Fairness, Equality .........and Bank Holidays.

[hov1s]

Royal Mail! - A company which goes to great lengths to profess fairness and equality for all!

However..............

I, like a few other people within the company, have a fixed day off. For me that day happens to be Monday. This means that my day off is scheduled to fall on most Bank Holidays.
I understand that, with most offices using a rotating day off system, it means that any given bank holiday, roughly 1 in 6 staff are scheduled off.

Until now there was an option, whereby, if a Bank Holiday fell on your scheduled day off, you could take a day in lieu or get your day off hours paid at O/T rate.
THIS HAS JUST CHANGED! Apparently there is now no facility to pay O/T for Bank Holiday/Day off combinations.

I had this discussion with my manager yesterday and I'm now looking for advice on how to get this changed.

Apparently I, along with the other approximately 1 in 6 staff have been given 1 days extra leave as recompense for missing our day off that week. I don't have a problem with this (except I'd rather have had the money).
However, after checking the leave board, the first available day for me to use that day is at the end of September. Given the amount of people who will be jockeying for their new found leave, I feel that some may not get the Day Off they missed in the week of the recent Bank Holiday until February.

The Fairness? - It doesn't seem very fair that 5/6 staff get 2 days off in a week with a BH and 1/6 don't. But the 1/6 get a days leave credited which they potentially have to wait 3-6 months to take. It also doesn't seem fair that some people lose their scheduled day off by working for O/T. It's exactly the same thing whether you lose your day off through work or bank holiday, the end result is that you lose your day off and should be recompensed fairly and equally. Either we should all get leave credits or O/T.

The Equality? - I have been unable to work out whether Royal Mail Line Managers and Doms are considered as staff, either by themselves or other employees. We are all employees and should all be treated equally, and yet, one of my line managers also has a fixed Monday off (as does the PHG in our office).....except for when the Monday is a Bank Holiday, then they are both scheduled off on the Tuesday, or this week in particular (Jubilee week) Wednesday. Hardly very equal!

So I say again how do we get this changed and re-instate the BH excess payment? Does anyone know who to go to with this?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Was the Lieu day off/Overtime Payment a local agreement if so then your rep needs to put in a disagreement. Even if there is no local agreement your rep may have a case for "Custom and Practice" if this has been going on a while.

However, I do believe that most units now use this Lieu day method (we do). Probably because somehow its either cheaper, or it comes from a different budget stream.

[Tman]

I

t's exactly the same thing whether you lose your day off through work or bank holiday, the end result is that you lose your day off and should be recompensed fairly and equally.

Not the same at all. You choose to do o/t but you don't necessarily choose that particular Monday as your rota'd say off. Strange that you would expect to get paid for the B/H that you didn't work though. Would you also expect RM to pay employees right through the Xmas holiday if it was thier rota'd time off then?

[spen]

as usual in our office all the part timers, regardless of what duty there on were given monday or Tuesday as rest day

[arnold cheshire]

as usual in our office all the part timers, regardless of what duty there on were given monday or Tuesday as rest day

this is criminal

[spen]

seems to be the norm nowadays,,, only started doing it this year

[not me]

as usual in our office all the part timers, regardless of what duty there on were given monday or Tuesday as rest day

same in our office for any one(FT/PT) not holding a duty

[justdeno]

I'm owed 6 days, for Bank Hols, have asked for a weeks hol, not heard anything, but def will get them. RM will not get away with this as I pay for extra hol. I would rather have the day off , then have the OT, but if you need it so be it.

[daveallum]

as usual in our office all the part timers, regardless of what duty there on were given monday or Tuesday as rest day

same in our office for any one(FT/PT) not holding a duty

I'm a full time reserve and yet again my day off this week fell on one of the bank holidays (been told that it is now RM policy to do this).That now makes 2 Bank Holiday lieu that I am now owed plus I had to carry over a weeks holiday from 2011-2012 holiday period.My main gripe is that when to ask to take this time off you get the same reply"sorry shortage of staff and the need for operational requirements".

If I was to leave,I know that I would get paid for the weeks holiday but would I get paid for the two lieu days?

[hov1s]

Was the Lieu day off/Overtime Payment a local agreement if so then your rep needs to put in a disagreement.

No! It was written in the national guidelines that were used for calculating pay. Not Many people knew about it though, a single paragraph well hidden in a thick document. Oh and what rep? all of ours have quit.

[hov1s]

I

t's exactly the same thing whether you lose your day off through work or bank holiday, the end result is that you lose your day off and should be recompensed fairly and equally.

Not the same at all. You choose to do o/t but you don't necessarily choose that particular Monday as your rota'd say off. Strange that you would expect to get paid for the B/H that you didn't work though. Would you also expect RM to pay employees right through the Xmas holiday if it was thier rota'd time off then?

Hmmm
No matter how strange - I would expect to be paid as I always have been for having a scheduled day off and bank holiday combined. And NO this is not something I want the company to do just for me, I would expect RM to offer the same to everyone (as previously stated) and yes even at Christmas if they were scheduled off on a BH.

[hov1s]

as usual in our office all the part timers, regardless of what duty there on were given monday or Tuesday as rest day

this is criminal

Agreed!!! That is terrible!

[NumptyBumpty]

Sounds like your manager has been caught out allowing you to do this as you shouldn't be doing this. Were you being paid at Bank Holiday rate too?

Simple solution, try and swap your fixed day off with someone else for Wednesday and this won't affect you again.

[Tman]

And NO this is not something I want the company to do just for me, I would expect RM to offer the same to everyone (as previously stated) and yes even at Christmas if they were scheduled off on a BH.

But RM do pay you for a scheduled "off" Bank Holiday at the standard rate. I'm just surprised that your office expects payment over and above that standard rate.

[woofwoof]

the way forward clearly says you can not work over time when on annual leave so are bank holidays annual leave