holiday dates request denied

[dyli795]

i requested certain dates for my holidays from work but because a fellow worker had requested them i have been refused. as we dont work the same printing machine i dont see the problem. as these two weeks are crucial to family plans, can i insist and take them off anyway? does anyone know the  law?id be extremely grateful as  my family and i are really fed up. thanks in anticipation.

[Donna G]

I know at my firm you can take unpaid leave, however, this is usually taken when you have run out of holiday entitlement.

Have you checked your contract to see what it says about holiday requests?

Is this a new job? If it is and your holiday was booked before joining them I thought they had to honour it.

[dyli795]

thanks for taking the trouble Donna G .i will see into those things, dyli795

[atolhurst]

I must confess that in my HR department, the usual stance on those situations is tough luck.

If the business has certain staffing requirements, if your colleague got in there with the time off first, there's very little you can do. And you most probably don't have a legal foot to stand on, unless there are some gaping holes in your contract.

If you feel it'll make little difference if you're off at the same time as your co-worker, then tell your bosses this. But be careful not to put your job at risk - argue it too well and they might decide they don't need two of you at all!

It's one thing I ALWAYS tell new staff when they join - never book a holiday until you've had the time off okay'd by the company.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

[dyli795]

thanks atolhurst. much of what you said i suspected. i havent got a contract so i suppose ill have to accept his decision.

[acw]

No no no!!!!

I only just saw this post!

You don't have a contract!?!  You are legally entitled to one!  Go to your HR department NOW and ask for a copy.  If they don't give you one, you can take them to a tribunal!!

I'd give you the legal sources but I left my book at home and I'm in the office and don't want to get caught "mucking about" online, even if I am sitting in an employment department of a law firm and here I am offering legal advice!!

Seriously - go get a copy of your contract and get back to me!  I'll try to get back to you later with more information. 

[dyli795]

i dont know what to say acw. none of us have a contract or are in a union . i didnt know it was my legal right.i shall ask for one tomorrow.what is the HR department? Its only a small printers.8 employees. i ve been there  2 years and when i started they said theyd match my previous wage but when the rest found out , instead of raising their wages they dropped mine. also theyve now employed a new bloke who s now on more than all of us doing the same job and he now gets  all the overtime we used to do. so you can see the first question was just the tip of the iceberg.

[nfn]

I'd get another job sharpish. I worked as a chef in a popular restaurant under similar conditions. They sacked me when I became pregnant and when I took them to a tribunal they lied through their teeth, produced a contract I'd apparently refused to sign and they WON! Incidentally, when I asked for holiday leave I was told it was company policy not to give employees paid holiday! According to my so called contract I was entitled to 4 weeks but I'd never asked for any!!

Even with a reputable company though, unless you are a single parent/carer of a child under 16 or special needs, you have to muck in with everyone re holidays/working hours etc. As an SP you do get special treatment by law. I know this because my HR dept is very good and actually informed me of this, although I've never asked for special treatment it's nice to know it's there should something happen

[acw]

In a small firm you won't have a Human Resources (stupid word for Staff!) Department - I hadn't realised it was such a small firm - sorry.

Seriously though, ask your boss for a copy of your contracts.  You should all have signed them (or had the chance to refuse to!)

Again I'm at work so I admit I've cribbed this info from the net - but it IS accurate:

"If an employee is taken on for more than one month, by law, they are entitled to a written contract within two months of initial employment. The employment contract may not cover all aspects of the employment details but should outline all of the important terms and conditions.

An employment contract is an agreement to the terms and conditions of employment � agreed by both the employer and employee. In principle, a contract is created as soon as a person agrees to work for the employer whom may have previously outlined the conditions of employment (pay, hours, etc).

Even if the employee does not serve two months of employment, they are still entitled to a copy of the contract if the job was originally meant to last longer than one month."

 
Also - again I have forgotten my book and don't at the moment have time to find the section of the correct Act.  I'll endeavour to post this information tomorrow.

PS - I echo nfn's sentiment about looking for a new job!!!

Good luck!!

[dyli795]

acw many thanks for your time and kindness . ill take  your advice and see what happens. again thanks a lot. dyli795

[acw]

Just because I said I would... it's section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996.  Of course it might not be the most diplomatic approach to start mentioning that to them, but at least it will give you the peace of mind to know that the law is behind you - at least on the contract front!!!  :-)

Good luck!