NHS Paramedic - Help !! my work keep refusing my leave requests

[Speshe]

Hi CAG friends, I am in need of your help and expertise, I am frustrated and hope there is someone here who can give me some advice. In short, I keep getting my "time off in lieu" (TOIL) requests refused. Below is what they emailed me,,,,,,

 

Good Morning,

Unfortunately your TOIL request has been refused for the following reasons:

 

X2 people already on leave

Weekend demand

 

This TOIL request could be granted if you can find someone to cover this shift for you or alternatively you can try to find a staff member willing to do a shift swap for you.

 

 

below is response I emailed but have not heard back.

 

Hi ......,

I do not understand why my TOIL request has been refused. I have given reasonable notice (16 days). The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service state "The default notice period must be twice as long as the period of leave requested". The Employment Relations Act 1999 and the Employment Act 2002 state "at least 2 weeks notice". Agenda for change state "TOIL should be taken within 3 months of the hours worked. Any hours not taken within 3 months will be forfeited." This is now the third TOIL request I have been refused. Where are restrictions on taking TOIL expressed in contract of employment ? Having given 16 days notice, please explain why the resource office is not willing to arrange cover for a 10hr day shift on 12/11/11. What resources have the resource office utilised in an effort to honour my TOIL request ? Please will you email me a current copy of the level of cover at ......... station for the 12/11/11.

 

What can i do ?..... its frustrating because they can always use operational demand as an excuse not to give me leave, isn't TOIL hours they owe me ? what law can I quote or reply can I give to get a posative outcome ?

many thanks in advance

[CONCILLIATOR]

Your own response would appear to be a reasonable assessment of the legal position re TOIL. Their answer should be interesting.

 

If they continue to deny you TOIL as is your entitlement if you are due it, they are liable to be in breach of contract.

[Speshe]

thanks for your reply concillitator, I am frustrated that they keep putting the onus or obligation on the workers to cover the shifts for them, i feel that's their job. I have worked the extra hours,they should let me have the time off they owe me. I bet they just come back to me with , ....due to operation demand and current shortfalls on station i can not authorise your leave however if you can get someone to cover your shift or a shift swap i will grant your leave.... yade yadee ya they can use this excuse everytime (sigh....)

[CONCILLIATOR]

I presume that the reason you have accumulated TOIL entitlement was that you were prepared to help ease ‘operation demand’ and fill in for the ‘shortfalls on station’ in the first place.

 

Your supervisor seems to be under the impression that your statutory rights can be flouted now because of his failure to manage operational demand and shortfall in the cover he is obliged in his position to provide.

 

Unless it states in your contract that you must arrange for your own cover if you want a day off he are adding a condition that you had not agreed to. This unilateral action on his part could be construed as a breach of contract. You have given him sufficient notice and you have quoted ACAS and the relevant ERAs chapter and verse which support your stance. It seems that he is quite prepared to brow-beat you into accepting his decision to deny your fair request.

 

If I were advising myself I would call his bluff. I would respond to his email by saying something along the following lines:

 

“Despite several requests for time off the response is always the same, request denied on grounds of operational demands and shortfalls, and the invitation to fulfil the management functions myself if my request is ever to be considered. Consequently, and having given the required notice, I am insisting on my statutory rights being honoured and will be taking the stated time off. Managing rosters and cover is a supervisory or management duty, not my responsibility.”

 

If you are then threatened with suspension, or even dismissal, you would be in a position to argue that consideration of operational demands and shortfalls don’t seem to enter the equation when he threatens disciplinary action for claiming a statutory right but are sufficient grounds on which to deny your requests for one day off.

[Mash It Up Harry]

Tread carefully on this one. As a front line NHS worker, different rules apply. In any event, 16 days notice might not be considered 'reasonable notice'.

 

I had 13 years in an Ambulance NHS trust and left at the point 'agenda for change' was rolled out. A lot of rights were swept away and agreed by Unison. Sadly, people got blinded by a lack of information and greed in a pay increase.

 

Speak to your union rep as a matter of urgency.

[Speshe]

Tread carefully on this one. As a front line NHS worker, different rules apply. In any event, 16 days notice might not be considered 'reasonable notice'.

 

I had 13 years in an Ambulance NHS trust and left at the point 'agenda for change' was rolled out. A lot of rights were swept away and agreed by Unison. Sadly, people got blinded by a lack of information and greed in a pay increase.

 

Speak to your union rep as a matter of urgency.

 

 

As per my 1st post they have refused my request because of "X2 people already on leave and Weekend demand" they have not said it is to short notice. I have searched high and low and spoken to some union reps and There is only a resource brief document which is considered "live" like an ongoing draft subject to change. it only relates to annual leave not TOIL, i cant find anything in policy about toil requests....

 

3. Annual Leave – Managed Rotas.

 

3.1 Requests should be submitted in line with the current local agreements and faxed or emailed to the Resource Office on the Generic Application Form at Appendix 2.

 

3.2 Staff are required to give a minimum of 21 days notice for leave to be considered. If less than 21 days it is the responsibility of the individual staff member to arrange appropriate like for like cover with regards to skill mix. This is consistent with the timescales for allocating relief shifts to those on managed rotas.

 

3.3 Annual leave will be granted on the basis of allowing 80.5 hours per week per team of 10, subject to relief being available. This is whole shifts only and will be calculated pro rata for other sized teams.

 

3.4 This allocation will be no more than 2 shifts per day and must not be matching shifts i.e. 2 nights.

 

3.5 The Resource Office will authorise or decline any requests and will notify stations. The target will be to deal with any request and to respond within 3 working days.

[Speshe]

this is where i think they can keep refusing it acording to agenda for change.....

3.5 Staff may request to take time off in lieu as an alternative to overtime

payments. However staff who, for operational reasons, are unable to

take time off in lieu within three months must be paid at the overtime

rate.

[Speshe]

Hey CAG Just had a response back from them today it is below ....really hope someone can give me some advice on what to write back .... times running out and I am really hoping to get this day off to attend a family event. many thanks for your time with my problem

.

 

Good morning ....

 

As you are aware you are on a managed rota, when looking at your TOIL request the relief aspect is looked at. In this case there is no relief available to cover your request as I specified in my original email. The resource office’s role is not to cover annual leave as there is sufficient relief built into the rota which should be managed locally.

 

What I would suggest is that in future when looking at making a TOIL request you check to see whether there is available relief to cover this and in line with previous resource briefings you give the required 21 days notice.

 

If you are still not happy with this decision then please contact either your line manager or your HR Advisor, I have copied both of them into this email.

 

Regards

.....