Holiday isue Need help plz

[jingles1964]

My son worke at army barracks in the kitchens for a contracted company he booked a weeks holiday at the same time as his fiancce so they could go away together, his catering manager told him to book it and that she would sign the anual leave form he has booked and payed for his holiday but the site manager now says that he cant take time off as a couple as they are employed as individuals what rights does he have please. the holiday is payed for other staff have taken time off together ie:- husband & wife.

[Sidewinder]

I think that your son really needs to go back to the person who said that she would sign his leave application and plead his case in that on the strength of her assurance he has paid for a holiday. Sadly if he booked it before actually getting the holiday agreed he may have a rough ride, as the law does state that the employer does not have to agree to any specific holiday request.

He may wish to raise a formal grievance that the holiday was approved by the Catering Manager and that having gained her agreement he has now paid for the holiday. This may represent a breach of his contract (he would need to see what it says about the procedure for booking leave). Providing that he has done things by the book they may choose to reverse the decision, but if his contract says for example that holiday is not confirmed until approval is given by the Site Manager, it could be a bit difficult to argue otherwise.

[c_allen]

I'd have thought that as long as he gave enough notice, then they would need a very very good reason to deny him the time off. Enough notice being a minimum of 2 weeks notice for 1 weeks holiday, 1 month for 2 weeks holiday, ect. you have the right to take YOUR holidays when YOU want, as long as you give enough notice!
I could be wrong.

[Conniff]

Originally Posted by c_allen

I'd have thought that as long as he gave enough notice, then they would need a very very good reason to deny him the time off. Enough notice being a minimum of 2 weeks notice for 1 weeks holiday, 1 month for 2 weeks holiday, ect. you have the right to take YOUR holidays when YOU want, as long as you give enough notice!
I could be wrong.

No that's wrong - the employer has complete freedom of when staff can take holidays, you cannot demand any particular time off.

[Allwood]

Conniff that maybe true but what about people in retail and they have to book their holidays a year in advance. Therefore if there is an emergency and you need holiday for the that particular time has the employer the right to say no you cannot take time off for an emergency.

[cal37]

Time off to deal with an emergency is already covered in law and you have the right to take that time but only as unpaid leave.

If you have not got an agreement with your employer about how much notice you have to give before you can take holiday the following rules apply:


Your employer can make you take all or any of your holiday at a particular time, as long as they give you notice. This notice must be at least twice as long as the holiday they want you to take. For example, if your employer wants to have a Christmas shutdown for one week, they have to give you notice of the date the holiday is to start at least two weeks before it starts.


You must give notice to your employer when you want to take holiday. This notice must be at least twice as long as the holiday you want to take. For example, if you want to take three days’ leave, you must give your employer notice of this at least six days before your holiday is due to start.

Your employer can refuse to let you take holiday. To do this they must give you notice equal to the holiday you want to take. So if you have asked to take two weeks’ holiday and have told your employer four weeks before the date you want your holiday to start, your employer must tell you two weeks before your holiday is due to start that you cannot take the holiday.

[cal37]

Originally Posted by Conniff

No that's wrong - the employer has complete freedom of when staff can take holidays, you cannot demand any particular time off.

True unless say the contract states you must take the 2 weeks Xmas holidays off for example. Then the company can’t just simply tell you that you’re working the Xmas holidays, they would have to negotiate.In this case you could infact " demand" the time off.