first replies of this nature - I know there have been others.

I completely disagree with this. My husband and I have no children, and do not particularly want them. I'm a teacher, so can only have school holidays off.

A few years ago, we wanted to go and visit my grandma who lived in Germany, as she had deteriorating health and she hadn't seen us since we had got engaged. We decided to try and go during the May half term, and as it was October at the time, we thought it would be fine for OH to book this week off as holiday.

He was the first person to ask for that week as leave, but was told that they wouldn't be able to grant it to him yet because "plenty of people with kids work here and they will need the half term off". He argued that they presumably know that they have kids, and so should have got holidays booked in as soon as the dates because available (like he was doing) and was fobbed off with more excuses and basically told that he could only take holiday in term time to leave the holidays free for the parents. By this company's logic, my husband and I would never be able have time off together, as I am not allowed to take time off in term time.

Still makes my blood boil thinking about it now!

So did the employer know you were a teacher and his logic was flawed? Why didn't hubby get ACAS involved?

laurel7172

Well, maybe everyone should get the chance to name their holiday priority, whether it's two weeks in the summer, Christmas, New Year or Eid.

In a well-run workplace full of reasonable people, that happens pretty much without intervention. Am I the only one thinking that my biggest issue with some of the workplaces on here would be the level of petty backbiting?

KiKi

sassyblue wrote: »

So did the employer know you were a teacher and his logic was flawed? Why didn't hubby get ACAS involved?

ACAS can't help. Being a parent (or not) is not a protected characteristic, and therefore it is perfectly lawful for any company to run their leave policy in this way. Employers can say when their employees can take leave, so there would be nothing in law to be done about it.

I don't think it's a constructive way to run a leave policy, personally, but it does depend on the team.

thegirlintheattic

onlyroz wrote: »

You call it a "perk" to be forced to take your holiday in the peak, expensive, over-hot season?

Considering the number of children at my school alone that have been off the past few weeks for holidays, I don't think anyone is being forced to do anything.

CruisingSaver

laurel7172 wrote: »

Well, maybe everyone should get the chance to name their holiday priority, whether it's two weeks in the summer, Christmas, New Year or Eid.

In a well-run workplace full of reasonable people, that happens pretty much without intervention. Am I the only one thinking that my biggest issue with some of the workplaces on here would be the level of petty backbiting?

I think you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Both DH and I work for the NHS but in different disciplines and organisations. I've never had any issue in booking annual leave but there are certain times of the year when I can't take leave due to the nature of my job (primarily Easter).

DH on the other hand has a horrendous time in booking annual leave even though he is the only person in the team with a school age child (and no, none of the others have OHs who are teachers etc).

To his credit he is pretty flexible with others in the team and has given up the odd day here and there so that someone else can be off. He hasn't taken a single day off over Christmas for 10 years because the other team members ALWAYS have a more 'important' reason for them to have the time off, however he is taking a whole week off this Christmas because we're going away and the howls of outrage have been pretty pathetic:mad:

We're pretty organised in when we want to book holiday usually more than a year in advance, which you think would be a good thing, but no 'what about if we want to book a last minute holiday?' came the whingeing responses from some of them.

It truly makes my blood boil when I think how pathetic and demanding some of these people are - grrrrrr!