AIBU about annual leave and sickness?

[Hollybobsies]

I genuinely can't tell if IABU so would really appreciate an objective opinion.

Work in a small team. My line manager is going on holiday for 3 weeks next week then in early April she has surgery and will be off work for 6 weeks while she recovers.

I want to go away in the end of March for one week with my DP who has that week off, and I put in an annual leave request 2 weeks ago. She won't accept it until she gets a letter confirming her surgery date even though it was confirmed by phone. She says this is to ensure there is sufficient resources in place in case the date is moved. I wasn't allowed time off in February because we have projects scheduled and she has this holiday booked in.

If it's a no then I effectively won't have any time off until May, possibly June because she'll no doubt want to catch up and do proper handovers.

I don't know what to do. I don't want to book prematurely because what will I do if she says no?

I'm reticent to escalate this to her line manager because:

1. I'm conscious that it could look like I'm being selfish about time off around the time that she's having an operation.
2. He doesn't like being bothered with "petty bullshit", and
3. He doesn't like ME.

But at the same time I can't be expected to put my life on hold for 5 months and pay more by booking flights and accommodation at the last minute, can I? DP says he won't go away without me and will just stay home but I know he was looking forward to it and that would be a waste of HIS annual leave as well.

And I'm very sorry about the stupid username, I didn't want this linked to my usual profile and I struggle to think of things on the spot.

Have you talked to her about a contingency plan, should you be on holiday and her surgery date is moved?

Whenever her surgery takes place, there's always a possibility that someone else might be off - suppose you fell ill at the same time - so a contingency plan would be a good thing to have in place.

YA absolutely NBU - one of my pet hates is when managers can't manage annual leave requests effectively.

Screaming

When I asked for confirmation I said something like well what if I'm not here or the surgery is moved or cancelled closer to the date? And she asked if I was planning to pull a sickie! I was so shocked I just about managed to splutter no of course not and the conversation kind of died there.

Aargh. I wonder if your best approach might be to ask her for a formal meeting to discuss the issue, making it clear that this isn't about pulling a sickie, but about putting something in place to give her peace of mind while enabling you to book a holiday with reasonable notice. Perhaps you could come up with some 'worst case scenario' suggestions about alternative resources, and what you can do to make sure everything is in a good state to handover before your holiday.

Is her line manager the only channel of escalation if you can't reach an agreement? Do you have HR or a union you could go to? In your position I think I would say that I'm very reluctant to escalate the issue, but I am prepared to do so if you can't agree something between you.

It's a small team so she is trying to plan to avoid too many people being off. She is sensibly saying, just hang on til my date is confirmed. Not great for you, but best for the wider team. E.g. she agrees you can be off, then her OP is scheduled to same time you're off... then a team member goes sick.

I actually feel for your manager, she's not doing it on purpose to hurt you.

Perhaps ask to have a chat about when she will feel confident to confirm you can have the time off and suggest that ops are usually delayed and rarely brought forward.

Good luck - I don't think it's personal

YANBU, she is.

If you want the last week in March, and her surgery is expected to be the first week in April, your absences won't overlap. She should be able to manage handover briefings by email or written notes.

It may be just how things are managed at my local trust, but planned surgery dates are not really confirmed until the day before, because of issues with bed availability not being known in advance. Even then, operations that are non-urgent are frequently cancelled on the morning of admission. An admission planned for "early April" could easily not happen this side of June.

If she's stalling now, before she's even got a date, how long does she plan on keeping you waiting for a decision?

Having said that, is there any possibility that your DP could have a week earlier in March, after she's back from her 3 weeks off? That might make things easier. Mind you, March is a nightmare where I work, because of everyone trying to book leave before the end of the leave year.

LakieLady

If she's stalling now, before she's even got a date, how long does she plan on keeping you waiting for a decision?

Well exactly! I think I've been very patient these 2 weeks. All the while checking prices and seeing the numbers go up.

is there any possibility that your DP could have a week earlier in March, after she's back from her 3 weeks off?

No, it's already confirmed and has been for months.

Yanbu. If her hospital date is after you plan to have leave, it is more likely to be moved back than forward so not likely to clash.
She should allow you to book the week off, and can between you, you can up with a contingency plan incase there is ever a time when you are both off.

She has been in meetings all day. Argh. I'm running out of time, tomorrow is her last day in the office.

A friend suggested I email her but that's easy to ignore.

I think it is unlikely that her surgery will be brought forward so she is being a tad unreasonable and selfish. You're a small team and she needs to rely on you while she is away due to surgery. What is the company's policy on leave?

bellabasset

Policy is give at least 2 weeks notice but manager can say no if there is a legitimate business reason.

So I think policy is on my side, but I'm painted as the bad guy here. Gah.

YANBU at all.

You could email her and say, if you don't hear back by close of business tomorrow, you will assume your holiday has been authorised.