'Losing' statutory bank holiday due to reduction of hours before full retirement

katejo

I work for a university library. I am 60 and in the process of arranging to reduce my working week to 4 days instead of 5. I expected a 20% reduction in my personal leave allowance. I didn't expect an additional  20% reduction in my  paid bank holiday hours. . My workplace closes between Christmas and New Year. I am only entitled to 20% of the day as leave on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. This means that some hours will be deducted from the personal leave which I can take between September (when my reduced hours start) and the end of January (end of the leave year). Boxing Day isn't affected in 2023  because I am due to have Tuesday as my extra day off. In 2024 I will have a similar penalty over the Easter weekend and the May/August bank holidays.
For the period between now and January, I only lose about 3 hours but it will be more in 2024. Has anyone else had a similar experience? HR says that this is normal procedure and the fairest way to do it.

hyubh

katejo said:

I work for a university library. I am 60 and in the process of arranging to reduce my working week to 4 days instead of 5. I expected a 20% reduction in my personal leave allowance. I didn't expect an additional  20% reduction in my  paid bank holiday hours. . My workplace closes between Christmas and New Year. I am only entitled to 20% of the day as leave on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. This means that some hours will be deducted from the personal leave which I can take between September (when my reduced hours start) and the end of January (end of the leave year). Boxing Day isn't affected in 2023  because I am due to have Tuesday as my extra day off. In 2024 I will have a similar penalty over the Easter weekend and the May/August bank holidays.
For the period between now and January, I only lose about 3 hours but it will be more in 2024. Has anyone else had a similar experience? HR says that this is normal procedure and the fairest way to do it.

I think you may have meant to post to the employment board...? That said, strictly speaking bank holidays (if non-working) are part of your total leave entitlement (https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights). Or, from a 'glass half empty' POV, bank holidays are typically enforced paid leave days. Were just your 'personal leave allowance' be reduced by 20%, then clearly, your total leave allowance would be more than 80%...

oxfordowl1

I work three days a week in the civil service and it works here similar to what you describe. Because one of my routine workings days is a Monday, I normally have to work back a couple of days over the course of the year.

Somebody

At my last work place the shopfloor worked a 37 hour Mon - Thurs week, as a previous MD had a not so bright idea that Fridays could be used for overtime to get more hours out and up productivity.  For Good Fridays, and any other bank holiday that fell on a Friday, we had to give them an extra day off in lieu. 

katejo

oxfordowl1 said:

I work three days a week in the civil service and it works here similar to what you describe. Because one of my routine workings days is a Monday, I normally have to work back a couple of days over the course of the year.

OK thanks. In your position I think I would expect to come in and work on another day the same week. I avoided choosing Monday as my free day because I assumed I wouldn't then  benefit from bank holidays. 

katejo

hyubh said:

katejo said:

I work for a university library. I am 60 and in the process of arranging to reduce my working week to 4 days instead of 5. I expected a 20% reduction in my personal leave allowance. I didn't expect an additional  20% reduction in my  paid bank holiday hours. . My workplace closes between Christmas and New Year. I am only entitled to 20% of the day as leave on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. This means that some hours will be deducted from the personal leave which I can take between September (when my reduced hours start) and the end of January (end of the leave year). Boxing Day isn't affected in 2023  because I am due to have Tuesday as my extra day off. In 2024 I will have a similar penalty over the Easter weekend and the May/August bank holidays.
For the period between now and January, I only lose about 3 hours but it will be more in 2024. Has anyone else had a similar experience? HR says that this is normal procedure and the fairest way to do it.

I think you may have meant to post to the employment board...? That said, strictly speaking bank holidays (if non-working) are part of your total leave entitlement (https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights). Or, from a 'glass half empty' POV, bank holidays are typically enforced paid leave days. Were just your 'personal leave allowance' be reduced by 20%, then clearly, your total leave allowance would be more than 80%...

I went for this category simply because my hours reduction is in preparation for retirement. Thanks for the explanation. It makes a bit more sense now. I assume you meant (if working) in line 2?

p00hsticks

katejo said:

oxfordowl1 said:

I work three days a week in the civil service and it works here similar to what you describe. Because one of my routine workings days is a Monday, I normally have to work back a couple of days over the course of the year.

OK thanks. In your position I think I would expect to come in and work on another day the same week. I avoided choosing Monday as my free day because I assumed I wouldn't then  benefit from bank holidays. 

And that's precisely why the holiday is worked out as it is - so that people that choose (or are told to take) a particular day of the week off don't get more holiday than people having a different day. 

zagubov

If you don't work Mondays, you may be able to claim TOIL for bank holidays you missed.
This last academic year you may have missed four bank holiday Mondays (29/8/22 August bank holiday

19/9/22 National day of mourning,1/5/22 Early May bank holiday, 8/5/23 King Charles coronation).

As you're fractionally employed you may be able to claim three if you're 0.75 or two if you're 0.5 or more or one if you're 0.25 or over.

Most years you only get two term-time bank holiday Mondays (May and August) so if you're 0.5 you may get one.
individual companies and organisations may have their own rules you'd need to check.

Check with your union rep.

marlot

I changed my hours a different way for my last couple of years - I did 5 days work over 4 days - so much longer days.

My contract changed to hours worked, which had the same effect as you (and others) are reporting.  When it was a bank holiday, I was only credited with 7.5 hours, not the 10 hours I routinely worked.

Flugelhorn

I have worked contracts for specific hours (all unsocial hours and inevitably every bank hol) and the total  annual leave allowance inc bank hols was calculated in hours which you took as and when

Stubod

If you work part time, then holiday allowances are normally worked out in pro rata hours. Bank holidays are also calculated pro rata and added to your holiday allowance, then if you normally work on a bank holiday then these hours are deducted from your holiday allowance. eg if you only work on Mondays most of your holiday is used up with bank holidays, but in this situation most employers would allow time off unpaid..