Thread: Holiday rights help

Hi all,

I actually registered on this forum to ask a question on behalf of my girlfriend who is having some problems with her employer, along with the majority of the other staff it would seem.

First some background: some months ago all staff in her department were asked to sign an addendum to their contract which stated that where necessary employees could be sent home early (they are paid hourly, so for quiet times they can just tell people to go home) without pay for the hours that they don't work. She along with many others signed this without really giving it much thought, but anyway...

Today her employers have told the department that they are not to book any holidays over weekends. They work in a rota which means that they get one weekend off in four currently, and they have now been told that holidays must be taken Monday - Friday. Is this legal? A bit of digging around on Citizens Advice has given mixed messages. My initial thought is that it probably is legal, but still seems incredibly inflexible and inconsiderate on their part since all people in the department will for the most part have their "weekend" (days off) fall in the middle of the week anyway.

Thanks in advance for any advice, greatly appreciated.

Paul