Legal assistance with employment conditions in healthcare

Questioner

At work we have a so-called leave basket. This contains the hours for your vacation and atv days and compensation hours for your holidays (work in healthcare) The hours consist of a number of hours that you receive in proportion to your employment contract. Now my schedule is such that I have to work a lot on the 'holidays' and if I don't want to, I have to take leave hours from my basket. However, there are also colleagues who do not work holidays and can therefore keep all their hours, and because they have a larger contract, they also have more hours of leave than those who do work. However, it is the case that when I work a holiday, it amounts to more hours than my 50% contract hours. While I only receive half compensation for it. How can I approach my employer about this?

Lawyer

You cannot hold your employer accountable for this, because in my opinion they apply the scheme correctly. If you happen to have to work a lot on public holidays, this is compensated with days off in your leave basket. If you receive a 50% allowance when you work, you do not receive this allowance if you do not work. So if you receive 1 1/2 days of free time back for working 1 day on a public holiday, you are not entitled to this extra half day if you do not work. This is compensation for working. You also do not receive less time off than your colleagues who work less on public holidays. They work on other days when you have a day off. In short, in my opinion the rules are applied correctly.

Questioner

Thanks for your answer. I just don't quite understand it. It is the case that everyone receives compensation hours in advance in proportion to their employment. Regardless of whether they have to work those days. When I work holidays, I work full shifts while my compensation for that is 50%. Someone who does not have to work on public holidays also has compensation hours in proportion to their employment contract, but never has to use them. That's not right, is it? You do get compensation for the hours you work on a holiday?

Lawyer

If it is the case that compensation is given regardless of the hours you work on holidays, then that arrangement is indeed very strange and possibly in conflict with the collective labor agreement. In which sector do you work?

Questioner

I work in the nursing and care home sector.