Ladies...help me resign gracefully

[Indu29]

Hi all,
I have on sick leave at the moment but I have a job offer lined up which I would like to go for.
Now the crux is that I am due for a discretionary bonus payment from my current workplace 1week before my sick leave terminates. I have requested 2 weeks annual leave after my sick leave(I requested this leave 3 months ago and it still has not been approved).
If I resign straight after my bonus payment, it would mean that I would have to work for 3 weeks (I have a 1 month notice period to do).
I am not sure how to proceed because ideally, I would not like to work at my current workplace at all, I was planning to use 2 weeks AL and call 1 week sick and just leave.
Please ladies, help me come up with a plan to resign gracefully. I'm still a bit miffed about how I have given my line manager 3 months notice and he still has not approved!

Wait for the bonus payment - hand in notice and ask for the notice period to be negotiable - if you have been off sick for a little while and would end up spending most of your notice period just catching up, that might be mutually beneficial?

Or, wait for bonus payment, hand in notice, and extend sick leave to cover that time period meaning you don't have to go back at all?

Get your sick leave extended... or def certify for 5 days.

Self certify

I don't think there is a graceful outcome here, sorry.

If the bonus payment is discretionary, how do you know you will be getting it?

You can’t self certify at the end of sickness. 🤦🏻‍♀️

And also some require repayment depends on the nature of the bonus.

After your bonus put your notice in and work it . That is the professional way. They may want you to take holiday to cover some of that, they may not. Playing at being sick is terrible behaviour and may well come back to bite you

I cant self certify, my gp knows that for my condition,I only need 6 weeks recovery period and there were no complications.
Is there any way I can insist on my manager approving my leave? I gave him 3 months notice ffs surely that should be enough notice?
Plus isnt it my right to use my statutory annual leave I accured?
Before I went on sick leave, he rejected 3 of my last annual leave requests due to business needs but he let my other colleague go on annual leave on the same week (she requested 2 different days of the same week and I requested another 2 different days of the week)

I have been at my workplace for 5 years, I will be getting it 100% as long as I am still employed and not serving my notice

They can decide when they can allow you to take leave. You don’t have a statutory right to take it when you like. Some companies restrict leave being taken immediately after sick leave.

Surely the most beneficial way for you is to resign the day after your bonus and stay off sick (if your GP will sign a fit note) during notice. They would have to pay any untaken leave.

Honestly, it's so annoying that he cant even approve 2 weeks leave which I have requested several months in advance. Surely there is something I can say since he has rejected 3 of my annual leave requests consecutively?

Usually you do need to take outstanding annual leave that you have accrued before you leave so that might be part of the conversation when you let them know you're leaving.

Once you have handed in your notice your employer will probably want you to take any accrued leave during your notice period as otherwise they have to pay you out for it as well as paying you through your notice period.

Well, yes, of course you could ask him. What would be unreasonable about that?

I sincerely hope so. I know from an employer perspective, it is cost effective to ask the employee to use their annual leave when resigining.
My concern is if my manager chooses to be an asshole and insist that I work due to "business needs" despite the fact that he knew i wanted and requested this leave 3 months ago

You can escalate to HR for the leave rejection. Ultimately you can just go to work do the hours and work to rule?

Is it possible they’ve not approved your leave because you might still be on sick leave then?

Presumably there is a job that needs doing. You’ve been off for 6 weeks, which is likely to have put pressure on your colleagues to cover your workload. He’s perfectly entitled to want you to work your notice.

In the 3mths since you requested the leave- have you asked your manager again about it? Couldn't you email them and remind them it hasn't been approved? If you are leaving anyways, what have you got to lose?

I'd also check that the bonus can't be removed if you resign with X amount of months. Are you wanting a reference from this company? Personally, your scheme of getting the bonus then resigning is frankly cheeky and unprofessional IMO. My industry is fairly small and I often see ex-colleagues and managers at conferences.

If I pulled something like you want to do, I'm sure I'd have been the talk of the business and potentially find it harder to find work elsewhere in the future.

Morally, I think your plan feels a little off. If you’re determined to find a way to pull it off, I’d suggest that you ensure that it’s worth it.

Out of interest, how much is the bonus? That would be one of the main factors; also whether you need to rely on a reference, and if the new role is in the same industry. Certain jobs have a very small world and word can spread rapidly.

I am not sure to be honest.
When I asked my line manager why he did not approve my leave at the time when I booked it 3 months ago, he said it's because its dependent on business needs.
I am quite certain that if I am the first one to book leave for that time period- he shouldn't really reject it or approve of someone else's annual leave which clashes at the same time frame (unless if the booked this leave before me)

It's worth half of my monthly salary so it's a significant amount

My role and industry is not niche.
My new role is something completely different, and if I want references I will liaise with HR not with my line manager.
I already reminded him I booked this leave before I went on leave verbally and in writing. I'm not going to nag him anymore
I have already checked my contract, there is no clawback clause regarding the bonus.
I'm way past feeling immoral and cheeky, my manager has made me feel incompetent and put me through hell. Literally. I have completely changed since working with him and I'm taking a paycut for the new role because I cant stand it any longer, its unbearable

Sod graceful, do what's best for you and your bank account! 😎