From 1st Jan roster for contractors changed from 5/4 5/3 to "variable " 12 days off per month.
This was required to make the flight pairings in LPA work, and was then given to other bases for (it seems) no particular reason other than "they could".
It worked OK for me, as I commute, with longer blocks on (indeed up to 7 ) and longer blocks off (4/5/6) for the 1st 3 mths, but Apr was useless with a few blocks of 2 OFF (inutile if commuting ) May & Jun are pretty much back to OK.
I believe the roster at LPA (and I guess TFS when it opens) is less commuter friendly, with many single/double days off.
As previous poster has stated, requests are a waste of time, and annual-leave system only marginally better than Ryanair.
If they wish (and they do need) to continue attracting more candidates, this is one area they should improve, as it is fairly cost neutral.