New job - asking for time off?

[LMHx]

Hi everyone.

I'm starting my new job on the 30th of August, however, my OH and I would like to book our holiday next month to go at the end of May. When would you think is the best time to ask my new employers for this time off? I'm scared of making a bad impression

[NewtoOrlando]

I started my job last April and I advised them at the interview that I had a holiday booked. When I got offered the job my new boss emailed me asking for any dates that I had pre existing holidays booked. I also needed a few days off here and there because of the kids birthdays etc and when j started I requested them within a week. Employers usually know that people want holidays at some point, can't see how you would make a bad impression when it's something your entitled too!

[CADisneymum]

I always asks people when I interview them. It helps me plan. It doesn't matter 99% of the time if they are the right person for the job.

[floridasarah]

I also started a new job in May and had already got a holiday booked in July and our Florida holiday next Easter. I told them this at the interview and also asked within my first week for my A/L card so I could request the time off. There was no problem at all.

[floridasgirl]

I was going to say similar. Why would it look bad? You will have been there 9 months by the time you take it! Every employer expects people to take holidays!
I would have thought they will actually be pleased you want to take it when it's not high holiday season.
If unsure, just speak to your boss or HR before you book it.
They should go trough the holiday policy with you when you start anyway. Just check when the holidays run to make sure you actually have enough entitlement as if you start part way through it you will get pro rata.

[LMHx]

Thanks for your replies!

They did ask me at the interview if I had any pre-booked holidays but at the time my OH and I weren't sure if we were going to book it or not so I said no. Now I regret not stating that we were looking to book a holiday!

[Kraken]

Standard HR practice is to honour any existing holidays you have pre-booked before you were offered the job (even if it takes you over your pro-rata'd annual leave allowance & you have to take a few days unpaid leave). They may ask for proof of the booking, but as long as you provide it, you're almost certainly going away. If they are offering you the job, they want you, so they have to understand you may have booked holidays already.

With regard to asking for annual leave that was not pre-booked early on in employment - most would agree it is not a good idea to start on, say, 1st August & then quickly ask for the last two weeks of August off (for instance). The odd day here and there for family events / long weekends early in employment should be fine.

Once you've been with a new employer a few months & have got your feet under the table so as to speak, your leave requests should be treated just the same as anyone elses. Only exception in some roles may be Christmas time where some employers try to operate a "work one, take the next off" policy to be fair to all. As the newbie in the office, your name will be near the top of the "work this one" list - unless it was pre-booked, as above.

Just hope your employer does not do what a senior manager at my previous employer did... they sent round an email that basically translated to "This is a multi-cultural office, clearly Christmas is of no importance to some colleagues, so maybe you'd like to work it". The fallout from that was huge & the manager is "no longer with the business".

[sha9]

I would ask on the first day as a part of a list of questions you'll no doubt have during that induction period. Nothing wrong with asking what happens about annual leave, how is it requested and what's the timescale etc.

[pchivvy]

As it wasn't pre booked at the time of interview, I would simply ring them now and say you are looking to book a holiday and want to check the dates won't cause them a problem.

[Sweetie Babes]

If it was me I'd have no problem with it - you're talking about a holiday next May, for heaven's sake - not next month!

We recently took someone on with 7 days pre-booked. Unfortunately she didn't work out and was basically let go her first day back in the office which means she took too much holiday for the time she'd accumulated with us. Her replacement also came in with a week pre-booked - this time for September - and we've had to let her take it. However, it doesn't clash enough to cause a major problem for the rest of us so I okayed it straight away.

One place I worked for said that in your first few months until you'd hit the firm's new holiday year you could only take the time off as you earned it, so you couldn't come in and take 2 weeks 2 months later.

As a rule of thumb, most people earn 1.66 days holiday per month. That means that by May OP will have earned just shy of 15 days' holiday. However, it depends from the company runs its holiday year. The two most common are Jan - Dec and May to April (to follow the financial year). Our place does Nov - Oct.

I work for an employment lawyer, incidentally.