Holiday law

[kidsbelly]

My wife works part time in a local pet shop. This shop has recently been taken on by new owners. They have told her that she can only book her holidays in blocks of at least one week long. Can they do this? Is it legal? The owners are a husband & wife partnership. They employ their daughter to work there on weekends, and she's only 14. Surely this is also illegal? My wife works there all day Saturdays, and this is when the 14 yr old works too, so my wife is in a position she feels is untennable! Can someone please inform us of where we stand on all these issues? Thanks.

[Ethel]

14 year olds can work for 5 hours on Saturdays and 2 hours maximum on Sundays. The laws are different if the shop is also part of the family home.

It is perfectly lawful to state leave must be taken in minimum one week blocks, provided she gets all her annual leave entitlement.

"Your employer can order you to take all or any of your holiday at a particular time, as long as they give you the right notice at the right time and take into account certain agreements between you.

The law does not put any limit on the amount of holiday you can take at any one time. This means you are not entitled to take two weeks of holiday at once, unless your agreement or employment contract says you can. This means that as long as an employer gives their employee the right notice at the right time, they could make you take your holiday as they choose, for example, take every Friday as leave until you have used up all of your holiday."

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/emplo yment/holidays_and_holiday_pay.htm#can_you_cho ose_when_to_take_holiday

[bednobs]

i thought that if it was a family business, children could work longer (and from a younger age)

[bednobs]

also, meant to add to ethels very good answer - thre are lots of jobs where your boss dictates when you can take holidays - teachers for example or workplaces that have a "shut down" over christmas and new year, and its completely correct they can tell you when to take them (and how long to take)

[bednobs]

also, meant to add to ethels very good answer - thre are lots of jobs where your boss dictates when you can take holidays - teachers for example or workplaces that have a "shut down" over christmas and new year, and its completely correct they can tell you when to take them (and how long to take)

[Ethel]

bednobs - only if the business forms part of the family home.

http://www.afamilybusiness.co.uk/rules-about-c hildren-working.html