Expert advice on holidays and physical contact

Published 12th Dec 2006 by Admin
Expert advice on holidays and physical contact I want to go on holiday but my boss has refused to give me the time off. I haven’t had any holiday yet this year, so can he stop me going? Holiday entitlement is a statutory right, but time off must be taken with the approval of the employer. This is in most contracts of employment, but the employee’s notice to take leave must be at least twice as long as the holiday to be taken. If the employer wishes to object to that date he must notify the employee within the time requested for holiday, starting from the date that the request for leave is received. So, if you want a two-week holiday then you must give at least four weeks’ notice. If he does not want you to take that holiday then he must, in this example, tell you within two weeks of receiving your holiday request. If you disregard your employer and take the holiday even though no time off has been granted, then you can face disciplinary action for unauthorised absence and for failing to comply with a lawful instruction, in this case to attend work. Such wilful disregard for the employer’s instructions is normally viewed very seriously and could lead to dismissal on the first offence.I like to go out with my friends on a Friday night. They don’t work on Saturdays but I do, and at times I have arrived late for work and a couple of times I have had to phone in sick. Recently I was told that if I was late again I would be sacked. Can my boss stop my social life in this way? Your lifestyle is disrupting the business of your employer and he is entitled to discipline you for this. Whether dismissal is reasonable in all the circumstances will depend on:
  • How long this has been going on
  • The warnings that have been issued
  • Your response to those warnings.
It is not enough that you just turn up for work; you must also be fit to do the job. Therefore, if you turn up on Saturday morning worn out, hung over or, worse still, under the influence of drugs, you can be disciplined. Calling in sick is not the answer as inevitably a pattern of events will emerge and that will be used against you. The answer is to enjoy yourself on Friday by all means, but to restrain yourself so you are ready for work the next morning. Perhaps the answer is to be the nominated driver on Friday nights with somebody else doing that on Saturday when you can let your hair down. My boss keeps touching me on my arms or putting his arm around my shoulders while working in the salon. He does it to others and they don’t seem to mind, but it makes me feel uncomfortable. What should I do? Your employer may just be a tactile person and this is part of his nature, but nothing will change unless you tell him that you find such behaviour distressing. Choose your time to tell him on a one-to-one basis that you value your personal space and are unhappy with the familiarity of touching. Ask him politely if he would please stop. After all, he may not be aware that it is causing offence. If that does not work then it will be necessary to formally tell him in writing that you find touching in the work environment degrading, humiliating or offensive and that such attentions are unwanted. If it still does not stop you are entitled to bring a complaint to the Employment Tribunal for discrimination and harassment. Any abuse or humiliation as a consequence of your complaint would only aggravate the situation. If your boss is a manager rather than the owner of the salon you can raise the matter as a formal grievance with the manager’s superior. It is always better to resolve problems as near as possible to the source rather than run off to third parties. A formal grievance is a letter similar to that mentioned above, asking that the matter be investigated. At any grievance proceedings hearing you are entitled to be accompanied by a workplace colleague of your choice or a trade union representative. In practical and pragmatic terms if your boss is the salon owner and he does not change his ways then you may need to find another place to work. This may then form the basis of a claim for constructive dismissal arising from discrimination.
Admin

Admin

Published 12th Dec 2006

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