To say colleague is a cheeky fucker?

[SayYouCare]

She booked an all inclusive to Spain a few weeks back.

She requested a half day (leave at 12pm), so she can get to the airport and depart. The rest of the week she's there, she already had booked off.

Today she's requested to speak to me. Turns out she is telling me she will be leaving at 12pm on Friday (the date of her holiday), because she says she is now pregnant and has her first MW appointment (the booking one).

Employees don't need evidence for their first Midwife appointment.

AIBU to think she's cheeky and she is leaving for the airport?

Are there actually flights to her destination at 3pm from the airport? Or is it that the flight is more like 6pm but she said it was 3pm to encourage you to grant the half day?

Prob pregnant. Doubt theres an appt when she says. Cheeky fecker

I genuinely wanted to give her the half day but I myself couldn't grant it because policy was already stretched by two people being off.

Don't think the OP has any slack to cut, here.

My booking appointment was on the same day as my nuchal scan/triple test. So I was basically in antenatal all day long

Work were not hugely impressed, I have to say.

.

It doesn't add up, but the reality is that she has told you she is pregnant and so she is protected and as a result entitled to paid time off to attend antenatal appointments. You aren't in a position to say no as employment law is on her side.

As her manager I would suggest you speak with her asap to undertake a risk assessment of her job (as she is now pregnant) and tell HR. Offline I would also tell HR your concerns.

Play it absolutely straight... you will never know the truth and I'm sure you will expect to hear that things didn't work out for her (or that she had a blast with all the all inclusive aspects of the holiday).

I would ask her what time her appointment is and if soon after lunch explain that you expect her back (I think this is wholly reasonable!).

YABU

I reckon she's pregnant too.

She'll have her booking in appt that morning but since you can't ask to see details, you can't ask her to come in afterwards.

Yes, you pushed her into this corner.

I hope she enjoys this holiday too.

And, there are lots of details here.

OP, can you answer the question about how far away work is from the airport?

Surely the leaving work at 12 for a 3pm flight is pushing it? And when was she going to have all this time for a catch up with mum and nan?

Even if she got into the airport building at 12.15, she'd have around 45m to 1 hour before needing to go through security etc.

It's just all so odd, something isn't right somewhere

ellawhy can't she ask her to come in after lunch??

Optimistic - maybe she meant she wants to be at the airport for 3 but flight isn't until 5/6?

Pessimistic - she's very stupid!

Never heard of these long booking in appointments mine were 20 mins and that's with a history of issues, if I'd known this I'd have asked for the afternoon off ;)

I don't necessarily think she's lying even though it sounds too much of a coincidence. I feel for you, hard to call when she originally booked it as two were already off! Is there anything that could be done with those already off, maybe a day off in lieu of only taking a half day that day? Not really fair on them though but they might be glad of chance to boost their holidays

Pity she didn't request the time off for an antenatal appointment before saying it was for airport!

I reckon she's pregnant and isn't going on holiday until Saturday. She lied about the flight so she wouldn't risk people finding out she was pregnant so early on.

You need to be really careful accusing her of anything. She's told you she's pregnant so she's protected in law.

Because op doesn't know when her appointment is ... or did I miss that?

Colleague said she needed full day as hospital appointment.

So, I reckon hospital appointment in morning, flight in afternoon.

Colleague can ultimately prove appt if she needs to. She probably won't though as she is actually pregnant.

I would guess though, she deliberately chose this date for booking appt.

This makes no sense. If flight is at 3pm she needs to leave at 12 at the absolute latest because of security checks etc.

So you saying no to the half day means that she cannot fly at all. Nothing to do with catching up with her family - which is not your business and you do not know if it is true anyway.

In which case you are a completely unreasonable manager because you know this full well. Keep your personal feelings out of it. Posting on MN to get vindicated ffs! Shame on you.

I think the OP is getting a hard time here!

If you book a holiday off worj, you know what dates you need to book between. CF colleague seems to have decided to add an extra half day into her holiday and choose a holiday that necessitates her leaving early. Unfortunately for her, 2 other staff have already arranged to have that time iff, so OP had to say no ( imagine you are a member of staff working that day, already 2 members of staff down, being told another wants the afternoon iff. This affects more people than just the OP! )

It's all well and good wanting to be nice and accommodating this woman to have her lovely all inclusive holiday. Except now you have totally pissed off your other staff who are already short handed! People are not looking at the bigger (management) position here!

She may be pregnant. But that seems very convenient to me. However, obviously she gets the last laugh as her " booking appointment " ( who books a booking appointment for the day they go on holiday?!) Can't be challenged. So you have to let it go, OP.

But. You now have a take on this colleague. I (as an employer) would be watching her. My "good employees" get a lot of leeway. Those who take lots of dubious sick days at the expense of the good employees , not so much. I might not discipline, but I remember

This CF should enjoy her holiday. And her pregnancy(?). Her employers might not be so inclined to bend over backwards to accommodate all her requirements in future, especially if there are other, more committed employees to consider.

All of this is moot surely if you have to let her have the time off for the supposed MW appointment

In which case you are a completely unreasonable manager because you know this full well.

Or the employee is a moron who booked holiday time without factoring in that she'd need time to actually get to her holiday. With two employees already off and the OP saying she wasn't allowed to give her the time, what would you expect her to do?

Anyway, it seems this woman is happy to invent a pregnancy to find a way around it so all's well that ends well...

Of course she may be genuinely pregnant, but the timing is extremely convenient given the circumstances.

I don't know, I think stickytoffeevodka might be on to something. I've never heard of anyone booking leave for a holiday but not including their flight in it.

Booking appointments take approximately 1 hr if it's straight forward but can take much longer

Maybe she is pregnant but doesn't want other colleagues to know, hence telling them she's going to the airport?

As a side point an all inclusive holiday in early pregnancy is my idea of hell. Why pay a premium for booze you can't drink and a likelihood that even boozeless you may end up with your head down the loo for vast proportions of the time.

Who books a hospital appointment the day they're going on holiday?
Anyway, none of this makes sense. If her flight is at three, and she really has this appointment, then it must be quite early in the day, which means she has time to come back to work afterwards.

She's not pregnant, it's too convenient, because of the two colleagues who have already booked the day off the colleague is making it up in an effort to force the OP to give her the day off rather than taking no for an answer.

I would assume she didn't want to tell work she was pregnant and used the airport as an excuse but now she has to tell you because you've declined her request for a half day.