Need a day off work but they are refusing

[Treeforme]

I wondered if anyone could help.

I need a few hours off work shortly due to disabilities within the family. However I am being refused this leave. I have asked for it to be annual leave , parental, carers, unpaid making up my hours. But it is being denied, due to being too busy. However when I have offered reasonable solutions it’s still been refused.

Could anyone advise?

(the title is a typo it’s only a few hours not full day)

Anyone?

Can you explain it's urgent ? Ask HR to mediate ? Being refused time off in extenuating circumstances seems very unreasonable to me. Good luck.

Do you work somewhere that this being off would result in no staff on or without legal required staffing numbers?

There would be no staff in my work area for those few hours. But I could come in early instead to do those hours for example, but have been refused.

Call in sick for the entire day and get a medical certificate.

And what will the doctor put on the medical certificate? It's insane how often the advice given on MN is just to lie and call in sick.
All the OP can do is go back to their line manager to explain the circumstances, hopefully get support and escalate to HR. Can a relative, neighbour or friend help out instead?
Will you lose your job if you don't show up?

No one else can help out. HR said it’s up to the manager.
😕

Unfortunately there is no legal right to take time off when you want so they are within their rights to refuse, as rubbish as it is for you. Going off sick on a day you have had leave refused is unlikely to be believed and could lead to disciplinary action so I wouldn’t recommend doing that (and you wouldn’t be able to get a doctor’s certificate for one day).

The potential exception to being refused leave when you want it is being able to take emergency time off for dependents, which obviously has to be taken at the time the emergency arises - but that doesn’t help you as you’re asking in advance so it clearly isn’t an emergency.

We're allowed one emergency absence a year. If you absolutely have to be off, ring the absence line, explain and cop the consequences the next day.
I'd say if they're desperate for you in for those few hours, they're unlikely to sack you.
Sometimes some things are more important than work

What a stupid suggestion! Like they’re going to believe this after refusing time off

And getting a “medical certificate” for one day off? That doesn’t happen.

Do you take a lot of time off?

You don’t need a medical certificate. You self cert for the first 7 days.

That's difficult. How are they with leave in general?

A lot of places are permanently 'too busy' so if that was a reason to refuse leave, then a lot of people would never be able to take their leave at all, so they have to allow it. Can you get a colleague to swap a shift?

But if you work somewhere with seasonal demand and they have a blanket ban in leave at this time of year but you're free to take it at other times, that's more difficult to argue against, although there should be provision for emergency leave when needed.

If your manager is refusing leave can you go above them and explain the circumstances to the next level up?

Who is the next level up?

They seem to be targeting me. I was told they were flexible but this seems to have been removed.

What are they going to do about it? They sound far too short staffed to fire her.

Family is more important than job. If I genuinely needed the day and they were being this unreasonable, of course I'd call in sick. Fuck them.

Are you in a union?

You haven’t responded to the question above about whether you take a lot of time off.
ultimately they are running some sort of business that requires staff.
there are likely to be limits to the flexibility they can offer.
Some staff take lots of time off (this may not apply to you of course) and others are always expected to fill in.
if staff are regularly requesting time off, even for genuine reasons, both the staff and the business need to consider if it is the right person for the job.
For example, some people due to multiple carer or childcare responsibilities out of work would not suit a hospital job where the ward would be uncovered if they regularly asked for time off. Perhaps this is the problem here - it is the role that is unsuitable?

Er, your manager's manager.

Unless your manager is the MD or company owner they will have someone above them who you should be able to approach about this.

Or is there an employee assistance/staff welfare facility? Is this likely to be a regular requirement where you could ask for a different working pattern to accommodate?

What sort of role is it, what will the consequences be of nobody being in your section?

You say you have asked for parental/carers so this means the request is for a child you have parental responsibility for?
if no one else can help, consider other solutions. For example if it is an appointment you may need to get it rescheduled.
I know it is hard but very few jobs are completely flexible.

www.gov.uk/carers-leave

A ‘disability in the family’ wouldn’t cover parental leave. Carers leave is short notice like your dc has been taken to a&e and you couldn’t plan for it

how much notice have you given?

work don’t have to let you have time off whenever you need it