The DDO / Annual Leave Day Conundrum
I spent most of my career working in a European airline, with a strong union, and good labour protection. The aggressive management were kept in their place.
My contract of employment stated I was entitled to a minimum of 9 days off per month (and there were restrictions on what constituted a day off, and how it was to be rostered).
This meant that when I took Annual Leave, if I wanted 'a week' off I booked 5 days annual leave, and got my guaranteed 2 days off for that week rostered concurrently. Seven days off. If I asked nicely I'd even get the two days from the previous week rostered to run me into the annual leave - bingo, 9 days off in a row. For 5 Annual Leave days.
Now that I'm swanning around Asia I find a whole new interpretation out here.
The local CAA's may regulate 8 or 9 days off per month (or not!) but when they do so, the companies in this region interpret that to mean your Annual Leave days can be taken into the equation. This is daylight robbery. Now, if I take 5 days off, that means they will try to roster me for only 4 days off for the rest of the month. depending on duty time - perfectly legal by their reckoning, and they do so where possible. So crews in effect subsidise the employer to grant them their annual leave days.
Is this legal in Hong Kong too?
How on earth do the CAD allow it?