Holiday confirmed 28 days but actually is 20.

[newboy007]

Hello all,

 

Just started my new job two weeks ago in security dept on four days off and four off rota that includes nights as well 7pm-7am and 7am-7pm shifts. Basically i left my previous job and had to take a salary haircut for this new role but i was not happy in my previous job so i left.

 

At interview stages It was said to me on email i am on 28 days paid holidays. However, in the last week i found out that from other colleagues in my dept that its actually 20 days holiday.

 

Now i feel a little down because even though i was not happy with my previous job i was paid more at least a £1000 more a year and i was on 28 days holiday (bit more as working on bank holiday will got me 2 lieu days) but i can't go back to it as it is now taken. I don't know if i want to as well but i took my current role on premise as i was told on email by HR director i will be on 28 days holidays.

 

So not only wages (however i knew about that and not so perturbed about it) but also taken a holiday cut, you can imagine 8 days less holidays makes a difference.

 

I read my contract of employment after confirmation of email from HR stating my salary and 28 days holiday like a small print rapidly. It says 20 days including public holidays. My query is i accepted the job offer from email send to me from HR stating 28 days holidays and now feeling let down with 20 only. I have not raised with HR yet but may do in coming days.

 

I also spoke to ACAS and they pointed out to me that because of hours i am doing i have statutory right to 28 days holidays. they encouraged me to raise with HR. Question is how can i get them to re-write the contract of employment while others in dept are on 20 days holidays. How to deal with this as i am only 2 weeks into job, in probation period for 3 months meaning that i ma afraid they can just say well if you not happy with it you can leave.

 

Anyone has experience of it or can advice me. How can i successfully turn it around. Thanks in advance.

[fkofilee]

Quite simply this is normal for any business, they have offered 28 days, including BH.

Do you work BH by the contract? Are you rota'd on?

[becky2585]

It sounds to me like a series of unfortunate events!

 

Basically, ACAS are wrong. Your holiday entitlement is 28 days / 5 (working days per week) X 3.5 (days you actually work) = 19.6 days holiday, rounded up to 20 days. So your holiday is correct for statutory purposes - you would need to take 7 days leave to book a two week holiday, whereas someone working the typical 9-5, 5 days per week would have to book 10 days leave to take the same amount of time off.

 

Regarding your offer letter - does it say the full time entitlement is 28 days, or that your own entitlement is 28 days? What does your contract say?

 

The only way you can protect your position is if you assert your employer is breaching the working time regulations (which they aren't) so if you do kick up a fuss, they could just dismiss you. Might be worth just looking elsewhere and keeping an income coming in until you can find something else with better holidays or shift patterns.

[newboy007]

They offered 28 days holiday that included BH on email correspondence from HR director but contract of employment says 20 days incl public holidays. three colleagues i asked they confirmed 20 days with me. So basically i get nothing for BH whether i am working that day or not. Seems a little odd.

 

Anyway this was mentioned in email

 

In relation to your question on holidays and Bank holiday entitlement

> - all our associates have 28 days including bank holidays. The roster

> is based on 4 days and 4 days off for the Security department .There

> is no additional compensation for working on bank holidays .

 

i will have to work on BH if it falls on my shift pattern. on my previous employment i was guaranteed 8 days fro BH and even earned 2 leiu days for if i worked on a BH. The current job i took after confirmation of my holiday. I think they may not give me the BH as they have to change for whole dept, but i do feel after the blunder they made they should somewhat compensate me for 8 days either pay me 8 day extra normal rate that will compensate me for the lower salary i have accepted here.

[Guest topcat14]

With respect to your point of view.....but your employer has not made a blunder. It may have been a misinterpretation of the expected holidays.

 

Statutory minimum holidays can, and usually do now include bank holidays or public holidays as part of the entitlement. If you happen to be rostered to work on those days then you are expected to work unless you book the time off as part of your normal annual entitlement.

 

You have taken a cut in pay to move your employment, you have also taken a cut in the fringe benefits it would seem. The HR director will be quoting 28 days as a standard for most of the employees, and you must remember that time off is pro rata your normal working hours and you receive an equivilent time off to the 28 days or put another way it is 5.6 x your standard working week, be that hours or days whichever way you want to look at it.

 

If the Terms & Conditions state "20 days including Bank Holidays" then that is not right and you must question it. The law was changed in 2009 i think to stop that type of contract.

Edited May 4, 2016 by topcat14
Additional info added

[newboy007]

I am bit confused now. So is it worth me contesting this issue or not. I lack bit understanding of the above replies. I received a Contract of employment via email and read it like a small print. It does say 20 days including public holidays. Here's is it

 

"5. Holiday Entitlement

 

You are entitled to 20 days’ paid holiday inclusive of public holidays applicable in England and Wales in each holiday year. The holiday year runs from 1 January to 31 December and your entitlement will be calculated on a pro-rata basis for contracted days less than 5 and pro-rated to reflect your service in the relevant holiday year."

 

All the hotels i know offer 28 days holidays that includes BH. The hotel i am working for is a reputable well established brand with well over thousand hotels in many various countries. Its unheard of to not get 20 days holiday plus 8 days for bank holidays. But so far i know i will only be getting 20 days and also be working for BH without any incentive or holiday accused of it. Not good is it.

 

Please read my above reply on what clearly was replied back to me in regards to holiday entitlements after the interview. That replied sealed it for me and i was not so perturbed by taking a little salary haircut as i needed new role. but 20 holidays after confirmed for 28 is a real downer and not to mention in few days i have attended workload seems heavier as well.

 

Pls i need now advice how to challenge this legally or one to one discussion off course without upsetting the employer. thanks.

[Guest topcat14]

If that is the wording in the Terms you are being asked to sign ...then yes you should contest it.

 

It could be a simple administration error but it is worth clarifying. What makes me say that is because the wording then goes on to state a pro rata calculation for part time employees. So these terms are not specifically designed for your employment..they are general terms and were made illegal in an employment contract a good number of years ago.

[becky2585]

Legally you can't challenge it for the reasons I mentioned before.

 

If you have signed the contract then you can't contest it contractually either. It's really up to your employer whether they honour their initial error or not.

[sh1974]

I recently asked ACAS the same question in similar circumstances. My understanding is that the concept of 28 days is based on a 5 day week of work. Where you dont work 5 days in a week rather than recieveing your holiday in days it is converted to hours. Generally that means 224 hours. If you are working 12 hours a day (11 hours paid 1 hour for lunch unpaid?) Thats 20 days worth of 12 hour shifts to get you 224 hour entitlement.

 

Kinda sucks but I can understand why they do it.