Be interested in the opinion of the good posters on here, I am sure to get ridiculed but here goes. When you apply for a job and it simply states 25 days a year paid holiday entitlement. It never states if available or to suit our business terms. In other words you can only have them at our times.
Well I have booked a cruise for next year and the dates of the cruise are obviously specific with sailings etc. I booked it as I should have with our company to be told, sorry you cant because Mike has booked the same slot… Now as it happens our gaffer is a great guy and I told him my problem, he said dont worry he will get it covered even if he has to bring an agency guy in. I understand everyone cannot be off at the same time or it will cause chaos, but the idiot in the office was expecting only one off at a time and there are 26 of us. So how the hell could we all get 25 days in one at a time? Just wondered if anyone else has encountered such idiotic office politics.
No doubt the worlds bestest agency drivers will be along shortly to trumpet the one good thing about agency work.
Yes holidays can be a PITA, i’m generally fairly easy going about mine because i try to let the lads with children still at home take the school holiday weeks etc, pity those who went before me when i had little ones didn’t think like that but there you go.
Generally at our place if you had a specific dates in mind you’d run them past the shift manager who would check on the 'puter and either give you a green light or tell you no its already booked up.
I’ve never started a new job, and not had any pre-planned days off refused. If I mention my pre-planned days off, and the company are not willing/able to accommodate, they are not worth working for, and I would walk.
Juddian:
No doubt the worlds bestest agency drivers will be along shortly to trumpet the one good thing about agency work.Yes holidays can be a PITA, i’m generally fairly easy going about mine because i try to let the lads with children still at home take the school holiday weeks etc,
I pretty much fall in with what you are saying, this was the first one that I needed away from the usual, my problem is that only 10 of us tramp at our place and trying to get a dayman to fill in for you is near on impossible. It can be done but very hard. Our gaffer has been good enough to let me go regardless but plenty of firms I have been in the past leave it up to the lads to sort between ourselves for cover and holiday swaps. Not so easy where I am now though.
Our place didn’t get round to sorting this years holiday calendar until about Jan so I was effectively in limbo with the week I had already booked last year for about 3 months until it was approved. I’m hoping it was a one off and they will be on the ball a bit more this time round.
I dont get this. As you have said if there are 26 of you working there as drivers then obviously there is going to be more than one driver off at a time. They may have a policy that they can only have x number of drivers off at once as you said you all cant be off together. Throughout my working life i have had three permenant jobs at each one you booked your holiday in advance they look in the diary and say yes or no end of. You then go and book your holliday safe in the knowlage you have the time off and everyone is happy.
However, i know someone that booked 2 weeks off and half way through they got a phone call that they were needed back at work because someone else had to move house. As it happened she was able to do it because she was just relaxing at home. Thing is they knew they had to move and what date it was likly to be but coulkdnt be bothered to book it off.
In all the 48 years I’ve been working since leaving school (only the last 15 or so in transport), the idea has always been to get the chosen period OK’d at work first, and only then to book your travel/accommodation etc. This is the way it works in factory, office and public service jobs.
Trying to do it the other way round has always seemed a trifle daft to me and likely to result in disappointment or added expense as you attempt to re-book hotels, flights, ferries etc.
Having said that, only allowing one driver at a time to take holiday when there are 26 of you is clearly impossible.
Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk
My mistake… I thought the OP had started a new job, on re-reading the post, he is already working there, and then booked a holiday before checking the dates. We’ll, that’s how it is…check and book time off, then book holiday.
Roymondo:
Having said that, only allowing one driver at a time to take holiday when there are 26 of you is clearly impossible.Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk
Sorry mate I didnt put it accross too well, that was my point of the post. Some moron in the office thought we could only have the slot one at a time…I have only recently started at the firm so not sure how long he has been doing the job, I accept booking slots but not one at a time, impossible.
I always used to book my holiday and then tell the boss. If they said No, then that was it. I always went on holiday, stating to the boss 2 weeks before, that I would be on holidayand if there were any problems, then I would leave and phone up on my return to see if he had any jobs going. Always got my holiday and never had to leave. 
Yorkshire Tramper:
Juddian:
No doubt the worlds bestest agency drivers will be along shortly to trumpet the one good thing about agency work.Yes holidays can be a PITA, i’m generally fairly easy going about mine because i try to let the lads with children still at home take the school holiday weeks etc,
I pretty much fall in with what you are saying, this was the first one that I needed away from the usual, my problem is that only 10 of us tramp at our place and trying to get a dayman to fill in for you is near on impossible. It can be done but very hard. Our gaffer has been good enough to let me go regardless but plenty of firms I have been in the past leave it up to the lads to sort between ourselves for cover and holiday swaps. Not so easy where I am now though.
Hang on - Are you saying that only one of the 26 regular drivers is allowed to be off at the same time, or that only one of the 10 trampers is allowed to be off? The former cannot possibly be accommodated in a 52 week year whereas the latter could (just). Someone has clearly misunderstood the company policy/rules here - maybe the office bod, maybe you?
Every place I’ve ever worked has had this sort of restriction (i.e. no more than say, 10% of one particular group of workers off at any one time).
I work at a place with about 140 drivers, technically we have a rule of x amount of drivers off at any point - believe ours is 12 but this is not always adhered to depending on the circumstances of the person asking if the full allocation is already taken, e.g family emergency, childcare etc.
Ironically in the 21 years I have been working (driving and non driving) the only place I ever had issues and had several refusals was my last job - a small place with 7 drivers, you know the type of place everyone seems to praise to the moon because the boss knows your name and all that.
Roymondo:
Hang on - Are you saying that only one of the 26 regular drivers is allowed to be off at the same time, or that only one of the 10 trampers is allowed to be off? The former cannot possibly be accommodated in a 52 week year whereas the latter could (just). Someone has clearly misunderstood the company policy/rules here - maybe the office bod, maybe you?Every place I’ve ever worked has had this sort of restriction (i.e. no more than say, 10% of one particular group of workers off at any one time).
No I didnt misunderstand it at all. I went into the office and asked to book the dates that I needed to book the holiday. I got the answer of yes looks ok, so I booked the holiday. Then the idiot after I had paid my deposit and booked the holiday told me that I couldn’t have the dates as Mike was off at the same time. Mike is a day driver and not a tramper. I asked the trampers if anyone had time in April booked and no one had. I was told only 1 person off at a time even though all of us trampers were all at work barring me. Thats when I went to see the gaffer and he said it would be fine as he can cover me. The office bod had it wrong plus he didnt know that Mike had already booked the time already but even so it shouldnt affect the trampers holiday rota regardless. My gaffer assumed that someone who was a tramper had booked the time off but it wasnt the case. Got complicated by office bod not getting it right. I cannot be expected to not have my holidays just because a dayman had booked the same time, that isnt my fault but it got sorted in the end. Difficult to write it up without it sounding complicated or confusing.
the nodding donkey:
I’ve never started a new job, and not had any pre-planned days off refused. If I mention my pre-planned days off, and the company are not willing/able to accommodate, they are not worth working for, and I would walk.
If you always have your preplanned holiday refused, but you always walk, how have you ever got a new job?
Yorkshire Tramper:
I was told only 1 person off at a time even though all of us trampers were all at work barring me.
But if there’s 26 drivers and only 52 weeks in the year then everyone can only get 2 weeks off and the legal minimum is 5.6 weeks. They have to give you the time off, they have no choice and if it means their lorries are stood up or they’re paying agency then that’s their problem.
Where I worked the only holiday stipulation was Xmas and New Year if you had one long Xmas /NY break the next was a NO NO As per usual you had the ones who tried to get round it by conveniently going “sick” a few days before and suddenly make a recovery after New Year,it was always the same ones.
lolipop:
Where I worked the only holiday stipulation was Xmas and New Year if you had one long Xmas /NY break the next was a NO NO As per usual you had the ones who tried to get round it by conveniently going “sick” a few days before and suddenly make a recovery after New Year,it was always the same ones.
Tbf they were maybe getting their priorities right,.Christmases missed with your kids can never be got back,.and when they grow up (too bloody fast) regretting it is too late.
What’s to stop your firm recruiting agency over Christmas …(a rhetorical question btw, I know the answer…too much money/basic greed/everything else over driver welfare.as most transport outfits 
)
I always put my Christmas hols in very early to ensure getting time off, if my kids were still little I too would also make sure I was off by any method whatever,.a ■■■■ transport firm and a driving job comes a VERY poor second to my family.
As for other holiday times I just co.operate with the firm by checking first if it’s feasible to take certain weeks off before I book or arrange anything, it costs nothing to work in with them on these type of things.
Juddian:
No doubt the worlds bestest agency drivers will be along shortly to trumpet the one good thing about agency work.Yes holidays can be a PITA, i’m generally fairly easy going about mine because i try to let the lads with children still at home take the school holiday weeks etc, pity those who went before me when i had little ones didn’t think like that but there you go.
Generally at our place if you had a specific dates in mind you’d run them past the shift manager who would check on the 'puter and either give you a green light or tell you no its already booked up.
If there anything like me theyl be sitting back & having a good laugh at you employed drivers fighting like Rats in a subway trying to get a holiday
robroy:
lolipop:
Where I worked the only holiday stipulation was Xmas and New Year if you had one long Xmas /NY break the next was a NO NO As per usual you had the ones who tried to get round it by conveniently going “sick” a few days before and suddenly make a recovery after New Year,it was always the same ones.Tbf they were maybe getting their priorities right,.Christmases missed with your kids can never be got back,.and when they grow up (too bloody fast) regretting it is too late.
What’s to stop your firm recruiting agency over Christmas …(a rhetorical question btw, I know the answer…too much money/basic greed/everything else over driver welfare.as most transport outfitsI always put my Christmas hols in very early to ensure getting time off, if my kids were still little I too would also make sure I was off by any method whatever,.a [zb] transport firm and a driving job comes a VERY poor second to my family.
As for other holiday times I just co.operate with the firm by checking first if it’s feasible to take certain weeks off before I book or arrange anything, it costs nothing to work in with them on these type of things.
They kept a list,new starters did not qualify until the second year unless they had holidays booked prior to starting, then they worked the next year. It was only certain minority of individuals who did not think it a fair system.
lolipop:
They kept a list,new starters did not qualify until the second year unless they had holidays booked prior to starting, then they worked the next year. It was only certain minority of individuals who did not think it a fair system.
Transport, working Christmas/New Year 
What The [ZB] is so important that it absolutely has to be transported over Christmas or New Year