Annual leave 2015-2016

[Spy]

Is there an agreement in place that states that no annual leave should be taken during the Christmas pressure period ?

If there is, who determines when this period is ?

I've just been handed my annual leave card and it appears that from w/c 23/11/2015 - w/c 28/12/2015 inclusive all annual leave has been blocked. 6 weeks. I've been with royal mail for over 20 years and the most it has been is 3 weeks.

[Rumple]

Is there an agreement in place that states that no annual leave should be taken during the Christmas pressure period ?

If there is, who determines when this period is ?

I've been with royal mail for over 20 years and the most it has been is 3 weeks.

20 years, well, good Sir, you should know better than most.

[Spy]

Rumple. Why would I ? It has never been discussed in my office. Management always informed us when Xmas pressure was.

But i'll repeat my question. Is there an agreement in place that states that no annual leave should be taken during the Christmas pressure period ?

Yes ( with a link ) or no will suffice if you or anybody else should know.

[Glenno]

Rumple. Why would I ? It has never been discussed in my office. Management always informed us when Xmas pressure was.

But i'll repeat my question. Is there an agreement in place that states that no annual leave should be taken during the Christmas pressure period ?

Yes ( with a link ) or no will suffice if you or anybody else should know.

YES as stated below, is a direct copy & paste from the WAY Forward Aggrement
Selection of annual leave

The objective will be as far as possible to maximise leave opportunities for employees, whilst ensuring that operational needs and the customer specification are met at all times. This agreement covers selection of full week leave and part week e.g. holidays staring mid-week. Single days leave will be agreed locally through the Staff Resourcing Manager in Mail Centres or the line manager in other operational units.

The leave year will be April to March. The Christmas pressure period, determined by the operational unit, will be a closed period for leave. The selection process should be complete by the end of the preceding October each year.

The granting of leave must always be subject to operational requirements and fairness of allocation. Employees who wish to exchange between themselves periods of leave already signed for will be able to do so, with the agreement of the Staff Resourcing Manager in Mail Centres or the line manager in other operational units.

Prior to annual leave signing, the Staff Resourcing Manager in Mail Centres and the line manager in other operational units, will have discretion to grant specific requests for particular periods of leave from individual employees based on their exceptional and unavoidable personal circumstances. This will include meeting the commitments of employees new to the unit where they join with holidays already arranged, without disadvantaging existing staff with agreed leave already allocated.

Assigned allowances are paid during annual leave but not non-assigned or intermittent allowances. Where assigned shift allowances are averaged across a rotation, employees may not take more than three weeks of their leave from the most unsocial shift (i.e. that which attracts the highest payment) of the rotation.

[Spy]

Cheers Glenno. It would seem that Xmas in my office is later than usual with w/c 28/12/14 blocked off.

[Glenno]

Cheers Glenno. It would seem that Xmas in my office is later than usual with w/c 28/12/14 blocked off.

Must be a Local agreement mate, speak to your Rep, its difficult to deal with from outside the unit

[rick184]

In our DO we half the number of leave slots available in Nov. this makes sure we have enough people as parcels build up. No leave at all in Dec and half again in the new year week.

[coxie]

Our pressure, period is 3 weeks and we usually can't take annual leave either but your office has deemed this period is 6 weeks but I bet you when it's early December and you want to cut off they deny that pressure has started.

[albebb]

“Christmas period” means the period commencing on the first Monday in December in any year and ending at the start of the first working day after the New Year public holiday in the following year or, in Scotland, at the start of the first working day after the Scottish New Year public holiday in the following year;

[Shaman Mao]

Just gone into disagreement over this one. Someone, without local consultation, has decided that the week between Xmas and New Year can't be booked.

[Ahebban]

Just gone into disagreement over this one. Someone, without local consultation, has decided that the week between Xmas and New Year can't be booked

I wouldn't be surprised if it is a national matter that Royal Mail are trying to impose. Our DSM gave details to our ADR prior to our section meeting. Naturally, we will test RM resolve and book that week to capacity across all units

[whisperstar24]

3 weeks in our mail centre