Notice in, Company Stolen my Holiday

[Bainesey]

Dear Blue Room Users

 

I have Recently handed in my notice at the theatre in which I work . I cannot name it obviously or I may get into trouble. But it is in one of the country's major chain of theaters.

 

I have handed my notice in On Sat 18th of Jan . I am still within my 3 month probation period. Therefore my notice period is 1 week.

 

I happen to be on Holiday on the w/c 20th. I was planning on going up to a christening where I plan to be a God Parent. and was going to spend the week at home in Sheffield As not seen the majority of my family since November (Due to Busy Panto Schedule)

 

I have not had a single days holiday since joining the company in October. I also believe that I have in the vicinity of 40-50 hours time in lieu that I am owed from the company

 

They have flat out turned round to me and said I cannot take the week as holiday. In my contract it does not state they can do this. This holiday has been booked since early november.

 

What is my best course of action to try and get this week off. Shall I get a union (ABTT or BECTU) involved.

 

Kind Regards

An Unhappy technician!

[Brian]

Without sight of your Contract of Employment it is very difficult to advise you and anything anyone tells you on here is, at best, a guess. Internet Forum Lawyers are the worst kind of lawyer.

 

As for getting a union involved - the ABTT is not a union. BECTU *might* be interested but only of you are a fully paid up member.

[StevieR]

As Brian has said, you need to get the correct advice to resolve any dispute here - your local Citizens Advice Bureau would be a good starting point. I am an employer but not a lawyer so please ensure your take professional advice before acting.

 

Couple of things to look at:

 

1. What was the holiday entitlement specified in your contract? 28 Days? More? And did this include public/bank holidays? It is quite common for contracts to have the minimum - i.e. 28 days including bank/public. If you started in October and are still within your 3-month probationary period then your entitlement to date may only add up to 7 days at most. Did you have any days off over Christmas/New Year as these would have been deducted from this?

 

2. Assuming that you do have some holiday entitlement left, was the holiday next week agreed at the start of your employment and was this verbally or in writing? If it was agreed in writing then you may have something to stand on. However, if you have already used up your holiday entitlement to date then you may have to take a deduction from your final salary - if your employer agree to your request.

 

Steve

[Seano]

BECTU *might* be interested but only of you are a fully paid up member.

Couldn't hurt to give them a call in any case (and if necessary, it might be worth signing up retrospectively).

[itiba]

I think you'd be unlikely to get a response from bectu that quickly even if you were a fully paid up member.

 

You could try asking over at www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk as they can be quite helpful. Logically though if they have agreed for you to take time off at that point then it would seem unfair to decline now but the answer will lie in your contract I'd imagine.

[themadhippy]

what you got to loose? id be telling them exactly were to stick there holiday and job.

[ImagineerTom]

So just to clarify - you were expecting to hand your notice in and basically never come back; carefully timing it so that your one weeks notice perfectly co-incided with your one week holiday?

 

As others have pointed out you need to check the wording of your contract but at best (ie if you've been working full time, full hours for 3 months straight) you could only have accrued a weeks holiday but that will have been diminished by at least 2 days statutory holiday you will have taken over the christmas period. TOIL only applies if you've got it properly logged and agreed with your employer and is usually quite tightly regulated - you generally find that your contract will nullify perks like this when you hand in your notice; precisely to discourage employees from doing what you're doing; leaving the company in the lurch by effectively walking out instantly and leaving them a man down.

 

Since you clearly don't want to go back to work frankly you might as well just not bother going back in this week (it's not worth their time or expense taking you to court for breach of contract for one week) but also forget any notion of getting any wages or benefits beyond the work you had already done up to the 18th. You might want to consider how this makes you look to future employers at the theatre, within the group and on here though.....

[MrBoomal]

With the best will in the world Phillip, this looks to us like it is your first job, and you have chosen to leave in your probationary period.

 

You may have an incredibly strong legitimate grievance, and we would back you to the hilt.

 

However, we all work in a very small world. So, it may be better to just hold your hands up and move on.

 

(Although, if it is a large theatre chain and they are clearly breaking your contract, then BECTU would be interested)

 

 

 

 

 

[IRW]

I happen to be on Holiday on the w/c 20th. I was planning on going up to a christening where I plan to be a God Parent. and was going to spend the week at home in Sheffield As not seen the majority of my family since November (Due to Busy Panto Schedule)

 

Now this may sound a little harsh, but welcome to the theatre world! I'm sure there are many people on here who have not seen their family for a lot longer than 3 months, I know I've been for much longer periods when I was living away from Liverpool!

 

Can you not try and arrange to meet the employers halfway and have the one day off for the christening, but work the rest of the week? As you're planning on leaving the job anyway, go and see your family after the notice period! The company will then just have to pay you the holiday that you are owed.

[paulears]

Doesn't this really have to do with 'responsibility'? It's very common in offices and jobs where replacing someone is easy to give notice, and then leave almost immediately if time off in lieu and holiday pay are taken into account. On the other hand, some employers pay their holiday pay as it accrues, if they know that there won't be any work when a busy period ends - like casuals. If your job has you in a position where you really are needed, then even if your contract states there is no bond between them and you, then if you drop them in it, expect references to reflect this. Gaps in employment history can be difficult to explain - so if you are asked for a reference, will you just pretend the job didn't exist. If they contact your current employer with even a tick box questionnaire, what will happen.

Were they reliable - NO

Would they employ you again - NO

 

You haven't any excuse that will wash.

 

Like Mr Hippy says, you're entitled to walk and say stuff them. At your age, and career state, can you afford the bad undercurrent this could generate. People talk, and our world is small. Walk off the job and wreck a show or two isn't something I'd do.

[kerry davies]

So basically you had some leave booked and aligned your notice period with that leave. That suggests you handed in your notice on Saturday hoping to just walk away.

 

If I were the employer with a contract which stated that you had to "work" a weeks notice, I might be a lot more upset than demand you work that week.

[mark_s]

Just a thought, but if you don't want to name the theatre in question then you might want to edit your profile!

[itiba]

Ah it isn't the theatre mentioned in his (out of date) profile but a google of his name will bring up his linkedin profile and reveals the theatre in question.

 

O/T but oddly enough I went for an interview there a few years ago and got turned down "as their chosen candidate has more H+S qualifications". Ho Hum!

[bigclive]

To hand in your notice and then promptly throw a sickie or take a holiday for the remainder of the time is very bad practice. The employer is suddenly without a crew member at no notice without any time to source a replacement.

 

As the others have mentioned, it's not really the done thing. It will almost certainly tar your name in the industry. But I guess maybe you've already discovered that it's not as glamorous as you originally thought anyway.

[top-cat]

Personally I am less inclined to see the problem (apart from bad manners!)

 

The holiday has been booked since November, he says. So the theatre should have arranged cover for the week itself. Then his notice period is 1 week, so the theatre should have provision to arrange cover at a week's notice, for probationary technicians leaving the theatre. I do not believe that there is any kind of law that says you can't take holiday at the end of your employment.

 

I am inclined to think he is in the right and the theatre in the wrong, actually. The theatre approved the holiday 2 months ago so he should be able to take it. The only thing which the theatre would have the right to do, in my opinion, would be to add an additional week's work as notice period after he returns from his holiday. But I would think that withdrawing an employee's agreed holiday because he has handed in his notice is not lawful.

 

Employers can't have it both ways, the reason they put 1 week notice periods in contracts for probationary periods is so they can get you out the door quickly if it suits them. They can't expect to be exempt from their own rules as and when it suits them. As far as I can see, he's given the correct notice for holiday, and the correct notice for departure. I wouldn't say he's done anything wrong, personally.

 

I appreciate the sentiment given that some theatre technicians won't see families for several months and so on... this may be true but as a full time employee you get the same rights as a full time employee in any other industry (except maybe the armed forces who have some exemptions), and if you are acting within the rules of your contract are being denied the deal that you have been signed into then clearly that is wrong.

 

My only advice to the OP would be that it depends how much you want a reference. If you're not that bothered, close the door behind you and don't go back. As long as you've presented all the facts accurately, and you are acting entirely within contract, they would be foolish to try and hold back any wages as it would be unlikely to go in their favour through the courts. Go and enjoy your family time. If you'd rather try and patch things up as a misunderstanding and get a solid reference for future work, it might be better to put it on hold and play the game.