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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Boss tried to cancel my holiday because colleague has to isolate

113 replies

Bluebeth · 17/07/2021 11:48

Name changed because some of my workmates are here.

One of them is in France, and has another week of her holiday to go. She says she won’t come home early and will be returning next weekend. This means she has to isolate for two weeks.

My holiday is booked when she is supposed to be back at work, and my boss said I can’t take it. A call to the union rep has sorted that out, but I am still being bullied over it. Another call to the union will made on Monday.

Anyone else getting this kind of shit?

OP posts:

pinkcircustop · 17/07/2021 13:14

@queenatom Sorry, I got my timings slightly off. The employer only has to give the same notice as your holiday, not twice. So if your holiday is a week they only have to give you a weeks notice if they want to cancel it.

As for reimbursement, if there’s a clear business reason then no, they don’t have to reimburse you. If there wasn’t a reason, the employer could face a claim for constructive dismissal.

PegasusReturns · 17/07/2021 13:18

You go on holiday in the middle of a global pandemic, you do so knowing that this sort of shit can happen and accept whatever needs to happen because of the changes

This! Everyone knows that the rules are subject to change at short notice.

Simbacatisback · 17/07/2021 13:21

@pinkcircustop

Colleague is refusing to come back early and will then have to isolate for 2 weeks.

@CliftonGreenYork Why should she come back early from her holiday?

It has been known that France was risky destination for weeks- you take that risk when you travel.

2 weeks unpaid is not preferable to an early return for some.

DismantledKing · 17/07/2021 13:21

@ForgotAboutThis

Usually work can cancel booked leave if they give reasonable notice, which is often around twice the length of the booked leave, in emergency situations. So, legally they may well be able to do this, depending on your contract and staff handbook.

Did you miss the bit where the OP said that her union had sorted it out? That would imply that the manager did not give adequate warning.

Lalliella · 17/07/2021 13:22

Colleague is BU. She shouldn’t have gone to France, she knew the risks. She should come back now to get back to work as close as possible to the agreed date she’d be back.

SweetPetrichor · 17/07/2021 13:31

It’s pretty standard that leave can be cancelled within reasonable grounds for company requirements. It’s frustrating though. We had it in our team recently cause leave had been agreed prior to a change of contract with the client and now we had to limit the number of people off to 2 max…this meant that on one week there was 3 booked so one needed to give up the holiday. For us, it’s part of meeting business needs.

Dontfuckingsaycheese · 17/07/2021 13:34

I agree. Colleague took the risk when she booked a holiday abroad. Guidance changes daily reacting to current circs. No blaming the Government for changing their minds at the drop of a hat. There is a global pandemic still ripping through the world folk. People are idiots if they're acting as if this is all over!!!! Tbh I welcome their instant implementation of the France quarantining following the mass exodus caused by previous announcements with so much notice given. Colleague should come back early to isolate at home so she can return to work closer to her return date. She knew the risks. Does your company not have new policy on this regarding employees needing to isolate on return?

5zeds · 17/07/2021 13:38

Why should she come back early from her holiday? seriously? Because she’s employed and needs to be in work when she’s scheduled to be in work.

Divebar2021 · 17/07/2021 13:40

The colleague sounds like a complete PITA. I’m sure she’ll receive a warm welcome when she finally shows her face.

ForgotAboutThis · 17/07/2021 13:41

The two things are not related.
Colleague on holiday - that's a personnel issues, they may have to take unpaid leave due to having to isolate. That's their problem.
Workplace is short staffed and OP's leave is cancelled, could have for a multitude of reasons. Only important thing is whether reasonable notice was given, which it seems it wasn't. So leave is now not cancelled. Whether the colleague should come back early is no one's business but theirs.
Workplace will be short staffed, that's the boss's problem.

UKSub · 17/07/2021 13:44

Hey OP, without getting into the ins & outs of whether your colleague is unreasonable or not, can you give some more information about what your boss is saying/doing? Have you spoken to the Union again?

SuperCaliFragalistic · 17/07/2021 13:46

You can't always just come home early from a holiday without being massively out of pocket for rearranging ferries, flights and hotels.

Spidey66 · 17/07/2021 13:47

@Divebar2021

The colleague sounds like a complete PITA. I’m sure she’ll receive a warm welcome when she finally shows her face.

This. Sorry, its shit, but that's the risk you have to take.

Spidey66 · 17/07/2021 13:48

@5zeds

Why should she come back early from her holiday? seriously? Because she’s employed and needs to be in work when she’s scheduled to be in work.

This was what I meant to quote. Sorry @Divebar2021

daisypond · 17/07/2021 13:50

@SuperCaliFragalistic

You can't always just come home early from a holiday without being massively out of pocket for rearranging ferries, flights and hotels.

So? The colleague is due back to work on a certain date. They need to do what they can to get back ready to start work on that date.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 17/07/2021 13:51

can you reschedule your leave? i think most travel companies are allowing this

alishavarth123456 · 17/07/2021 13:53

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

MarianneUnfaithful · 17/07/2021 13:53

[quote Foolsrule]@MarianneUnfaithful - the rules for France changed last night. Loads of people have been caught out. Not easy but she likely can’t fit in the isolation within her holiday period anyway now.[/quote]
Indeed.
I am not offering any opinion on what she should do - but I am seeing people rushing back so that the isolation time beyond the end of the booked time off is as little as poss. Because they don’t want / can’t afford to take unpaid leave, or because they run their own business/ self employed etc.

Me: I am staying here until this ‘Musical Quarantine’ carousel stops.

DadOnIce · 17/07/2021 13:55

It's not the fault of you or your colleague, and to be honest it isn't your manager's fault either. He/she is being faced with a staffing crisis when they didn't expect to have one.

As others have said, you can't always very easily change travel arrangements without incurring unexpected expense.

If I was the colleague, I'd quite like the idea of being conveniently uncontactable on holiday, thanks to holidaying somewhere with an unfortunately terrible wi-fi signal, and returning to the UK and being astonished at this new isolation rule because it's the first they'd heard of it.

AbsolutelyPatsy · 17/07/2021 14:00

@DadOnIce
and hope the weather stays nice while isolating

arent the rules changing imminently?

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/07/2021 14:01

She could come perhaps back to work earlier as you can take a pcr test on day 5 (I think). It’s the colleagues responsibility to be in work. Weak management to try to bully you op. Very inconsiderate colleague. Dh wanted to go to France fo visit family, predominantly his elderly father and she’s there for a holiday spreading it around so people like dh can’t see his father. He hasn’t seen him for 18 months now .

PurpleOkapi · 17/07/2021 14:06

I don't think it's the colleague's "fault," in the sense that I don't think she's doing anything wrong, but it was at least her decision. She chose to go on holiday knowing things were tenuous and could change quickly, and then she chose to stay there knowing she'd have to isolate and miss work. I'd probably have done the same if I were her, honestly. But Colleague's choice not to show up for work doesn't obligate OP to cancel her pre-scheduled time off. The situation exists due to Colleague's choices, not OP's choices, and if the boss is going to be angry with anyone for the consequences, it should be Colleague, not OP.

Watermelon221 · 17/07/2021 14:07

Anyone planning to travel abroad needs to have the conversation with their manager about what will happen if there is suddenly a need to quarantine afterwards and needs to then factor this into whether they can travel or not - eg if they can afford to take unpaid leave or if they will be allowed to work from home or if their manager will even allow this.

Anyone not doing this is massively selfish in my opinion.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/07/2021 14:08

Dh wanted to go to France fo visit family, predominantly his elderly father and she’s there for a holiday spreading it around so people like dh can’t see his father. He hasn’t seen him for 18 months now

Presumably she's had a negative test to go there.

There is nothing to stop your DH from going there, all he needs is a negative test and two vaccinations. It's been like this for weeks now.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 17/07/2021 14:15

I don't think my employer would ask anyone to cancel a booked holiday but why the assumption that all jobs can be done by agency staff? Surely in most jobs that's not an option.

If it happened at my job we'd have to make the best of things as we would if two staff were pinged at the same time and it didn't involve anyone being on holiday

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