Annual leave / Holidays

[Imod]

I have more than a few gripes about the job since I started, but this one really gets me...

Why am I forced to fill in a holiday sheet in November 2020 for annual leave up to and including March 2022?

And why am I forced to use my annual leave in full weeks at a time?

I am not sure if this is the case for every office nationwide or if it is local or regional, but I find it infuriating. I don't know what I'm doing next week, never mind 15 or 16 months time.

And sometimes a couple of days off is sufficient if you have made plans. But instead you are forced to take the full week.

I asked about leaving a week of my leave free incase I needed a few single days here or there and was told single days are basically impossible to get.

Is this format used to save management or admin people the work or inconvenience of sorting holidays at short notice?

I have been in a fair few jobs before RM and I have never been forced to book holidays a year and more in advance, its ridiculous frankly.

[centenaryman]

ive been in the job 15 years and a different job for 18 years before that (major bus company)....both have you booking a week at a time.
both requiring you to book inadvance
for me i like to know my hols early so i can get things booked

they run from april to april hence why its up to 2022

our gaff is weeks at a time.....if your lucky...and i mean lucky you might get the weeks you want or need
ours dont allow single or couple of days till all weeks are in.....and by that time theres not much space for odd days

[grchpo]

We have to do this & avoid Rota weeks as well, I find it better to know in advance

[yubin282]

I have more than a few gripes about the job since I started, but this one really gets me...

Why am I forced to fill in a holiday sheet in November 2020 for annual leave up to and including March 2022?

And why am I forced to use my annual leave in full weeks at a time?

I am not sure if this is the case for every office nationwide or if it is local or regional, but I find it infuriating. I don't know what I'm doing next week, never mind 15 or 16 months time.

And sometimes a couple of days off is sufficient if you have made plans. But instead you are forced to take the full week.

I asked about leaving a week of my leave free incase I needed a few single days here or there and was told single days are basically impossible to get.

Is this format used to save management or admin people the work or inconvenience of sorting holidays at short notice?

I have been in a fair few jobs before RM and I have never been forced to book holidays a year and more in advance, its ridiculous frankly.

It's a Royal Mail thing they have to have control over you. It's a joke and always has been.

I presume you work in deliveries, you'll be told it's the 'norm'. It isn't I worked in a mail centre for a while asked my boss for the following day off....and got it.

[midegarelu]

yubin288

I've put my tin foil hat on.

It's not just a "Royal Mail thing" it happens all over. Everybody I know amongst family and friends also have to book their leave in advance.

Imagine the chaos if everybody turned up and asked for tomorrow off!

If you got the following day off then count your blessings you just got lucky because it's not the "norm".

[rambo1]

And it's not even in weeks any more. It's hours and minutes!

[centenaryman]

I have more than a few gripes about the job since I started, but this one really gets me...

Why am I forced to fill in a holiday sheet in November 2020 for annual leave up to and including March 2022?

And why am I forced to use my annual leave in full weeks at a time?

I am not sure if this is the case for every office nationwide or if it is local or regional, but I find it infuriating. I don't know what I'm doing next week, never mind 15 or 16 months time.

And sometimes a couple of days off is sufficient if you have made plans. But instead you are forced to take the full week.

I asked about leaving a week of my leave free incase I needed a few single days here or there and was told single days are basically impossible to get.

Is this format used to save management or admin people the work or inconvenience of sorting holidays at short notice?

I have been in a fair few jobs before RM and I have never been forced to book holidays a year and more in advance, its ridiculous frankly.

It's a Royal Mail thing they have to have control over you. It's a joke and always has been.

I presume you work in deliveries, you'll be told it's the 'norm'. It isn't I worked in a mail centre for a while asked my boss for the following day off....and got it.

im in deliveries....most of the time if they can theyll give u the next day off
think thats called being helpful

[sfxdby]

I can only sympathise. It is ridiculous. Like quite a lot of RM management systems.
I have worked lots of different jobs, this one for 10 years. Never seen this idiotic system before.
Occasionally, I will go to a DOM and manage to get an odd day off for weekend away or sporting event, but NEVER from my line manager. He delights in telling me all holiday is booked for that day.
Then they wonder why there is so much Saturday sickness!
They always cope so ... the system is tragically flawed.
So, I find the best way to get time off I need is to swap duties with someone. Work a Saturday off for them, say on my week off, and then get it back when I need it.

[abuch1980]

If you need odd days off it's sometime better to swap your day off or if you need 2 days off usually you will have a bank holiday credit to use up. Booking full weeks is just easier for the person inputting it on to the system but I get that you can't plan ahead so far so just take a guess when you might want a full week colleagues sometimes swap weeks too if they both can agree.

[world class male]

as someone posted earlier, the office needs to plan so they know how many will be off and not leave them well short for cover, it always worked well years ago but our staff turnover these days is abysmal where new entries may have already booked which are usually honoured
it may seem like a long way off but there has to be a time frame to work from/to so to possibly avoid having say half the staff off aug bank holiday week to being over staffed on a cold january week
until someone can come up with another system that works better for all and not just certain individuals then it is what it is