Days holidays - how many? and when?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Michael Woodhouse — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 22:30:55 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]Great idea - the place I work for needs this. How does this work out? Do they check contracts and changes, staff recruitment and promotions, hours worked etc?[/quote]

Yes. We also use a different branch of the same company to manage health and safety.

I give them an idea of what I want in a contract and they draft it in a way that is fair and legal. Keep a staff handbook up to date. Will guide us through disciplinary or grievance. As I understand it, if we follow their advice and end up getting a fine at a tribunal then they even pay that. It protects both sides and makes sure everything is done properly. I don't have time to keep up with the intricacies of employment law.

The company is called Xact, but there are others.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Sarah Keir — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 16:14:03 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

it averages out as a 37.5 hour week plus on call.

[/quote]

Nice!

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

We use an external company to manage HR issues to keep everything above board.

[/quote]

Great idea - the place I work for needs this. How does this work out? Do they check contracts and changes, staff recruitment and promotions, hours worked etc?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Clive Ansell — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 14:50:54 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]Traitors![/quote]

Possibly. But happy ones!

[/quote]

Can't argue with that - enjoy

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 14:49:41 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]Traitors![/quote]

Possibly. But happy ones!

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Clive Ansell — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 14:29:05 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]CVS (who have just bought our practice)[/quote]

Traitors!, yeah splitters

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 12:49:11 GMT

Absolutely. 5 x 4.5= 22.5.

I would say, though, that if you're only getting 6 days off for bank holidays, without being able to take the other 2 in lieu, you've not really got a full 5 weeks off!

Corporates get a lot of flak, but CVS (who have just bought our practice) give 5 weeks +BHs to all staff. Better deal for the nurses and receptionists than in most independents, I expect.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Thomas Johnson — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 12:07:38 GMT

I work a 4.5 day week, a share of weekends and get an extra half day on a Friday after working a weekend. I work 24 days over a 5 week period and get 22.5 days holiday a year plus 6 of the 8 bank holidays. These are my contracted hours so if I take the morning off on my half day it is only counted as taking a half day of holiday, and if I take a week off then only the number of days I would have worked are counted, so 4.5 on a normal week, but only 4 if it's a week when I have an extra half day on the Friday.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Gillian Mostyn — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 07:30:48 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]We don't have evening surgeries so it averages out as a 37.5 hour week [/quote]

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]but you really can't expect to walk out of the door every night at 6.01[/quote]

Genuine question - do you think you'd feel the same if your normal finish time was 7pm and you worked a standard 46-50 hour week, as many if the vets wanting their half day will be doing?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Michael Woodhouse — Sat, 11 Feb 2017 02:06:10 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]I have been told that this is because you might be asked to do extra work on your half day off.[/quote]

We use an external company to manage HR issues to keep everything above board. I forget the exact wording, but half days are described (in our contract) as discretionary. You get them if you have worked the full week AND there is full staffing that day. It means a week off requires 5 days holiday. It means you lose your half day if another vet is off.

Our half days start at 1.00 and 95% of the time people are gone by then, if its quiet then they can often go at 12.00. If all hell breaks loose then you plod on and do what is necessary. I've always seen half days as a way of breaking up the long hours we work, if you have half the week off then you're not exactly been worked into the ground. We don't have evening surgeries so it averages out as a 37.5 hour week plus on call.

For practices doing any OOH work, animals will not conveniently get sick according to our opening times. I don't think anyone has ever missed a major event they had booked due to work (other people will put in extra effort), but you really can't expect to walk out of the door every night at 6.01 irrespective of what is happening. We're not fitting kitchens. It's just the same for doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics etc....

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

nikki — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 22:21:58 GMT

I get 24.5days holiday plus bank holidays. Holiday is in days so if i take the morning off on a Wednesday (which is my half day) it counts as half a day. If I take a week off it counts as 4.5days on a normal week or could be as little as 3.5days if it falls on the week when I have the Friday off for working the previous weekend. After reading this post think I've got it unusually good!

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Joyce Whitehead — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 11:10:58 GMT

Yes here too, no half days for exactly the reason Gillian says, far too many of my half days in the past started at 4. We do occasionally swap days off but that is for the convenience of the vet concerned, and the rota is a four week rolling one so we can all plan in advance. Each vet has a Friday off once a month to get a long weekend too, usually after their weekend on call.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Gillian Mostyn — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 10:44:35 GMT

Which is why my full time vets get a full day off (same day each week, set in stone) and a half day when possible (most weeks.) I hated half days when I was an assistant... Often ended up frustrated about how late it was when I was going home which ruined them anyway!

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Sarah Keir — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 10:19:50 GMT

Heaven forbid a vet that would like to plan something on a half day or to finish on time for a life outside work!

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Braden Collins — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 03:41:42 GMT

Our vets work 4 days/week, and get 4 weeks holiday per year.

If they have one day off, it's 1/4 of a week rather than 1/5 of a week.We don't let them take half days for holidays as it's hard to staff for that, but if they have something important to go to we'll just give them and early finish or late start if we can - for example, for a kids first day of school we're happy for them to start late those days so they can take their kid for such a big event and not have to use holidays. the flip side to that is we know they will stay at the end of a day if needed until the work is done.

It's harsh for you to lose a full day holiday for a half day. Maybe talk to the manager about working out holiday allowance in hours so the correct amount can be deducted. I would explain to them that you'll stop taking the half day holidays on a Wednesday and take the Thursday off instead if they keep insisting on the current way of working it out, which will then work in your favour compared to working it out as hours.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Aurelia Verdin — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 23:11:32 GMT

In my last job (now locumming), we could use half a holiday day to turn our half day off into a full day off, if it was just that day we were taking. If we were taking a week off that would count as 5 days holiday used, not 4.5, which seemed fair.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Dinu Catilina — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 22:57:23 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"]I have been told that this is because you might be asked to do extra work on your half day off.[/quote]

But then you might be asked do to extra work on any day. I can't understand this point.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Clive Ansell — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:32:16 GMT

[quote user="Sarah Keir"] I have been told that this is because you might be asked to do extra work on your half day off.[/quote]

What's that all about? it is either a half day off , or its not, surely? what if you've made plans for your half day?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Clive Ansell — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:28:44 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]Does that make more sense?[/quote]

Yes, it does - thanks

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Gillian Mostyn — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:37:26 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

Half a day is half a day, and a whole day is a whole day?

Surely if you normally work 4 1/2 days a week, and you take the full week off, you have taken 4 1/2 days holiday - the time you would have been working ?

[/quote]

Yes, it is called pro rata. It obviously applies mainly to part time workers - they get 5 x their normal working week, whatever that is. For example, If they work 2 full and 3 half days a week, they get 10 full and 15 half days off. If they tried to take 25 full days off, they'd end up with far more holiday allowance!

For Anon, 5 weeks off is 5 x 4 1/2 days off, not 5 x 5 days off.

Does that make more sense?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Sarah Keir — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:09:02 GMT

[quote user="Clive Ansell"]

I don't follow.

Half a day is half a day, and a whole day is a whole day?

Surely if you normally work 4 1/2 days a week, and you take the full week off, you have taken 4 1/2 days holiday - the time you would have been working ?

[/quote]

I don't know what is 'normal' but where I currently work if you take holiday on your half day then you lose a full days holiday so a working week off of 4 and 1/2 days requires 5 days holiday. I have been told that this is because you might be asked to do extra work on your half day off.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Clive Ansell — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 19:46:35 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]

[quote user="An On MRCVS"]However, our practice manager has approached me, and advised me that if I take a Wednesday off, be it by itself, or as part of a weeks holiday, it counts as a FULL DAY of holiday.[/quote]

- Absolutely. It is standard that if you take a day off, regardless of hours worked, it is a day's holiday. So don't look at it that your boss is suddenly being mean, but instead that they have been overgenerous for the last 4 years!

[/quote]

I don't follow.

Half a day is half a day, and a whole day is a whole day?

Surely if you normally work 4 1/2 days a week, and you take the full week off, you have taken 4 1/2 days holiday - the time you would have been working ?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Noweia — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 19:12:48 GMT

If your holiday entitilement is given in hours rather than days, does that mean you can take a few hours off and it not count as a full day?

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 17:17:40 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]That's what I said.[/quote]Ah ha, but not quite as succinctly!

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Robin Grimmer — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 17:03:16 GMT

Anon - do you get any long offs? Most jobs I've had you get a full or half day off on a Friday to compensate for weekends worked.

RE: Days holidays - how many? and when?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 16:54:15 GMT

[quote user="Gillian Mostyn"]Having said everything above, if I had already authorised time off I wouldn't renege on them and make you cancel your booked holiday! [/quote]

Nor would anybody with any decency, but this was a "practice manager".....