Day off - Can he do this?

[CatSittingMonkey]

Bit of background, my line manager is a micro manager, likes to be very controlling and is unreasonably inflexible towards the entire team. Unless it suits him and his wants.

I have an imminent house move approaching, it's a big chain and we have all been working to exchange within the next week to complete the following week.

All was going well til the bottom of the chain dropped the ball and it's looking like completion will happen in the first two weeks of August instead.

I have kept my line manager informed along the way but on Friday I mentioned the new completion date target and he's blown his top telling me it's not possible for me to have a day off as he is away for those two weeks and I'll just have to wait.

Due to other team members holidays and holidays of people within the chain, if I can't get a day off to move in those two weeks we will not be able to proceed til mid September (!!!!) by which time it is possible the chain could collapse.

The housing market is dropping each day where I am and I am terrified of losing my new house all because my line manager can't think rationally about me having one day off when he isn't there.

I should add that he has no issues with taking a day or two off when I, or other team members, are on holiday.

We are the same grade except he has the team management responsibilities.

Can he deny me a day off to move? I am getting anxiety and sleeping badly with worry that he will be able to stop my house move from happening imminently.

Sorry for the long post.

You have had some Duff advice by people who don't have to work with your manager afterwards, as you do
Don't call in sick, that's never going to to down well
Don't tell him you are having the day off anyway
And absolutely do not go above his head and get permission from his manager
You are going to have to speak to him and try and get him to see how it can be done without causing any harm to the business
Is there anyway you can exchange on a Friday and pay for your belongings to go into overnight storage and you spend the night in a hotel you can then move in on the Saturday
Or is there a friend or a neighbour who can stand in for you?

Is he only off on that one day, or is he off for the whole week?

If he's off for the whole week, then I would make a point of saying to him now that you're doing everything you can to get the moving day (and genuinely try to). When it get closer, i.e. when the boss has gone on leave, it might become clear that your attempt to move the day hasn't worked, you can legitimately go to whoever you'd normally go to if boss is on leave, explain that you'd agree with boss that you'd try to move it but you've not been successful, and explain how the business will be fine without you for the day. Replacement boss will then make a decision, which will hopefully be to ok the leave as long as you're right that the business really will be ok without you.

Thanks all!

I definitely won't be pulling a sicky, haven't had a sick day in years and it would be so obvious and would definitely impact my career.

Technically I am the boss when he's not around, so the only option would be to go above him in his absence.

I'll broach it again on Tuesday.

I've started considering some of the alternative suggestions such as putting things in to storage for a day or so.

Having moved several times previously I guess I am recalling how stressful it all was and I'd pinned everything on it going smoothly this time with plenty of time to organise and get settled in.

Time to just suck it up if he can't be convinced.

Can you ask your estate agents for help? They might have a junior that could be assigned to your move for the day? It's I their interests for it all to work out.

It sums be good experience for a junior and they can phone you constantly at work.

Too many typos. Sorry.

If you are the boss when he's not around who is going to be the boss if you are both not there?

Just playing Devil's advocate but I'm a manager and have requests for leave that I sometimes have to turn down. Sometimes people don't understand the reasons behind the refusal, they just think I'm being a wanker. I have though on occasions just said yes for a quiet life but it's done me absolutely no favours. You do it for one.....etc.

I was also not allowed the day off when we completed on our house. Luckily my parents could get the key from the estate agent. Then we moved everything in a van after work and then waited until the weekend to unpack.

It was quite stressful and tiring but do-able. Can you do something like that?

What area of the country do you live in??

Don't put the moving date back, there's too much at risk.

'Just' figure out a way to make the move happen regardless. If you need to, call in sick.

Put your stuff in storage at the weekend. Get keys at lunchtime get stuff out of storage on following weekend.

It sounds like a pain in the arse but you might actually find it easier to do it over 2 days as you won't be as tired when arranging furniture in new place.