A boss has come under fire for trying to cancel an employee’s two-week leave that was booked months in advance.
Paul was looking forward to his holiday abroad and sent a reminder to his boss, but received a response he never saw coming.
British racing expert Ben Askins received the text messages and read the conversation in a video.
‘Hi Tim, just a reminder that I’ll be free for the next two weeks starting Friday. “I just sent you a copy of an email with my delivery notes for Helen, but please let me know if there is anything else you need me to do before the end of the week,” Paul said.
Tim replied: ‘Yes, I wanted to talk to you about this. I really don’t think we can afford for you to take any time off with everything that’s going on. I think we’re going to push your vacation back a couple of weeks if that’s okay with you.
Ben was surprised after reading the texts, especially by the boss’s casual attitude.
“I think the phrase ‘If that’s okay’ is probably the most infuriating part of what is a pretty unpleasant message,” he said.
Immediately furious, Paul asked if his boss was joking or not, but he wasn’t.
Paul was looking forward to his holiday abroad and sent a reminder to his boss, but received a surprising response. British racing expert Ben Askins (right) received the text messages and read the conversation on video.
Feeling furious, Paul wasn’t sure if his boss was joking or not, but he wasn’t. “Not a joke, I’m afraid,” Tim replied.
“Not a joke, I’m afraid,” Tim replied.
We are totally booked and I really can’t afford to be left with one less man when we are so busy. Things should be a little calmer next month and then you can take some time off. You know I hate doing this, but sometimes I have no choice.
Ben said he could think of four options that wouldn’t involve canceling the license.
“The fact that this boss thinks he can do this is crazy,” he said.
Paul was shocked by the request as he had always booked flights and accommodation.
—But I’ve already booked a trip and you’ve known about this vacation for months? What am I supposed to do with flights and stuff? “I can’t just postpone my vacation at the last minute,” he explained.
Paul responded: “I think we need a call about this, this is ridiculous.”
The boss said he didn’t know Paul was traveling abroad, but he still needed him for work.
“I’m not canceling it, I’m just postponing it,” Tim clarified.
But Paul responded and said: ‘You’ve known about my breakup for months, surely you could have had some extra support or something. What about my flights and stuff? I can’t just rebook.
Instead, the boss thought of a compromise and asked Paul to work remotely during his vacation, but told him not to tell his coworkers.
“That’s not a commitment,” Ben said.
Paul responded: “I think we need a call about this, this is ridiculous.”
Ben said he met up with Paul after his holiday, who revealed that he completed some work while abroad, but when he returned he “immediately started looking for a new job and left as soon as he received an offer.”
Since then, Ben’s video has been viewed more than 435,000 times.
“No” is a complete and perfectly acceptable response to any toxic boss asking you to postpone or cancel a vacation, one wrote.
“But if the boss had taken time off, he never in a million years would have considered changing or canceling it,” said another.
‘You need to manage your workload better if you end up in situations like this. “It’s a good way to lose staff,” added a third.
In Australia, employers do not have the legal right to cancel leave that has already been approved, but they can do so with the employee’s consent.
An employer cannot coerce or otherwise force an employee to cancel their leave in the interest of the company, according to Armstrong Legal.
