A friend of mine has got another job and handed in her notice. She's on 4 weeks, but has pretty much given 5.
The company she is at doesn't like it as she already had holiday booked covering three weeks, which has been booked for a long time and is not related to the new job.
THe HR at her company have got hold of her potential new employers and asked them to delay the start date.
So, firstly, can they do that. Secondly do they have the right to cancel holiday?
Thirdly, anything else?
Holiday entitlement is normally calculated on a pro-rata basis, x weeks employment = y days leave.
So if she leaves before the end of the employment year the leave allowance would be re-calculated accordingly.
If the leave she has booked does not exceed her recalculated allowance and it was agreed with her manager beforehand then I do not think that they can refuse the leave.
They could ask her nicely if she would consider not taking it and would be have to buy back any surplus days leave she would not be able to take.
Approaching her new employers and asking them to change her start date I think is unacceptable. If I were the new employer I'd tell them to take a long walk off a short pier.
Is she a member of a Union? They would be best placed to help.
Good answer Sn00ks.
No way should her current company have contacted her new employer that bang out of order. :angry: She has them over a barrel on that one surely?
Is she responsible for having to train her replacement? Because if so and she's not going to be able to fulfil that by going on hols then I can see why her employer may be peeved. As Sn00ks says, if she's leaving half way through the year then theoretically her holiday entitlement should be halved for that year.
Basically what these guys have said. They shouldn't have got in touch with the new employer directly.
If her holiday time over laps the time she's given notice for then that doesn't sound right to me. The reason you have to give notice is so you don't leave your employer in the lurch. So if she hasn't left enough working time left for them to find a replacement I can see them kicking up a fuss. Having a new employee starting without being shown the ropes and with a large backlog of work due is what giving notice is supposed to avoid.
All very sensible, but are there any legal points on the contacting the new employer?
Dunno but I can give you the number of a top employment lawyer who would.... but it would cost.
I'd probably contact the CAB first, or as mentioned, any union she might be a member of should be able to provide legal advice.