RE: Refused Holiday request - already booked

Uriziel

OP I feel like you are being too rash and needlessly aggressive. If you are determined to go on your holiday then write an email to your manager and let them know that you will be taking the holiday and apologize. Maybe explain your reasoning if you have any and then just take the holiday. It is very unlikely that they will take any action at all because quite frankly I don't think this matters. You wrote that your previous boss was not fussy. If this is true it means you work in a team or company where people going on leave is not a very big deal and the new manager is just whiny. This means that you going on holiday won't make too much of a negative impact and she will probably just suck it up. Nobody wants to cause unnecessary drama and problems. Sure one can argue that you left without approval for your holiday.. but then again.. if you are let go because of this and they cannot prove at all that the company encountered any difficulties or problems at all, which I assume they won't since your last boss was so lenient, how would it make them look legally to fire you over this? I don't think there is any need for you to hand in your notice unless you actually want to leave.

Tabieth

Uriziel said:

OP I feel like you are being too rash and needlessly aggressive. If you are determined to go on your holiday then write an email to your manager and let them know that you will be taking the holiday and apologize. Maybe explain your reasoning if you have any and then just take the holiday. It is very unlikely that they will take any action at all because quite frankly I don't think this matters. You wrote that your previous boss was not fussy. If this is true it means you work in a team or company where people going on leave is not a very big deal and the new manager is just whiny. This means that you going on holiday won't make too much of a negative impact and she will probably just suck it up. Nobody wants to cause unnecessary drama and problems. Sure one can argue that you left without approval for your holiday.. but then again.. if you are let go because of this and they cannot prove at all that the company encountered any difficulties or problems at all, which I assume they won't since your last boss was so lenient, how would it make them look legally to fire you over this? I don't think there is any need for you to hand in your notice unless you actually want to leave.

Why blame the boss and call her “whiny”? All she’s doing is what any reasonable manager would do.

And the company don’t need to “prove” that they encountered any difficulties. If the policy says annual leave must be approved and a person takes unapproved leave, that’s unauthorised absence. It’s a disciplinary matter in its own right, regardless of any impact it may or may not have. 

I agree with you that the OP is being rash and aggressive, but I don’t think the fact that the previous line manager was lenient is in any way relevant. The current line manager is following policy and being reasonable. The OP has a choice, follow company policy or take unauthorised leave and face the possible disciplinary consequences (which will likely impact future roles / job prospects).  

sheramber

Uriziel said:

OP I feel like you are being too rash and needlessly aggressive. If you are determined to go on your holiday then write an email to your manager and let them know that you will be taking the holiday and apologize. Maybe explain your reasoning if you have any and then just take the holiday. It is very unlikely that they will take any action at all because quite frankly I don't think this matters. You wrote that your previous boss was not fussy. If this is true it means you work in a team or company where people going on leave is not a very big deal and the new manager is just whiny. This means that you going on holiday won't make too much of a negative impact and she will probably just suck it up. Nobody wants to cause unnecessary drama and problems. Sure one can argue that you left without approval for your holiday.. but then again.. if you are let go because of this and they cannot prove at all that the company encountered any difficulties or problems at all, which I assume they won't since your last boss was so lenient, how would it make them look legally to fire you over this? I don't think there is any need for you to hand in your notice unless you actually want to leave.

Easy for you to say. It is not your job that could be on the line.

ohreallƳ

Be aware op that unless local agreement states to the contrary, your employer can dictate when your A/L are taken.

TELLIT01

Anywhere I've worked, leave dates have always been subject to management approval.  It would be chaos otherwise.  What would happen if everybody booked holiday for the same dates and then told management?

I did have one manager who would be difficult just for the sake of it.  In one instance I was to be back in the office on the Tuesday morning and one of my staff asked for the week off starting on the Monday.  The manager said he could only have it if I came in on the Monday.  He knew that I was travelling back on a long haul flight arriving late on Sunday evening.  I agreed on the basis that I would come in when I woke up, and my staff member got his week off.  I rolled into the office at about 3pm and called my manager to let him know I'd arrived, as agreed.  He was fuming, but I'd played by his rules.

pinkshoes

Some harsh comments on here! 

To be fair to @PierremontQuaker03 , they were told the holiday they had initially requested and had reluctantly approved was inconvenient to the company, so they tried to be nice, put the business first, and opt for a different week instead.

This was actually above and beyond what an employee would be expected to do, so the response of the company was VERY petty.

But... the OP did make a mistake booking the holiday, even though it was done based on what was best for the company.

The OP has been treated quite badly here, so it's not surprising they're feeling really p*ssed off! I certainly would be furious. 

@PierremontQuaker03 how did you get on with HR? Unless the company can give you a valid reason why they cannot possibly approve the holiday for the week after, then it's not the sort of company I'd want to work for.

I'd personally still take the week you HAVE got approved, then put in a week for emergency unpaid family leave for the week after so you can still go on the booked holiday.

I once had my holiday approval held to ransom over my project being finished to a certain point, but all MY actions were dependent on work by others, people whom I did not manage and had no control over when the work would get done! It was ludicrous. I didn't stay much longer after that. 

Tabieth

pinkshoes said:

Some harsh comments on here! 

To be fair to @PierremontQuaker03 , they were told the holiday they had initially requested and had reluctantly approved was inconvenient to the company, so they tried to be nice, put the business first, and opt for a different week instead.

This was actually above and beyond what an employee would be expected to do, so the response of the company was VERY petty.

But... the OP did make a mistake booking the holiday, even though it was done based on what was best for the company.

The OP has been treated quite badly here, so it's not surprising they're feeling really p*ssed off! I certainly would be furious. 

@PierremontQuaker03 how did you get on with HR? Unless the company can give you a valid reason why they cannot possibly approve the holiday for the week after, then it's not the sort of company I'd want to work for.

I'd personally still take the week you HAVE got approved, then put in a week for emergency unpaid family leave for the week after so you can still go on the booked holiday.

I once had my holiday approval held to ransom over my project being finished to a certain point, but all MY actions were dependent on work by others, people whom I did not manage and had no control over when the work would get done! It was ludicrous. I didn't stay much longer after that. 

I don’t think the OP has been treated badly, quite the reverse. They didn’t follow what’s a totally reasonable and standard HR policy and booked a holiday before getting the annual leave approved. 

What would be the justification for the emergency family leave? Most companies have conditions for it and a limit for how much can be taken. “Booking a holiday before getting annual leave approved by the line manager” is unlikely to be considered a valid reason! 

sheramber

The OP has logged in since his meeting but has not chosen to update  the thread.

ohreallƳ

sheramber said:

The OP has logged in since his meeting but has not chosen to update  the thread.

Bit of a peeve of mine, abandoning an established thread, second only to deleting a  thread question.

EnPointe

ohreallƳ said:

sheramber said:

The OP has logged in since his meeting but has not chosen to update  the thread.

Bit of a peeve of mine, abandoning an established thread, second only to deleting a  thread question.

it's normally because they didn't get the answer they want