Leave Request Denied Unfairly???

hambleton1

getmore4less wrote: »

Raise it with the higher ups and if not satisfied raise a grievance that company policy is not being followed.

Be prepared for unintended consequences.

That's exactly why I'm not going to raise it with HR. Just wanted opinions.

jonnygee2

I feel this is unfair because I requested those dates first, and he has basically taken them from me. Surely he should have said he would choose other dates. The policy is first come first serve. I want some opinions on whether this is right or wrong.

Yes you are right it is unfair. He sounds like a terrible manager.

If I were you I'd email your director directly and say;
___________

Hi _____

I'm just emailing about my holiday request in April that I asked my manager about on (say the date you first told your manager).

I know that you told ____ (manager) that I'd have to pick a different date as he had already submitted his request. However, this date is really important to me because (make something up, but not too dramatic!). I was wondering if you could make an exception, I will do (say some things you can do to make sure cover is adequate etc). Is there any way that this could work?

Thanks for your time and understanding, looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

________

Hopefully your director will put two and two together when you mention the date. I doubt you'll get your holiday approved, but it'll call your manager out without having to make any formal complaints etc.

Comms69

hambleton1 wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. He isn't the employer only my line manager. The director only said we couldn't be off together. I assumed my manager would then offer to choose other dates as I requested them first.

He is the employers representative.

In theory he could tell you to take every Friday off for the next ‘x’ weeks and that would be your allowance used uo

sangie595

jonnygee2 wrote: »

Yes you are right it is unfair. He sounds like a terrible manager.

If I were you I'd email your director directly and say;
___________

Hi _____

I'm just emailing about my holiday request in April that I asked my manager about on (say the date you first told your manager).

I know that you told ____ (manager) that I'd have to pick a different date as he had already submitted his request. However, this date is really important to me because (make something up, but not too dramatic!). I was wondering if you could make an exception, I will do (say some things you can do to make sure cover is adequate etc). Is there any way that this could work?

Thanks for your time and understanding, looking forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards,

________

Hopefully your director will put two and two together when you mention the date. I doubt you'll get your holiday approved, but it'll call your manager out without having to make any formal complaints etc.

Is that supposed to be a joke, or serious? I couldn't tell because of the emphasised "directly". If it's a joke, it isn't an amusing one. If the OP does this, going over the head of their line manager, then there will be consequences. As others have already said, there are very likely to be consequences, and not pleasant ones.

It doesn't matter whether this is "fair" or not. It isn't a school playground. The line manager, acting with the authority of the employer, has refused a leave request, as is their legal right. A rational approach to the manager along these lines might provide some flexibility, but an approach of that kind - which is clearly a whine, regardless of how it is couched - may very well burn all bridges with the manager and the director. As might getting caught out on whatever "convenient lie" that you suggest they make up.

Marvel1

sangie595 wrote: »

The line manager, acting with the authority of the employer, has refused a leave request

Allegedly so they can have it themselves, abusing their position.

Undervalued

cjdavies wrote: »

Allegedly so they can have it themselves, abusing their position.

Maybe but that is not, in itself, unlawful. At the most it may be an internal disciplinary matter for the firm to sort out (if they choose).

The OP can ask somebody more senior in the firm if they will overrule this manager but ultimately the bottom line is that the employer can dictate when an employee can and cannot take their holiday.

sangie595

cjdavies wrote: »

Allegedly so they can have it themselves, abusing their position.

Even if true, that is completely irrelevant. They have acted legally, and fair is playground stuff. Any opinion as to whether this is "abuse" is irrelevant as well. It is within the power and authority of the manager to do this. Assuming the OP is even correct that they hadn't already booked it, so what? So what if they didn't speak the the director? I think your are getting confused between law and opinion. There is no law against managers "abusing their position". Some might actually describe it as a peek of the job! All depends on your point of view. And points of view aren't law.

Tigsteroonie

I think your only option is to raise a grievance and leave the business to investigate.

Think hard about whether you want to do this, grievances (whether upheld or not) do not tend to end well.

Double-check the holiday dates anyway - up here, Easter falls in the middle of some schools' holidays but at the end of others in the same area.

Ja7188

I think you're only option is to raise a grievance and leave the business to investigate.

What exactly would the grievance be, given that there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence that the OP requested these days off before their manager did?

Tigsteroonie

Ja7188 wrote: »

What exactly would the grievance be, given that there doesn't seem to be any concrete evidence that the OP requested these days off before their manager did?

As the OP had to complete a form, presumably so did the manager. They might be dated at the point of completion, you never know. There might also be evidence of the manager's leave being recorded on a system on a date prior to the OP's request.

I was suggesting a grievance so that the matter could be independently investigated.