Holiday entitlement.

[divegirl]

Hi, I have posted about this before in employment, but am becoming increasingly concerned as time is running out....so to speak.

I work for a national chain of coffee shops as an assistant manager and our financial year runs from March to Feb. Because of this all of our paid holidays need to be taken by the end of Feb....or be lost. I understand that holidays can only be taken with the managers permision, but due to being unable to take holidays over the christmas period [company policy and understandable], and budgets imposed by our area manager.....we are not being allowed to take our holidays. I have 7 days to take and other members of staff have between 3 and 9!!!!! Where do we stand legally on this. I do not wish to cause trouble but I also feel it's more than a little unfair that we should lose this time off.

Lisa x

[scoobydooby]

If Xmas was the only period throughout the financial year that you were unable to take leave then you have no real complaint. It is fairly common for companies to block leave applications for busy periods - quite often for more than just the Xmas period. If you were able to book leave during all other months throughout the year, then it's bad planning on your part (sorry to sound blunt but it is your responsibility to use your leave). Some companies will allow staff to carry over leave and you could try to negotiate a deal. However, this is at the discretion of the company and is not a legal right. Having said that, if you have seven days left to take by the end of this month - your employers should make every effort for you to use this if you make them aware.