Boss taking all annual leave over school holidays

[Sickofthissheeet]

Between me and my boss one of us has to be in to provide cover. We both have school aged children but mine are reception and pre school and hers are secondary.

she has emailed me to say that management have approved for her to take her holiday across august and Xmas and Easter and I can’t take those times off as need to cover. Explained that we would need to compromise as also need time off then and she’s said if I don’t cover it mean she won’t get to spend time with her children or see her extended family(?!)

AIBU to think this is really unfair? We both want the same times off but surely we have to divvy them up? She can’t just take them all?

I’d be contacting HR & asking them why there is a disproportionate spread of time off being allowed when you both have kids!
I would also be looking for another job because your boss sounds like an absolute ass who needs to have no one to mistreat & all of the work to cover!!!!

My answer to that would be fine, I don’t agree & you can’t go on holiday!

Extremely selfish. Is she generally a dick? I'd be having a word with senior management.

... I'd really hate to work with some of the people on this thread.... First come, first served, being "organised" and booking all leaving in January. It's a very selfish mentality and entirely favours people who have their year planned out ahead (guess what, not everyone can or wants to do that!). I'm so glad my workplace recognises that we are a team, and adult discussion and fairness is how we manage leave. OP I really feel for you working with a self centered boss.

Thank you, you just reminded me I need to get mine booked for next year ! My colleagues are a nightmare as they don't log down all their holiday appears half days are not deducted on annual leave sheets so get forgotten but they had them off. They had bank Holidays off over Christmas new year but never deducted them. They work pt so bank Holidays are calculated pro rata in holiday calculations.

I would suggest your boss is managing your expectations around holidays as this seems to be the first year that you will have school age children. Maybe she has always taken the last two weeks in August and you have just not realised. If you want the last two weeks so badly I suggest you wait until the next holiday year us released and book it straight away before they do.

By the way the bit in between Christmas gets boring and is a good time to work as there is no one around and you don't get any hassle. I much prefer the week before Christmas when you can do all the amazing Christmas markets and activities.

Well I think it's even less fair when everyone has to put in leave requests and a biased boss decides who is more deserving.

First come first served is objective.

If you don't want to plan in advance you take leave when you can.

By the way the bit in between Christmas gets boring and is a good time to work as there is no one around and you don't get any hassle. I much prefer the week before Christmas when you can do all the amazing Christmas markets and activities

I agree, although sometimes school holidays don't start early enough to take advantage.

And nurseries/childminders are usually closed between Christmas and New Year which makes it more difficult to work then if you don't have alternative childcare.

Christmas should be alternate years, as should Easter. I would have that established in writing, or I would be applying for next Christmas now.

I'm so glad I don't work where people on this thread work. Annual leave should not and doesn't need to be this stressful.

No one covers for me when I'm on leave, the only person I need to make sure isn't off the same time is my boss. As his PA he puts me on his out of office. Christmas is completely different as most people.

All this 1st come, book a year in advance, I want this time off, Christmas has to he alternated is just far too much like hard work.

I don’t think you can complain about the august period. She got in there quick and therefore she had it approved. Easter I’m sort of in the same position- she wanted 2 weeks and booked it. I would pick your battles and raise Christmas as an issue. We can generally book any of our leave and it’s first come first serve but there is a different process for Christmas as obviously everyone wants the same time off. It isn’t fair for her to just nab that and expect you to work it every year.

Also for those of you who don’t like first come first served, when do you book your holidays. I booked my June 24 holiday in 2022 and booked my leave then given I’d just spent a fortune. Similarly I’ve just paid for something in December 24 and have already asked for the leave. Why would you risk spending money if you don’t have the leave? A lot of popular things are getting booked really far in advance at the moment.

Indeed. Also I had to take a week or two in the summer when my childminder was taking her holiday so I had to book early to make sure I got it. Fortunately she used to give us plenty of notice - often at the beginning of the academic year, so we had almost a calendar year's notice.

My view is that when you have kids you need to be organised and plan ahead. Same goes if you are getting married or attending an important wedding or other occasion, you book ahead.

Except for Christmas when there should be some give and take.

I don't know if you can change this Xmas now but I would be requesting Xmas 2024, august bank holiday week 2024 and Easter 2025 off now

I would raise it with Management.

I do approve on a first come first served basis, but per year. I would never agree (in the one to one cover scenario) for someone to have the same weeks off every year. It would be completely unfair. And when both then submitted their requests on the same day the next year (because it'll happen!) if they were for the same dates, I'd rotate to the person who hadn't had those weeks last year understanding the game that was happening. It has to be fair.

You can't please everyone though. I'm a planner and an ex colleague once complained that I'd book my leave in early when she liked to book last minute so the process was changed. The following year we couldn't book more than, IIRC, 6 weeks in advance. I barely took any leave as it didn't work for me. I ended up carrying over a chunk of days and taking most of March off.

@Sickofthissheeet I'm not sure if you've mentioned this but how senior are you and your boss? I approve leave on behalf of a director and I don't even look at when has been requested, other than to note it in diaries.

Surely if this is the way it is you two should have a conversation about who’s going to take which weeks etc. Her version of compromise is not her compromising at all.

Thanks for all your replies. It’s part of a bigger problem and I defs need to find a new job…!

So absolutely nothing like your opening post then. She has taken two out of six summer holidays, one of the weeks at Christmas and so the only holiday she has essentially monopolised is Easter. I think you need to be quicker in the future, but I don't think she is especially in the wrong here.

I think I would request two of the weeks in summer that she hasn’t booked. Book end of May half term and if you must request some odd days over Christmas and possibly Easter and see what happens.

Then going forward make sure you either get in first with your annual leave, insist that school holidays and Christmas is shared out equally (and you have first dibs next year) or you find another job.

I once worked with someone who always wanted to visit her family who lived four hours away just before and at the start of Christmas. So I always let her book this time off as mine lived locally and booked whatever odd days were left but my main annual leave want was the last two weeks in August as it was cheaper to fly abroad from Scotland then. She always said this was fine and then a fortnight before knowing I had booked and paid for 4 of us to go abroad she always decided she must take the last week in August the one with the bank holiday in. She never went away then but her and her husband always take this week off as they get extra time off for minimal leave (she has done this for about the last 11 years but I was seen as the grabby one for getting organised for summer). Even though we had to pay for childcare for two children every school holiday and all my colleagues had free childcare from family.

Yeah, it's pretty shit on her part to be honest, saying that she will have these times off every year and you have to like it or lump it.

I mean does she recognise that you also can't go on holiday during those times if she takes the time off?

What a ridiculous sob story - it works both ways!

just to update - I have resigned! And my new job has promised more flexibility on the holiday front so that’s great. Life too short to put up with other peoples shit!

@Sickofthissheeet well done - hope you said that the main reason is due to the in flexible holidays

Good for you

Well done OP! I'm curious though, did you try to resolve it with your boss before you found another job?