RE: Refused Holiday request - already booked

PierremontQuaker03

Hi thanks for looking. I recently booked a holiday for a week in August, my boss was unhappy but approved them (she was unhappy due to lack of cover in the dept - its never been an issue before, but she is fairly new). So I thought I was being helpful and amended the dates in August and changed the booking and paid for the holiday so there would be fewer dates with no coverage (again its never been an issue). She now has point blank refused to approve the holidays and now I cannot change the dates, unless for a huge fee.
I was thinking of leaving before this, but now it has brought it to a head.  I am not going to cancel the holiday, so I am tempted to now hand in my notice - its at a point where she will not back down, so I think leaving is my only option. Just wonder if anyone has any advice before I go in all guns blazing with my notice. I do have to give 3 months notice - which will include the week that I am going away.  At the end of the day they cannot force me to come in, but would prefer to leave on good terms.

TELLIT01

You booked and paid for a holiday before it was agreed by the company.  The fact that they refused the time off is entirely the fault of the OP.  Previous managers being willing to bend the rules is not a way out of the situation.

QrizB

So your boss had (grudgingly) agreed to one set of dates in August, then you booked & paid for a holiday on different dates before asking if the new ones were OK?

Hoenir

No one is indispensable.  Someone else will be recruited to fulfill your role. 

PierremontQuaker03

Hoenir said:

No one is indispensable.  Someone else will be recruited to fulfill your role. 

I agree no one is indispensable, but I have a lot of knowledge, 6 years - its quite a complicated job, and will take the new person a few years to get the full knowledge I have.  My boss agreed the original dates, is the issue, I changed them which meant it was better for the company, so I was doing them a favour - so she is just being petty. But if she wants to die on that hill so be it. Also she is a director, we have two directors on site, both were on holiday at the same time last year and they were planning to be off at the same time again this year but a family ilness meant that it is not going to happen. One rule for one and one rule for another.

Tabieth

Your boss isn’t being petty. Annual leave is granted ensuring the workload is covered / safe staffing levels. You booked annual leave without approval and your boss reluctantly approved it (which was good of her, she didn’t need to). You then changed the dates of your holiday, once again without getting the leave approved. You are in the wrong here, not your line manager. Also, if you do choose to leave, the unauthorised annual leave issue may get mentioned on your reference. 

Peter999_2

All the companies I've worked for over the years have had 3 month notice periods.     Several times in several companies people have just left.   Sometimes the companies make a big fuss and try to force the person to see out their notice period but none of them ever actually did anything about it as it was going to be far too complicated to take legal action.

My old boss was absolutely fuming when one of my friends was leaving and didn't want to work out the notice period.   He was going to as he was a bit worried about it - I had a quiet word and told him to speak to HR.  They immediately told him he didn't have to work the notice and he left as no-one is indespensible no matter how much they think they are.    My boss had treated him really poorly and promoted people around him and paid him peanuts.

mjm3346

They should take gross misconduct measures if you take time off that has already been refused

silvercar

Seems you have 2 options, either give notice and leave just before your holiday or don’t give notice and see what happens when you return from holiday. 

Undervalued

PierremontQuaker03 said:

Hoenir said:

No one is indispensable.  Someone else will be recruited to fulfill your role. 

I agree no one is indispensable, but I have a lot of knowledge, 6 years - its quite a complicated job, and will take the new person a few years to get the full knowledge I have.  My boss agreed the original dates, is the issue, I changed them which meant it was better for the company, so I was doing them a favour - so she is just being petty. But if she wants to die on that hill so be it. Also she is a director, we have two directors on site, both were on holiday at the same time last year and they were planning to be off at the same time again this year but a family ilness meant that it is not going to happen. One rule for one and one rule for another.

Which they are quite entitled to have!!

Unless you can show unlawful discrimination (on one of the few protected grounds) it is quite lawful to have "One rule for one and one rule for another".

Had the firm cancelled the original dates, having agreed them according to their established procedures, then you might have had a claim for your losses. You changed them without asking and regardless of whether (in your opinion) it was "meant it was better for the company" or not is irrelevant.

Hoenir

PierremontQuaker03 said:

One rule for one and one rule for another.

Odds on there was a proper discussion though. Not simply presented with a fait accompli.  Proper proceedure is to request the days off prior to making a booking of any kind.