Rostered holidays, anyone have a job with 'em?

[Browser]

Does anyone else on here work a job with rostered holidays? If so, how do you find tehy affect your life? I've just changed jobs after 19.5 years at the same place and we had fully-floating holidays there i.e. take holiday when you needed it as long as you could get cover. Due to manning cutbacks and possible closure I took redundancy and started with a different company in the same line of work but who operate rostered holiday for their shift staff. Built in to this roster is a long break (19 days) in summer and a 25-day break in alternating years. Now, the 19-day break doesn't always fall within the school summer holidays, and due to a cockup with the shift pattern planning back in 2010 the 25 day break doesn't evenly roll around the shifts each year but for the next four bounces back and forth between two of them. In teh next four years I only get two summers where I get a long-ish break in the school holidays and this year will mark the first time I haven't been able to take a decent length summer holiday since my son was born nearly thirteen years ago.
How unusual is this? Ought I to give it a year and see how I feel then (only been here three-and-a-half months)? Ought I to just shut the hell up and be grateful I've got a job?

 

[biggs682]

never heard of it . i suppose a bit like the old factory fortnights

i would stay at moment the way job market is and keep an eye out for a n other job

 

[summerdays]

My brother in law has them, he works at JCB, but I think he always ends up with some holiday in the school summer holidays though he doesn't have any children. And another brother in law often can't get the school holidays so for example was working between Christmas and New Year, and couldn't get the October half term off either. He just took the kids out of school though his are younger.

I think I would be tempted to stick it out for now and see how it goes unless you think you can easily move to a job with flexi holidays.

 

[Brandane]

School holidays? Christmas/New Year?? Don't ever join one of the emergency services if that is what you want! NO-ONE got holidays during the festive period, and during the rest of the year they were rostered on a 6 yearly cycle. So if you were lucky, they might coincide with school summer holidays on 2 years out of 6.

Edit.... I am speaking of the system as used by Strathclyde Police.

 

[vernon]

I'd not worry too much about it and, although frowned upon, take your son out of school for a fortnight's holiday when you get your break. You'll find that package tours are considerably cheaper then. You'll save a packet.

Every cloud has a silver lining........

 

[screenman]

Try having a go at being self employed, supposedly you can take time off whenever you want to. Well that seems the theory of some of the employed people I know of.

Stick it out, or get out the choice is yours alone.

As for taking kids out of school, an extremely poor piece of advice I would say.

 

[EltonFrog]

Try having a go at being self employed, supposedly you can take time off whenever you want to. Well that seems the theory of some of the employed people I know of.

Stick it out, or get out the choice is yours alone.

As for taking kids out of school, an extremely poor piece of advice I would say.

I'm self employed, you can take a holiday when you like, well I can, but it's blumen expensive. I don't get holiday pay, I don't get paid when I take time off, plus when I'm on holiday I'm not around to take on new orders. I don't gt sick pay either.

Still, wouldn't and coudn't ever have a job again. Not that I'd could get one after 25 years self employed anyway.

 

[mr_hippo]

Many years ago when I was nursing in the NHS,we had one day off a week plus a half day Sunday morning one week and after t'other. It felt like a long break if you had Sunday afternoon and Monday off! Christmas and New Year were worked in spme wards differently. Married with kids christmas off New year for t'others except for the ward sister's favourites! .Bank holidays, I always worked; day off in lieu and double time!

 

[summerdays]

for taking kids out of school, an extremely poor piece of advice I would say.

I think it depends on the age of the children and which weeks it is, and how they are doing at school For example in the run up to exams I agree no, the week or two before the summer holidays start - well they are often doing activity weeks and I wouldn't feel so guilty. That said, I haven't taken mine out of secondary school and between the 3 of them I think they wouldn't have had a week off in total through sickness either. But I haven't been restricted by work not allowing me to take time off then.

 

[biggs682]

depending on age of children ( you mention 13 yrs) in some areas of the country its well frowned upon almost a total no no ie unauthorised absence

 

[Noodley]

Yep, Mrs N and I both used to work in the Police and had rostered holidays, and seldom had time off together. We also used to work different shifts, and when our elder daughter was a baby we used to meet on the road to/from work and swap cars with her asleep in her carseat. It was all part of the job.

I think you need to get a big dose of MTFU and be grateful of the job - well, you did ask.

 

[Arch]

Ought I to just shut the hell up and be grateful I've got a job?

This, I think.

Having the money to be able to do anything nice when you do get holiday is better than not having it at all!

 

[theclaud]

Try having a go at being self employed, supposedly you can take time off whenever you want to. Well that seems the theory of some of the employed people I know of.

Stick it out, or get out the choice is yours alone.

As for taking kids out of school, an extremely poor piece of advice I would say.

Perfectly sensible advice, if it's the only time he can get a holiday. Schools need to lighten up a bit.

 

[Arch]

Perfectly sensible advice, if it's the only time he can get a holiday. Schools need to lighten up a bit.

Kids also need to learn they can't just have a holiday any time it suits them....

We rarely had 'proper' holidays away when I was a kid - a week staying with Grandma back in England was about the limit of it. Certainly never a fortnight abroad. Didn't hurt us.

 

[theclaud]

Kids also need to learn they can't just have a holiday any time it suits them....

We rarely had 'proper' holidays away when I was a kid - a week staying with Grandma back in England was about the limit of it. Certainly never a fortnight abroad. Didn't hurt us.

It's not about when it suits them, it's about when it's possible. I was taken out of school for a week most years in the Autumn, just to wander about in bits of England with my mother. Didn't hurt me either. But actually I sort of disagree with your first point - I don't think kids should learn that everything else in their lives is less important than work or school.