Bit of a mess!

[Rodd88]

My employer, signed off on my holiday, then a month later said i could not have it, even though they signed and confirmed, and would not offer any type of reimbursement for it.


I was forced to hand my notice in, as everything was booked because of the signed off holiday form.


Then on the last day of my notice, they offered to keep me on a casual contract and told me to enjoy my holiday.


I had worked there for over 3 years, i have now found out I’m pregnant. And not entitled to maternity leave as i had to sign a new contract, which has put me back as working for the company for 0 years. i was going to make an enquiry about how the situation was handled anyway, but now i have found out I’m pregnant i need to get this sorted sooner.

I feel that this was poorly handled anyway but now with being pregnant. I feel that this will only work against me now.

 

[Newchodge]

Did you have any break between the end of the old contract and the alleged start of the new one?

How long was the holiday for, and how long before the start did they cancel permission?

When did this all take place?

 

[Rodd88]

Hi

The only 'Break" was the Holiday, 30th April til 10th Of May this year.

I put my request in Jan 2014 and it was signed off and cleared with in a week. they then came back to me in March and said i could no longer have it. but by then the holiday was booked. Had they told me sooner or offered anything to cancel the holiday i would have been willing to come to a compromise.

This has all taken place in the last 6 months. Holiday being, as i said above, end of April this year.

 

[Newchodge]

I suggest that you consult the CAB as quickly as possible. You may well have a case to say that your employment has been continuous, but you may have to take action about it fairly quickly. Alternatively look for an experienced employment lawyer who can offer an initial free appointment.

 

[LancashireMan]

Have they told you definitely that they are going to class you a new starter for the purposes of calculating maternity leave/benefits etc? A meeting with a key decision maker in the company could clear things up.

 

[Rodd88]

Yes,

As i am now classed as a casual worker. i don't have a set contract where as before i was salary, now i am hourly paid and on a zero hour contract (even though i'm still doing 40hrs a week)

NOTHING has changed in my line of work, i still do exactly the same as before. but just on a casual contract. i had no choice to accept it or i would have no job.

 

[BusinessDeli]

How much of a fuss do you want to make? Sounds to me like your company is pulling a fast one - I don;t think they can have denied your leave after signing it off and in terms of contracts I suspect that HMRC would view it as continuous employment.

You can probably get it all remedied but the cost of doing so will not just be cash but also your reputation at the business and the managements attitude toward you which might make working life unpleasant anyway.

@theresolver is a good guy to jump in here

 

[Newchodge]

An employer may withdraw permission for a holiday after giving ir, provided they they give at least the amount of the leave due to be taken as notice, which they appear to have done here.

The right to maternity leave depends on the length of continuous service, I believe there would be a strong argument that there has been continuous service, even if the type of contract has now changed.

 

[bovine]

When did you sign the casual contract? What date does it start from? One contract ended on the your last day, you were unemployed for a week or two and then took the contract on a casual basis. It could be argued that there isnt continuous employment in that case. Its bit of a grey area though.

The whole thing has been poorly handled, but your employer was quite probably within their rights to revoke the holiday (depending on your employment contract) and I suspect you were trying to bluff them into backing down by resigning. They called you on it and have come up with this new contract which you agreed to. At this point, they pretty much know they can demand anything from you.

You really need professional advice to decide where to go from here. My advice would have been a different job! You are now in a very precarious position working on a zero hours contract (how does maternity work on a zero hours contract anyway? Never looked into it!) I feel that you are probably going to be better off just moving on from it. Doesnt look hopeful on getting maternity unless you go to a tribunal and even then im not sure because of the continuous employment.
To push for this will involve cost and stress. Not sure I would consider it worthwhile in your position, unless I was very sure of the outcome.