Change to holiday entitlement

[Botters]

my employer wishes to change my holidays from days to hours.
i currently get 25 days and 8 bank holidays. The change to their proposal will mean I will lose 2 days entitlement. This is still a proposal yet they have already changed the employment manual.
can they do that?

[ULA]

Hi I have deleted your second post just to avoid confusion as I think they are about the same issue.

Regardless of time you have been with the company you have a signed contract with agreed terms one of which is your holiday entitlement. Your employer might want to change the terms of your contract but in theory, they cannot do this without your agreement. However, is your place of work covered by union negotiated agreements and if so was this change a result of a negotiation?

If not, then your employer needs to follow a fair process to implement a significant change in your terms and conditions. To do this they need to fully consult with you and agree any changes to the terms. If you do not agree the law does recognise that employers have to adapt to changing market conditions, and that sometimes the contract of employment must be varied to reflect this.

If your employer has given reasonable and due consideration to objections and alternative suggestions that you put forward, but deem those suggestions to be unworkable, then they can terminate your original contract and offer a new one in its place on the new terms in this case reduced holiday entitlement.

If you do not agree to the changes, then you must make it clear to your employer. You should do this in writing, sign and date your letter, and keep a copy. This letter will count as a written grievance.

If you don’t tell your employer you disagree with the change, this will be taken to mean that you’ve accepted it, therefore you should do this straight away, or as soon as possible after the change has been introduced.

You can continue to work 'under protest' for a while but you can’t do this indefinitely without taking further action. If you don’t want to do either of these things, you may eventually have to accept the changes to your contract.

[Botters]

Thanks very much for the advice. Both posts were connected by virtue of this situation. I was concerned that I have only been with the company 3 months and felt there might have been a minimum time before any changes could be made. We have no union sadly so have to bend to the change or find a new job