Bank Holiday Pay - Part Time Worker

poetpoet

Hello. Hope someone can help?
I work 34 hours a week ( 8.5 hours per day over 4 days) for a GP Surgery that follow the 'NHS Agenda for Change' rules around Annual Leave and Bank Holidays.
We are given our holiday entitlement (in my case 27 days holiday per year) PLUS Bank Holidays.  However, I am only given allowance for 7.5 hours on a Bank Holiday (as apparently that is a 'normal' working day') - even though I normally work 8.5 hours a day.  So when there is a Bank Holiday I have to take 8.5 hours holidays, which means I have to use 1 hour from my own holiday entitlement.  Our Annual Leave runs from 1st June to 31st May, so this year (2022/23) there will be 11 Bank Holidays.  This means I have had to take 11 hours from my own holiday entitlement to cover for these Bank Holidays - which I think is unfair.

The “Agenda for change (AFC) section 13.5” of Annual leave and General Public Holidays states: ‘Where staff work standard shifts other than 7.5 hours (excluding meal breaks), annual leave and general public holiday entitlements should be calculated on an hourly basis, to prevent staff on these shifts receiving greater or less leave than colleagues on standard shifts.’ 

 If this is the case then I would be entitled to 11 more hours annual leave this year, as I work 8.5 hours a day (excluding meal breaks).

Am I correct?  

I have spoken to HR about this, but they insist that they are right and I am wrong.  I would appreciate some further advice.  Thank you

 

Savvy_Sue

What does your union say?

In some places, your leave entitlement would be worked out in hours, how does that compare?

TheSpiddalKid

You have highlighted the less leave but just before it you failed to highlight the greater amount. What you are asking for is more annual leave than a colleague.

From what you have laid out I am guessing you are using ESR, or another online annual leave system, to calculate your leave. Remember you work 4 days per week so these systems will then add in the leave for any bank holidays that fall on days when you don't work and you will have the benefits of these to take at another time of the year. 

The section you have quoted means that the wte annual leave for your role is 202.5 hours plus bank holidays (75 hours for this year). If you work 34 hours p/w then this is 0.9 wte so your overall annual leave entitlement for the year is 279.75 (I've slightly rounded down your wte so it may be a little more). this is fair and equitable as you are getting a pro-rata same amount.

What you appear to be dissatisfied by is how leave is then taken, however, holidays need to be reflective of what you would have otherwise worked. So if you normally work 8 hours per day (excluding lunches) then this should be the leave that is deducted. What you are asking for by having to deduct less leave (or have more entitlement added) is to be treated better or more favourably than your colleagues.

Purplelady65

I work for the NHS and exactly the same work pattern as you - 34 hours per week worked as 4x 8.5 hours. Under Agenda for Change your entitlement is not for a full 7.5 hours for Bank Holidays as you are not a full-time worker. You are 0.91 wte which means your entitlement for a Bank Holiday is 6 hours 50 minutes. As your normal working day is 8 hours 30 minutes then if a normal working day falls on a Bank Holiday your annual leave contribution to your Bank Holiday entitlement should be 1hour 40 minutes unless you come to an agreement with your employer to make the extra time above your Bank Holiday entitlement up. 

spaniel101

As other have suggested above, you are thinking of it the wrong way around.

Agenda for change Annual Leave is standardised for everyone now, all in hours, forget about the days of the week you work.   



Its set at 7.5hrs / day, based on X 5 days = 37.5 full time week.   Pro-rated for part time.   


27 days annual leave = 202.5hrs annual leave per year  (7.5hrs X 27)

10 days Bank Holiday 2022/23:
*This is 75hrs entitlement for a full timer  (10 X 7.5hrs = 75hrs).
*Pro-rated for your part-time 27hrs is  (75hrs divided by 37.5 full time)  X  27hrs (part-time) = 54hrs Bank Holiday Entitlement 


Sub-Total Annual Leave 2022/23 =  256.5hrs
(NB:  The late Bank Holiday for The Queen's Funeral has yet to be added to ESR but again will be pro-rata, 7.5hrs for a full timer, 5.4hrs for yourself  (7.5hrs divided by 37.5hrs  X  27hrs) 


By year end - your Total Annual Leave 2022/23 will be 261.9hrs (including all Bank Holiday Entitlement)


(If you wish to translate this into days for your own peace of mind, its 261.9hrs divided by 8.5hrs per day worked = 30.81 days leave entitlement in total 2022/2023).


Everyone is treated the same with the exact same amount of annual leave (apart from historic long service award) whether full time or part time.   Any day that is a bank holiday, you will be required to book the full 8.5hrs working hours for your 1 day leave for which you have received your full entitlement of pro-rated hours, so no gain, no loss in comparison to your colleagues.





THE KEY - When I negotiated my new contract, I avoided Monday's.   This way I mostly utilise my bank holiday leave entitlement as and when it suits me along with my other annual leave, I have to book very very few actual bank holidays - mostly just christmas.  You don't receive any more but at least you can take it on your terms.