Your written statement referred to in the previous section should have laid out your entitlement. If you have not worked for a full 12 months in the holiday year you would expect to get a pro rata entitlement. To give you an idea of what you might expect to get, more than two in three workers get at least 22 days leave a year. Swallow Hotels give 24 days, Marks and Spencer 23 and Tesco gives 22.

Your holiday year should be specified in your contract and if it is not, it runs from the date when you started working or from 1st October, if you were already working for your employer prior to 1st October 1998.

TIME OFF
You have the legal right to time off for: maternity, parental and family emergency leave, looking for work during redundancy notice, trade union and health and safety activities and some public duties like a JP.

If you are 16 or 17 years old and have left school without good enough qualifications you have the right to time off during working hours to undertake study or training leading to a relevant qualification where this would help your employment prospects. The amount of time off which your employer must give is “reasonable” taking account of the nature of your job and workplace. You will be paid at your normal hourly rate and have the right not to be victimised for requesting or taking study time.

All other time off arrangements depend on the contract. However a GMB/NUS survey found that 60% of term time workers do get time off for academic reasons and if you are having problems in combining your studies with your work you should contact your GMB representative . Equally if there are other occasions on which you need time off but where there is no specific legal right (for example, in cases of bereavement) you should again ask your GMB rep to make representations on your behalf.

MEALS AT WORK
If you work in the retail food sector you may be offered free meals as part of your employment contract. Obviously this is a useful benefit but take care that the employer has not costed it by paying inferior wages. Workers in catering also need to be careful in opposite situations where they are told they cannot eat food prepared at work. Unfortunately there have been cases of employees being dismissed for breaking this kind of rule. The GMB would obviously help and advise you in such a situation but to make sure that this doesn’t arise it is always useful to have sorted out clearly with your employer right at the beginning of your contract what are your rights to food produced on the premises.

You may also be in a workplace where there is a canteen. Most provide subsidised food although it is rare to have a canteen at no cost to the employee.

UNIFORMS
Many workplaces now provide staff with a uniform. This may be to protect your own clothing from the wear and tear which it would be subjected to particularly if working in environments where clothing can get dirty.

Employers have a duty to ensure that any uniform provided does not infringe any race or sex discrimination issues, either directly or indirectly. For example, if a skirt is required to be worn as part of a uniform, Muslim women could not comply as they are required to cover their legs, and insistence could amount to indirect race discrimination.

But a uniform is also a form of company logo allowing customers to identify the product better. If your workplace does provide a uniform you need to check what the arrangements are about cost and cleaning.

Most companies like the majority of banks and London Underground, provide the uniform free. Some, like LU, will provide cleaning tokens so that you can get the uniform cleaned whereas others, for example, McDonalds give staff an annual allowance towards clothing. If you are being made to pay the costs of your uniform or cleaning and feel that this is unfair, contact your GMB representative .

Holidays
Time off
Meals at work
Uniforms