Asking colleagues not to contact me on AL

[Sooverwork]

I’ve name changed for this post. I’m a manager in which I am almost on call 24/7 with no compensation . After 4.5 years I’m exhausted as have no respite. I am going on annual leave for less than 2 weeks . I do all the usual things - delegate work to the alleged 2 “ second in charge “, have an out of office reply on etc . However even with a “ Do Not Disturb” on my phone I still have the second in charge (s) texting me . This happens all the time even if I have a scheduled day off for doctors / elderly parent appt. I can’t go on like this anymore . How do I inform them NOT to contact me on my leave and not sound like a bitch . Please note that I never do this to either of them or any other member of my staff . With these two it’s a bit of a combination of laziness , not wanting to be responsible but for reasons I don’t want to go into I can’t sack or denote either of them . I just need to make it clear that I do not want to be contacted . Sorry for rant !

1. Have a meeting with them both. Clarify you will be uncontactable during your leave. Direct them to guidance and information they already have.
2. Follow this immediately with an email. This should state they will be your contact during your leave. Keep it short.
3. Put THEM on your out of office along with anyone else appropriate.
4. Do not respond, ideally do not check your phone. (Most important -ignore, ignore, ignore)

You do not need to explain why.

1. Speak to your manage about your work life balance. Set out when you will/will not be contactable. You cannot be expected to be available 24/7/365.

Have handover and hand back meetings as standard. This can be 5 mins. Put them in charge of desk instructions and guides.

Before you go send them a separate email with “just to remind you I will be on annual leave from Wednesday. If you have any questions please do ask them today or tomorrow as I won’t be responding to messages whilst on annual leave”

Call them into your office individually, give them the talk about you being on annual leave next week, you are going to spend time with your dying father and you are not to be contacted under any circumstances. Remind them where the policies and procedures are and ask them if they have any questions about where to find or access them. Make them sign a piece of paper that says they understand and will not contact you and will follow XYZ procedures which they acknowledge receipt of. Scan and send in an email to them both CC Ops manager, and attach file paths or documents to the procedures aforementioned. Make it clear in writing that if they contact you you will pursue disciplinary procedures when you return, and follow through.

If they STILL contact you give them a very bland reply NOT answering their question but referring them back to the policies and procedures and your instructions not to contact you. Their goal is laziness and respnsibility shirking. Make it impossible for them to achieve their goals by contacting you.

My DH got a £5 p/m SIM contract and gave the number to family and close friends only. Now when he's on leave he turns off his other SIM with the number his colleagues have so they are physically unable to get in touch with him.

I have a work provided phone and only one very trusted (and more senior) colleague has the number. I don't take my work phone on holiday, and it'd have to be quite the issue if the other colleague thought it necessary to get in touch and couldn't solve it on his own.

I’m afraid that I agree you’re the issue here. You’re clearly reinforcing their behaviour somehow or they wouldn’t keep doing it.

Tell them before you go ‘under no circumstances are you to call me when I’m on leave’. Then go on holiday.

If they call, don’t answer, if you do by mistake don’t give them the answer they seek. Tell them to work it out themselves and you will discuss the issue of them ignoring your direct instructions when you return.

Tell them that as you will not be contactable anything they can't manage they need to escalate to your manager.

I wonder if suddenly they will manage.

Block them

There are three steps to dealing with this:

1 Do not answer
2 Do not answer
3 Do not answer

I am repeating this as you need to take this on board and so far, you seem to be wavering. Everyone has the right to take a holiday, even if it's just mooching around the garden. If you owned the company or were the MD/CEO, it might be a different scenario but you don't - you are an employee and as such, can expect to take a holiday uninterrupted.

You have given your staff instructions on how to deal with work in your absence. Unless it's a complete catastrophe and aliens have invaded the building, you do not need to reply. What you do need to do, when you return, is express your disappointment that they continued to encroach on your holiday time - they certainly wouldn't like it if they were on holiday and you kept on sending them instructions (in fact, that would become an HR matter).

Be firm!

Block them while you are on leave, unblock when you return to work.

Get a new phone number; leave that sim card at home.

Exactly this

I think your boss needs to step up a bit here. You should agree with boss and then tell them that if X, Y or z happens they should escalate to boss but anything lesser they are EMPOWERED to make the decisions they believe best, using their skill and judgment. If that isn’t realistic because they will make poor decisions with outsized impacts then your boss needs to get more hands on during absences. One or the other.

I know you don’t want to get into this but really they clearly both need managing out. Not one for now but a blunt discussion to have with your boss on your return from holiday. I’m assuming from the reluctance you’re something like local government with a risk averse HR approach.

I think as the manager it’s really important to create a culture in your department of not contacting anyone on their day off/AL/sickness.

Lead from the front and show them how this is done. It’s unacceptable to be texting anyone outside of work hours - unless for social stuff or general chit chat. (Like a group chat)

Agree with this, and also set an example of not working when you are supposed to be sick or on AL.

I dont know what OP does, and its not particularly relevant to the query she has, but lots of statutory public services are run like this, there is no funding for them, the public want more and more and more and want to pay less and less for it

I'm well aware of this! I work for such a public body, where 24/7 call out is operationally essential to meet statutory requirements. We just don't rely on a single individual.

I have an ex coworker who used to say "only call me if the office burns down so I know not to come back" 😂

I didn't read the thread so I am sure I am echoing someone else's sentiment.

Block them both while you are away. Tell them you will not be contactable. They're not going to listen to anything you say, so you just have to take away the option.

Time to manage them out of the door so they go voluntarily or HR has your back. Use the appraisal system to set smart goals for them. When they miss the deadlines/milestones, document it so you are gathering evidence to assist them with either acknowledging poor performance and asking for help so you have functioning employees or proving that they are doing their job and HR can punt them without having to do a redundancy exercise. Give them the tools to handle your absence. Tell them you are leaving all phones behind/trekking to outer Mongolia where there is no signal and therefore you will be uncontainable during your annual leave. Emails and text messages will not be read. Your phone will go straight to voicemail with a message who to call in an emergency and that any messages left will not be picked up to whatever your return date is. Take all notifications off your phone. Take the break - you are no use to anyone if you are burnt out. Take it from one who has been there and done that. Virtual hugs

I used to block the main work number and every single person from work. I’m not sure if they WhatsApp you and how you block people on here but it’s very much what you don’t know won’t bother you.

Also it gives them the incentive to sort stuff out themselves.

Be clear and to the point.
"While on AL, I won't be answering any work calls." And don't answer them. No quick chats, nothing. It's the only way.

I have had a similar kind of issue. On my last AL I said that before they contact me to consider if they would if I was overseas in New Zealand for example. If they wouldn’t, follow the same principle. When one said I’ll only contact you if it’s burning down, I told them I’d be of no use, to phone the fire brigade and I’ll catch up when I’m back. Tell them you won’t have access to your laptop or phone and give them procedures/contacts.

I'm off at the moment. Before I went off I was very clear that I'm away and uncontactable. My work phone is off and the end of my out of office says "This email is not being monitored whilst I am on leave and no action will be taken prior to my return".

I've blocked those that have my personal number so I'll be able to see if they've text/called me but they won't know that.

You need to stop replying or they will never learn. And mute/block them whilst on leave. They don’t need to know, you just say you didn’t respond because you were on leave and needed a proper break from work.

Just block the second in charge whilst you are away.

Tell them you’ll be switching your phone off? And do it?
Have a separate pay as you go sim and give that number only to people who need to contact you in an emergency?
Run 2 phones, one for work and one for private life?