I genuinely want to know ?

[crikeybill]

Ok So i work in a busy NHS hospital office.
There are 3 managers that work together and have to cover each other, of which I am one.
One of the managers has handed in her notice and leaves next week, this leaves me and another woman. We are not replacing her ( thanks Budget cuts !)
Other woman is pg and goes on maternity leave end of November, this means it will be just me for the whole of 2013. No problem with that, she is entitled to have dc go on maternity leave etc. Although the workload will be interesting We dont really get on to be honest and infact we rarely speak unless its work related. We have separate offices so can avoid each other quite easily apart from at meetings.

Anyway she and I both have school age children. Hers is 5 and mine are 8 and 9. I got in today and she has booked the whole of the summer holidays off apart from 1 week !!! Plus that week is overlapping with mine which i understood couldnt happen !!!! She hasnt asked me what I am doing, she hasnt asked me if this is ok ( we will have to cover each other now the third one has gone ) and frankly im fuming.
I spoke to our line manager who said that as far as he is concerned it is first come, first served !! he is rubbish though as he hates confrontation so will have just let her have it !

I am so angry. I am angry that I will be working most of the holidays, apart from the 1 week I booked back in March. I am angry that she doesnt feel that as it is now just us two she should have spoken to me. I am angry that my crap line manager has allowed it to happen !!

I really want to email her to point all this out but dont want to sound petty and im genuinely wondering if I am being petty ????

Am I being unreasonable ??
What would you do ?

LOL............................!!!!! ................

Read the thread! I'm getting hacked off at the "should've booked 'em earlier" comments, never mind the OP

FACEPALM

rainydays you really need to read the thread. OP has explained, patiently and repeatedly that she can't book in advance, and was not in the office the first day that they were able to book. Which was when her colleague booked everything up.

Hence OP has just awarded you a (well-deserved) biscuit.

x-post with TheCraicDealer .

But we NEED to know what happened.
please start another coded thread and let us know the outcome and good luck she sounds like a nightmare.

Oh god, yes! Please update, hopefully when this reaches its natural conclusion as you take off a few weeks due to "stress". Probably around the 30th of July.

"Is it just me or is it weird that someone can book time off for when it conveniently suits them to be stressed about their pregnancy"

She hasn't done that she has taken parental leave,

www.direct.gov.uk/.../parents/.../parentalleaveandflexibleworking/dg...

The OP doesn't have the right to request a three way meeting. Taking parental leave is between an employer and employee. It is for the OP to argue the case of being the only member of staff, which if challenged from the POV of sick leave, the manager has to have a plan in place, anyway.

The manager shouldn't be discussing the collegue at all and could be disciplined if he has done so.

Imho you're aiming your frustration at the wrong person - it's management that has ok'd this, even though it's not particularly fair - your colleague is just doing what she needs to do to cover childcare and is working with the system.

Sorry cross posted earlier.

In that case I'd say your line manager is at fault, and should have a better system in place for managing holiday requests and parental leave, which I don't think HAS to be granted either?

You'll be so stressed covering two jobs you'll have to go off sick. Good to see the NHS practice of promoting dead wood managers rather than tacking incompetence continues!

crikeybill really really want to know what happens next! I think you're right to have the thread deleted, it's too close to home. But we still want to know!