Bad Boss trying to ruin my Spring Break Navigator Cruise

[Mystaken]

Oh, HELLZ, no!

 

Yes, and then she asked if she could call me if there was a problem! I told her she could call me but I probably wouldn't be home!

[thegima]

All of our requests are electronic and my boss always laughs at me for requesting time off a year+ in advance. He would probably approve a week+ vacation the week before if needed but i'm not chancing it. There are some good bosses out there - thanks to them!

 

Pretty annoying you have to plan around someone thats only been there for a short time. Im in the 5yr boat too and would expect some of the people I work with to get dibs on vacation time before me as most of them have been here for 20+ yrs. It seems lots of bosses have control issues and just like being the "boss", run away if possible! There are good ones.

[CI66774]

I had a former employer (many years ago) ask me to reschedule my cruise because I was needed on another project. I said absolutely and emailed a detailed "invoice" of non-refundable expenses (airfare, cruise fare, etc.) they would need to reimburse. The very next day, they told me that my project could wait until I returned. :D

[MOSusan]

I had a former employer (many years ago) ask me to reschedule my cruise because I was needed on another project. I said absolutely and emailed a detailed "invoice" of non-refundable expenses (airfare, cruise fare, etc.) they would need to reimburse. The very next day, they told me that my project could wait until I returned. :D

 

Like!

[srlafleur]

I guess I'm really lucky that I've never been denied vacation time in 25 years. Then again, I've never actually had to ask, I tell them when I'm taking off. (the company has grown from 4 people to about 300 in the 25 years) We were told early on that there's never a "good" time, so take what you need, when you need it. Most people do try to be prudent and schedule around the crunch time of their own big projects, and there are some people who almost never take actual vacations (and yes, some of them look down their noses at those of us who max out our time). We're basically expected to "police" ourselves, and many people wear several hats. Early on especially, no task was beneath anyone - the owner would be making blueprints and getting packages ready to send out right beside a peon like me. At this point, there are enough people who can pick up the slack that there's never a problem.

[travelplus]

I agree with you however sometimes priorities change and the boss expects more productivity. You have more seniority and days off than the other person. I would take this up with HR. Your boss may have had a bad day when you asked him/her so perhaps you can ask him again nicely one more time and explain that you were promised the time off.

 

There is always an option to resign and be prepared to get another job. I don't know where it says in any contract that you will be given a guaranteed vacation for the time you requested. Remember the key word here is requested and not granted. If your boss granted your time off it should be done in writing and the HR department should sign off as well.

 

Working for 25 years with the same company should give you priority over someone who has worked for 5 years. Have you ever had the same problem before with your current or previous boss? If I had been working for a company for 25 years I should know their policies by now.

 

I would show him a print out of your itinerary and tell your boss that you had already purchased non-refundable items as a result of your boss telling you had your dates on the 2015 calendar.

 

Please keep us posted on the outcome.

 

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[MOSusan]

I agree with you however sometimes priorities change and the boss expects more productivity. You have more seniority and days off than the other person. I would take this up with HR. Your boss may have had a bad day when you asked him/her so perhaps you can ask him again nicely one more time and explain that you were promised the time off.

 

There is always an option to resign and be prepared to get another job. I don't know where it says in any contract that you will be given a guaranteed vacation for the time you requested. Remember the key word here is requested and not granted. If your boss granted your time off it should be done in writing and the HR department should sign off as well.

 

Working for 25 years with the same company should give you priority over someone who has worked for 5 years. Have you ever had the same problem before with your current or previous boss? If I had been working for a company for 25 years I should know their policies by now.

 

I would show him a print out of your itinerary and tell your boss that you had already purchased non-refundable items as a result of your boss telling you had your dates on the 2015 calendar.

 

Please keep us posted on the outcome.

 

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The vacation was never denied - I was just made to feel like I shouldn't ask for Spring Break without checking with everyone else first. And what if the other person had wanted it also? Control Freak, Drama Queen Boss. It's a good company with Profit Sharing (401K) and a retirement pension plan - I'm not going anywhere (darn golden handcuffs).

 

Thanks for all the kind words and I'm really enjoying some of the outrageous stories!

[USNUZULOOSE]

The company I worked for always made us give our vacation dates in January. Even doing so I was made to come in. One time I had to leave 2 days late.

[NewSalt]

I second the suggestion to always put the request in writing - email with a "read" notation.

 

The one time a co-worker's boss had a medical emergency and he had to step up to fill her place for an important project, the company made him whole for his lost family vacation. That meant not that they paid him for the money he had prepaid but paid for a replacement vacation, which was more expensive because it was booked on short notice.

[Vitality08]

It's so interesting to read how different jobs handle vacation requests.

 

Surprisingly, I've never had a job that requires coverage if I'm gone.

 

The way my current job works is sort of a two tiered system. Each February 15th we turn in any vacation requests of 40 hours or more. You can submit more than one but must rank your requests. The requests are put into order by seniority and they start the approval process. Generally 2 people are granted leave for each week. So if an employees #1 ranked vacation is granted, his number 2 won't be granted until everyone has had at least one choice granted.

 

So say if I have the highest seniority and I request the week of Christmas and the week of Thanksgiving. I'd definitely get Christmas but Thanksgiving would only be granted if no one else requested Thanksgiving.

 

After the initial February requests, leave requests are granted on first come first serve. Seniority only plays a part if 2 people request the same week at the same exact time.

 

Another thing I like about our system is that the calendar is a web based program so if I'm thinking of taking some random weekend off I can go look at the calendar and see if anyone has requested or been approved for those days. If there are no requests in then I know I'll get the days. It's great because I can then book flights or whatever without having been officially approved because my job gives at least 2 people off for any given day.

[mbrownferrier]

My boss still hasn't approved my vacation request for a cruise at thanksgiving. It was requested in late January and again in April. She did let it slip that she wanted the same week off. I do have seniority and I can see that she hasn't formally requested for week off so I advised her again that I am going regardless.

 

I have the added problem that I work for a state government but am supervised by a for-profit company that was awarded a management contract. She even told me we couldn't be off at the same time and could no longer take off two weeks at a time since it is so difficult to cover me!!! Yet other staff both state and private are allowed more than 1 week!!!

 

 

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[matj2000]

Maybe it's time to move on.........

[MOSusan]

Thanks everyone for your support and for your stories.

 

I think the one big take away from your responses is that I will now request all time off by email and I will save all of the responses which I will be able to produce at a moments notice.

 

P.S. I just calculated that retirement is 13 years 3 months away. Or if the kids get scholarships maybe 11 years 3 months away!!!