I built a new PC. And my third request for holiday this year was 'postponed'.
I also did some work on my car last week which was quite nice.
Alex
ohh did you build a decent one? or just something basic?
did they explain why it was postponed or give you an idea when you can take some
Ed Gray
Pretty decent, I've had the parts for a while so their not the latest but pretty expensive anyway.
Alex
how close are you to fnishing your project and the company launching?
oh whats in it?
Ed Gray
They're.
We are pretty close I guess. But I'm not very optimistic about getting holiday when we launch.
I just have to keep trying I suppose.
My support worker suggested joining a union to get some help.
I've also e-mailed Ben Taylor from Shaw Trust who supported me before for advice.
Alex
what are you asking advice for? managing your work situation currently or getting the holiday? whats your goal?
Ed Gray
Advice regarding employment rights and what I can do about my holiday being repeatedly postponed.
Alex
pretty sure your company can decide when you take all your holiday
Ed Gray
gov.uk: "Paid annual leave is a legal right that an employer must provide. If a worker thinks their right to leave and pay are not being met there are a number of ways to resolve the dispute."
Alex
they are not saying you cant have it, the problem is they are saying you can have it when they decide.
you dont have a right to decide when your holidays are
Ed Gray
"Most workers who work a 5-day week must receive at least 28 days’ paid annual leave per year. This is the equivalent of 5.6 weeks of holiday."
Alex
the problem is they are not saying you cant have it no?
Ed Gray
They are basically lying to me I think.
Alex
why are they lying?
Ed Gray
I don't know, I don't see how it benefits them if I resign and go somewhere else.
Alex
and do you have a copy of your companies holiday policy?
Ed Gray
I have a written contract, that's about it.
Alex
in the contract what does it say about holiday?
Ed Gray
IIRC it says I have to give 14 days notice for holiday requests.
I don't know what else.
Alex
and i imagine it does not say they have to approve it
they are only obliged to give you your holiday within the holiday year, nothing else. they can decide 100% when you take it sadly
how long have you worked there now?
Ed Gray
From talking with other employees it seems they either don't take their holiday or are not given the opportunity to do so. Or they are off and get called in anyway. If it gets close to the end of the year and I still haven't had it, I'll just have to request it all at once and then if they don't give it to me take them to court.
Alex
You need to formally request by email the holiday rules.
Ed Gray
I will check my contract when I get a chance.
Alex
You don't get me
If you request a copy of the holiday rules by email your starting to build your case.
You need to make sure your communication about this is by email and you need to keep a copy of the emails
Ed Gray
If I do that then my manager will walk over and start asking me questions.
Alex
So answer the questions? Ask if your not understanding how holiday works there ? Ask if its being postponed when do they reasonably expect you can take it
But you are covering yourself doing this by email
Ed Gray
I give up, it's all too complicated.
Alex
Lol ed this isn't complicated
Ed Gray
Management don't usually read e-mails anyway.
This is the current process........
Alex
How come you can ask support workers for advice but you can't send an email to your boss or HR
Ed Gray
1. Request holiday.
2. Wait.
3. Approval by office manager.
Alex
Send the email anyway just keep a copy of it
Ed Gray
4. Face to face meeting with my manager where he says: why do you want holiday, what are you doing, can it wait. I say yes. Issue resolved.... supposedly.
I'm not very good at saying no to people.
Alex
Ed you realise you are postponing your own holiday
Ed Gray
Yes but not by choice.
Alex
You are saying it can wait
Your doing that by choice
Thats how a court will see it also
Ed Gray
What am I supposed to say then?
Alex
Next time say it can't wait or your going to end up having to take all your holiday at once.
Ed Gray
I just feel like giving up.
Alex
Then say you can work with him on it but ask when its possible for you to take the holiday your owed
This kind of thing is just a step on the road back to a proper job. You handle this situation and you move on. If you give up your only fucking yourself over and there's honestly no excuse for that
Its not a confrontation. Its saying ok if you want to postpone in but your worried about how much your owed for holiday and your asking for a plan when you can take it
Postpone it*
Ed Gray
I guess I can send an e-mail with those words.
Alex
Your not being unreasonable by saying your worried and can you work together to make sure you get your holiday your owed at a time that works for them
Ed Gray
But they will probably just say we have to wait until after we launch and they already won't give a proper time frame for when that will be or what will happen once we launch, how many customers will we have, who will support the software / servers / hardware / website. Will we be working 45 hour weeks for months without any holiday until they decide to eventually get more staff?
Alex
But you understand you still have to ask first
Once you get that answer you then take the next step
But you have to complete step 1 to decide what step 2 js
Is
You also seriously need to review your contract and anywhere it talks about holiday in detail
Ed Gray
I tend to worry about doing things quite a lot before I actually do them.
Even simple things like sending messages to women.
Alex
That's understandable. But is what we've said confrontational? Do you think its the wrong thing to do in any way?
If so let's work out how to do it better
How is sending messages to women simple ?
Oh god I am so hungover
Ed Gray
Sorry mate I need to sleep. Thanks and Night.
Seen by Ed Gray at Sunday 23:03