Should I have refused this annual leave request?

Franticday

I’m hoping someone will know a bit about employment laws than I do.
Quick basic background. I started a new, part time job in January 2019. I work just 9 hours per week as a PA for a disabled lady. She is 35 and lives with her family. She is a wheelchair user and apart from that she doesn’t have any other disabilities, I am basically just her driver no personal care at all. I drive her (in her car) to her day centre which is a 45-60 min drive to the destination I  then drive back home (I live in the next village to hers), have to keep her car, hang around at home for approx 3 hours (of which I don’t get paid) then back again to pick her up and bring her home. I do this two days per week. I believe that I am paid from her PIP payments (but not 100% sure of this). I get paid every 4 weeks bank transfer with her name on the transfer.
I get 12 days holiday per year which starts at the end of January (the month I started the job). This year I had booked some time off in March (Pre  Covid lockdown) and some over Christmas (this left me with a weeks annual leave left). During lockdown (in June) they advised me that I needed to take a weeks holiday. I now find myself in a position that I very much need some time off. I have had some personal stresses which are taking their toll on my physical and mental health and really need a week off but a) I don’t get paid sick leave and b) because of the request to take annual leave during lockdown I now only have half a day left. I suppose I could take the time off unpaid but can not really afford that right now.
so, my question really is, could they legally have insisted that I take that week off back in lockdown? If not, would I be unreasonable to request it back? I really am not sure of the laws and would very much appreciate some advise. Thank you.

Marcon

Franticday said:

so, my question really is, could they legally have insisted that I take that week off back in lockdown? If not, would I be unreasonable to request it back? I really am not sure of the laws and would very much appreciate some advise. Thank you.

Employers can:

• tell their staff to take leave, for example bank holidays or Christmas
• restrict when leave can be taken, for example at certain busy periods

There may be rules about this in the employment contract or it may be what normally happens in the workplace.

The notice period for this is at least twice as long as the leave they want their staff to take. The employer must tell the worker before the notice period begins.

Frankly it's far too late to contest it now even if they didn't meet the above requirements. Best idea is to talk to them and explain how you feel - but are you sure you've correctly implemented how the '12 days' works, given you actually work two days a week? Surely if you were asked to take 'a week' off, you would only have used up two days of your leave?

KatrinaWaves

Employers can tell you when to take your holiday completely (think about teachers)

  They do have to give ‘double notice’ so two weeks to take one weeks leave, however it appears you agreed to take the leave and took it, so even if they didn’t give the right notice, it doesn’t matter now.

Masomnia

Did they pay you in full for the time you took off?

Manxman_in_exile

How do you work out nine hours work per week?  You only drive her and that's twice a week a round trip of two hours per day so that's only four hours per week and you don't get paid for the time between the outward and return journey?  That leaves between at least three and five hours unaccounted for.

And as said above, a weeks holiday should only be two of your 12 days.

warby68

12 days should cover 6 weeks holiday for you as you only work 2 days a week.
So have you taken almost 5 weeks for March and Christmas? If you haven't, you should have more time left to take. If you have, could some of the upcoming Christmas leave be cancelled?
Yes, your employer was entitled to ask you to use holiday during what presumably was a lengthy period of furlough.

JReacher1

Manxman_in_exile said:

How do you work out nine hours work per week?  You only drive her and that's twice a week a round trip of two hours per day so that's only four hours per week and you don't get paid for the time between the outward and return journey?  That leaves between at least three and five hours unaccounted for.

And as said above, a weeks holiday should only be two of your 12 days.

I assume the 9 hours covers both ways for each journey. It’s an hour to the day centre so to drop her off its an hour there, and an hour back, then to pick her up another hour there and another hour back. Thats 4 hours a day twice a week. With an unpaid three hour period between the two daily trips. 

The outstanding hour is probably covered by helping her too and from the car. 

OP you don’t really have a choice, you have a set holiday period and all days have been taken or reserved. 

I’m intrigued how the half day will work, do you just leave her there and don’t pick her up?

TELLIT01

What is unclear is whether the OP has to remain at the centre where they drop the customer off or if they are free to do what they want in those 3 hours.  If they have to be available shouldn't they be paid for that time?

KatrinaWaves

TELLIT01 said:

What is unclear is whether the OP has to remain at the centre where they drop the customer off or if they are free to do what they want in those 3 hours.  If they have to be available shouldn't they be paid for that time?

It’s not unclear, she says she goes home. 

getmore4less

KatrinaWaves said:

Employers can tell you when to take your holiday completely (think about teachers)

  They do have to give ‘double notice’ so two weeks to take one weeks leave, however it appears you agreed to take the leave and took it, so even if they didn’t give the right notice, it doesn’t matter now.

That can be overruled by contractual terms.
For a driver contract a term like "any days X does not attend the day centre will  be taken as holiday or unpaid" would not be unreasonable.

unforeseen

Assuming the 45 mins travel then
45 mins there. 3 hours wait(although op decides to go home) 45 mins back. There's  your 4. 5 hours for each of the 2 days.
As is normal commuting to and from work (lady's house) is in the employees own time.