Refused annual leave request

[Singingwiththepain]

I put a request in for the final week of my notice period as annual leave. I complied with all guidance around giving sufficient notice period and ensuring cover etc.

My boss has continuously refused to confirm or reject my request, despite being chased. She's cancelled 3 meetings in which we were meant to discuss it.

Today she told me I can only have 3 days of the 5 as she wants me to babysit my (very experienced) replacement. I fired off an email to her boss with her ccd and explakned I felt this was unreasonable and had been badly handled. He sided with her completely.

I'm well aware a business can refuse a leave request but citizens advice suggest they must provide the same notice period as the length of leave requested. So in this case, they should have given a weeks notice.

Given they're offering my 3 days and I've effectively burned all bridges (she really is toxic) can I still advise them they haven't provided enough notice to refuse?

There is. No HR department to go to.

They do not need to give you double the amount of notice to refuse your annual leave request. You have requested 5 days and they have replied and said that they can't authorise that but can authorise 3 days.

Your option is to either accept it or call in sick. Or you could ask for unpaid leave as you are unable to work. For the sake of goodwill and a decent handover for your replacement it would be better for you to do the days requested.

Also you would need to check your contract to confirm the clauses around annual leave particularly in notice period

If you call in sick you had better not need them to give you a reference or otherwise speak well of them.

Is it those days specifically that you need off? If so can could they pay you holiday at the end of that week? Or is it just that you don't want to go into work any more?

You are correct they have to give you the same length of notice as the period of holiday. So if they are refusing 2 days they need to give 2 days notice. Have they done that?

The employer can refuse a leave request but must give the same amount of notice plus one day. So they have to give you three days notice for the two days that they will not allow you to take. Assuming that you are not already in your final week, they must have done this?

www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights/booking-time-off-

I would work the days rather than leave the organisation on a sour note. I would also completely back the manager in their decision to refuse leave, this is their decision to make.

I would imagine they want to to provide some kind of hand over rather than “babysit” as your replacement will need to be shown how your filling works and ask questions etc. I don’t think that’s unreasonable if they’ve deliberately employed them to work your last week so the new person and you will both be getting paid. Surely, if they didn’t want a hand over they would have the new person starting immediately after you leave. So, their reason is entirely reasonable and you should rather blind to that.