So many questions

[rubberbond]

What about offices where some are on 1 in 4, some are on 9 day fortnights and some on a fixed Mon-Fri?
3 tier workforce?

As is maybe so, but the original quote I used to make my point was in answer to the correspondent who asked specifically about a rolling day off.

I doubt there is anything in the contract about a rolling day off.
Otherwise all the people I mentioned would have different contracts of employment.
As far as I am aware they don't.
Or you could choose a Mon - Fri duty and then insist on a rotational day off because it is in your contract?

What chance have you got of a Monday to Friday job?
When I tried to get a new starter a weekend off recently the manager said their contract did not give them a Saturday off , but every Tuesday. These people must be desperate to join is all I can say.

[Woody Guthrie]

the manager said their contract did not give them a Saturday off , but every Tuesday. These people must be desperate to join is all I can say.

It's unlikely that's true.
Contracts are non specific for a reason.
It gives the business flexibility.
They'll usually state something like any 5 from 6 Monday to Saturday subject to business requirements.
It's possible but unlikely.

[HTPostman]

Thanks everyone for the replies, much appreciated and very helpful.

4. If you have just started you should have told them that you had pre booked holiday which they would have had to honour. But now it seems too late for that so you need to take it where there is space, only 5 days can be carried over.

Just let me clarify - I don't have any planned holidays, however I joined earlier this month and asked how much annual leave I have for the current tax year. I was told 2 weeks.

I'm therefore keen to get these 2 weeks booked in before we reach the end of the 2018-2019 annual leave period as I'm concerned that some of the leave will simply 'disappear'. I am not fussed if I'm given this week off, next week, the last weeks in March etc. I just want them booked in so I don't get to the 2019-2020 period without having taken them.

Its a bit of a personal thing because in my last job I once went a whole year without taking a single day of annual leave, my fault, I was being silly and wasn't fussed about having holidays at the time as I was going through a tough time and wanted to keep busy at work. However at the end of that year, I expected those untaken weeks to roll over or at least be financially rewarded for not using them. Instead I got nothing.

I'm wanting to ensure that never happens again.

[Navalron]

YES IT'S TRUE. RM have in the last few months been advertising for posties with a fixed Tuesday off. There was one for a postie on a constant mon=fri with every weekend off. Can't understand why it had to be even advertised as surely someone else in office would have jumped at that or even a transfer in from another office. But that's RM.

[rambo1]

Thanks everyone for the replies, much appreciated and very helpful.

4. If you have just started you should have told them that you had pre booked holiday which they would have had to honour. But now it seems too late for that so you need to take it where there is space, only 5 days can be carried over.

Just let me clarify - I don't have any planned holidays, however I joined earlier this month and asked how much annual leave I have for the current tax year. I was told 2 weeks.

I'm therefore keen to get these 2 weeks booked in before we reach the end of the 2018-2019 annual leave period as I'm concerned that some of the leave will simply 'disappear'. I am not fussed if I'm given this week off, next week, the last weeks in March etc. I just want them booked in so I don't get to the 2019-2020 period without having taken them.

Its a bit of a personal thing because in my last job I once went a whole year without taking a single day of annual leave, my fault, I was being silly and wasn't fussed about having holidays at the time as I was going through a tough time and wanted to keep busy at work. However at the end of that year, I expected those untaken weeks to roll over or at least be financially rewarded for not using them. Instead I got nothing.

I'm wanting to ensure that never happens again.

Is there nothing in January, our office usually has a few spaces. Good time for a break as most posties are knackered by then. Get yerself to Tenerife or somewhere for a bit of winter sun.

[97gaz]

[

[Woody Guthrie]

The legal statutory minimum holiday is 28 days which can include bank holidays.
We get a minimum 22.5 days plus 8 bank holidays.
That's 30.5 days.

If you are stopped from taking a minimum 28 days annual leave for any reason the answer would be to first of all exhaust the grievance process then keeping an eye on the time limits take your employer to an Industrial Tribunal.

[robbertwhitton]

Any experience of this? Our guys regularly get loaned out from our office,answering the SOS e mail from offices short,on there return from driving miles and claiming mileage,they do ask the question what was the point of that?,no I don’t know that round I’m not from this office,and yes I’m part time so I need to get back at this time,and they see management looking a tad bored,we end up lapsing his duty,I think it’s a point scoring exercise to make boss seem good and able to loan out,yet when we’re stuck we see nobody?

[HTPostman]

Thanks everyone for the replies, much appreciated and very helpful.

4. If you have just started you should have told them that you had pre booked holiday which they would have had to honour. But now it seems too late for that so you need to take it where there is space, only 5 days can be carried over.

Just let me clarify - I don't have any planned holidays, however I joined earlier this month and asked how much annual leave I have for the current tax year. I was told 2 weeks.

I'm therefore keen to get these 2 weeks booked in before we reach the end of the 2018-2019 annual leave period as I'm concerned that some of the leave will simply 'disappear'. I am not fussed if I'm given this week off, next week, the last weeks in March etc. I just want them booked in so I don't get to the 2019-2020 period without having taken them.

Its a bit of a personal thing because in my last job I once went a whole year without taking a single day of annual leave, my fault, I was being silly and wasn't fussed about having holidays at the time as I was going through a tough time and wanted to keep busy at work. However at the end of that year, I expected those untaken weeks to roll over or at least be financially rewarded for not using them. Instead I got nothing.

I'm wanting to ensure that never happens again.

Is there nothing in January, our office usually has a few spaces. Good time for a break as most posties are knackered by then. Get yerself to Tenerife or somewhere for a bit of winter sun.

It's not that there's no weeks left to book (I've told him give me ANY 2 weeks of the 22/23 weeks remaining before the next holiday period, I can't be more flexible than that), it's the fact I think this office is so understaffed with linos from other offices coming in daily to do deliveries so he doesn't want to be even more understaffed.

I don't care, staffing issues isn't my problem, I'm legally entitled to 2 weeks off so I'll take it. I'll get on to him when he returns then if still no movement I'll get the rep involved.

Have to say since returning to Royal Mail I'm a lot less stressed this time round despite the bigger workloads.
Coming in at my start time and taking my breaks means I'm not working a single minute for free, and quite right too.

Cheers everyone who replied with advice.

[Navalron]

You returned to royal mail are you mad ?

You would be surprised at the amount of people who come back to RM after going to another employer. Things are not always greener on the other side, which most of us leaving the forces found out but myself also on leaving RM to drive buses in 97. I was back within 9 months but luckily kept my service and got my night duty back. It was who you knew back then and HR just accepted local management new starts.

[HTPostman]

You returned to royal mail are you mad ?

You would be surprised at the amount of people who come back to RM after going to another employer. Things are not always greener on the other side, which most of us leaving the forces found out but myself also on leaving RM to drive buses in 97. I was back within 9 months but luckily kept my service and got my night duty back. It was who you knew back then and HR just accepted local management new starts.

It's the question I'm asked the most by fellow posties, why on earth did I come back. Probably the same reason so many of them haven't left....there's far worse jobs out there. Being a postman isn't perfect, there's no organisation and the job is getting worse. But....

I was working in an office for minimum wage that had no air con in summer, hardly any heating in winter and I was hunched over a desk 8 hours a day, dealing with customer queries/complaints. My boss at that job (the workforce consisted of just 2 of us - me and him!) often apologised for not paying me much, he said the business couldn't afford it which was strange as the business was paying 40% tax and making £25k profit a month....he then spent £320k of takings on 2 items for himself, that was the final straw. My Christmas bonus was £30.

Much prefer to be out in the open, earning a decent hourly rate and a fair Christmas bonus, than be back in a job like that. Plus it's not my job now to deal with customer complaints, so I can just walk away :-)

[HTPostman]

Pleased to say yesterday I got the annual leave booked in for the rest of the holiday year. Persistence paid off in the end. Thanks all for your help.