minimum work holidays?

Dirk Gently

From what I can see in the labour rights papers online a worker is entitled to 20 days (4 working weeks) paid leave each year.

Is that simply a recommended minimum requirement or a legal right.

The reason I ask is because my current employer only gives 2 weeks holidays per year and apparently I didn't work enough with his company this year to merit any days off at all. ( I started my current job in mid september this year)

We did get a week off over xmas, (this week) which i assume can be added to the two other weeks we are allowed to make 3 weeks in total, (however I was pressured into floating in and out of the office this week to keep an eye on things).

Is two weeks (10 days) and a week over xmas legally to little holiday time. Any where else I worked was a minimum of 21 days, some places more. I'd like to get all the neccesary negotiations about pay and conditions out of the way early in january rather than drag it out over the course of the year. So far I've managed to get a pay rise out of him last week to start in january but the holiday issue is something that I also want sorted asap so I can weigh up whether or not to move on to greener pastures.

Asok

What sort of hours do you work and is it a full time position?

Dirk Gently

It's a full time position.

Currently on a 40 hour week. there are two shifts, 7am - 3pm and 2pm - 10pm. (no shift allowance in operation)

I was untill recently doing a 6 day week (48hrs) but from january I will be down to 40 hrs mon-fri, largely due to the fact that the boss always tries to worm his way out of paying me an over time rate after 40 hours. He has a new worker on board now to cover weekends, paying him a flat rate, because he didn't want to pay me overtime.

Johnmb

4 working weeks (20 days based on working a 5 day week) is the statutory minimum, assuming you work full time. It can be applied pro-rata if you didn't work the full year. If you don't work a full year, you can also be given either 1.66 days per month, or 8% of the time you have worked as holidays. The employer gets to choose when you take your holidays, so if they close over Christmas then that can be taken out of your holiday entitlement. Not only is it a legal right, it is something that you can't agree to do without even if you wanted to (i.e. you cannot take pay in lieu of holidays). If your employer only gives 10 days off, he may mean 10 days that you get to choose, with the others being at a time when the business is closed (e.g. Christmas, 1st week of August, etc.). It would be highly unlikely that any employer would be daft enough to try to do you out of holiday entitlements in such an open way.

is_that_so

OASIS now Citizens Information.

Dirk Gently

Johnmb wrote:

4 working weeks (20 days based on working a 5 day week) is the statutory minimum, assuming you work full time. It can be applied pro-rata if you didn't work the full year. If you don't work a full year, you can also be given either 1.66 days per month, or 8% of the time you have worked as holidays. The employer gets to choose when you take your holidays, so if they close over Christmas then that can be taken out of your holiday entitlement. Not only is it a legal right, it is something that you can't agree to do without even if you wanted to (i.e. you cannot take pay in lieu of holidays). If your employer only gives 10 days off, he may mean 10 days that you get to choose, with the others being at a time when the business is closed (e.g. Christmas, 1st week of August, etc.). It would be highly unlikely that any employer would be daft enough to try to do you out of holiday entitlements in such an open way.

That’s pretty much my thoughts on the matter, just wanted it confirmed. We only get two weeks off and one week at crimbo (technically) even though I'll be in about 6 hours tomorrow while I should be off.

As for him been daft enough to try it, he is very much the stereotypical capitalist, cutting corners and getting away with what he can where he can in order to maintain his two boats and 4 month sailing holiday in the summer. I'm shocked myself about what he gets away with, and I'm not just talking about his treatment of employees.

Unfortunately when I arrived the people working there already were pretty much walk overs and didn't open their mouth about anything. I'm actually the only person to get an overtime rate out of him while the others often work beyond the 40 hours for no extra pay dispite being on an hourly rate and not a salary.

Another thing, I never signed a contract when I started and pretty much just start working the day after my interview. He gave me an area of where my wages would be but after I got paid found out he put me on a lower rate than he lead me to belief. Only now, 3 months later have I got to the stage where I was lead to believe I would be starting of from. For want of a better word the man is a gangster and his work practices can be described as highly dangerous, unsafe, disgusting but in the end very profitable (for him).

Thanks for the feedback, just wanted confirmed what I already knew.

4 weeks holiday or I walk.

Nuttzz

you are entitled to just under 6 days holidays this year,

if he is so bad to work there move on no point cribbing on the internet, he is in business to make money for himself first...

Dirk Gently

Nuttzz wrote:

if he is so bad to work there move on no point cribbing on the internet, he is in business to make money for himself first...

I'm only "cribbing" because I wanted it confirmed as to what the minimum was incase I missed something in the labour documents, before I speak to him next week. He is so obviously flouting the law that I thought there might of been some loop hole as to how he was getting away with it so long.

As you say he's in business to make money for himself, but within the law and not by exploiting people and denying them their minimum rights.