Bank Hol Monday

[bankholiday]

Hi I work at Ikea. We do 5 of 7 days and every alternate weekend. As a result everyone gets 1 alternate day off - My workmate has monday and then wednesday then mon then wed repeat etc.

On this particular bank hol Monday the bloke I work with has Monday as his regular day off and they won`t let him change his day off.

So as he is being forced to have monday as his day off he will lose out on lieu pay. For example I will get double pay and a day in lieu for this monday and my regular day off of thursday as well.

He can still work it but would just get double pay and no day in lieu and no normal day off (thursday) like me. This seems very unfair. Is it allowed?

[Buenchico]

Bank holidays have no special status in employment law. Ikea have every right to expect you to work next Monday for normal pay and with no time off in lieu. (Up until recently I worked in the rail industry. Bank holidays were always 'just another day' with no extra pay or time off in lieu).

Ikea have decided to show you generosity but this does not oblige them to do the same for any other employee. So their action is perfectly lawful.

Personally, I think that the whole concept of public holidays is outdated. Obviously people are entitled to a reasonable number of days holiday per year but I can't see why everyone should have the same days off (or expect compensation for working on those days). The sooner we abolish bank holidays (and all of the arguments that always surround them) the better it will be for everyone!

Chris

[bankholiday]

Thank god your not in charge then.

[spaced]

i used to work at Ikea, in customer returns when earning some money for uni. Good company to work for is Ikea.