Boss Cancels Employee’s Leave after Co-worker Quits

Outsourcing/virtual assistant expert Michael Sanz (@theoutsourcingexpert), who regularly posts TikTok tips for business owners/managers on how to get the most out of hiring temporary employees and virtual assistants, uploaded a conversation between a boss who tried canceling an employee’s leave after a worker unexpectedly quit the company.

Judging by the conversation between the employee (Noel) and his boss (Nick), it seems that the company was in a bind after a fellow co-worker, Jenny, quit, meaning that “all hands on deck” mode was initiated.

This meant that Noel was expected to cancel a family vacation/destination wedding that Noel’s brother was planning — and this was after Noel hadn’t had a vacation for 3 years.

Michael praised the way Noel handled the situation, stating that it was a good example of how a worker stood up for themselves when dealing with a boss who has unrealistic expectations.

“You’re not going to believe this message I’ve just been sent. Here it is: hi Noel, Jenny has resigned so we need to cancel your leave next week — all hands on deck while we try to replace her. We can push back a few months. I’ve advised HR it’s now changed for you.”

The message continued with a sign off that certainly was a case of, I’m not asking, but telling, as it read: “Appreciate your understanding.”

Michael wasn’t really all that enthused about the liberty this Nick individual took with taking away his leave: “This guy sounds like a tool, he’s automatically cancelling leave without any conversation.”

So the TikToker decided to respond to this co-worker with a message of his own, writing: “Hi Nick, Sorry to hear. I totally appreciate How frustrating this would be to management. But what do you mean you already told HR my leave has changed?”

He continued, explaining that he’s not able to change his leave plans due to prior engagements: “Unfortunately I can’t cancel my leave as it’s my brother’s wedding in Bali, all flights are paid for and my kids are in the wedding party. I did book this 7 months ago, so canceling isn’t an option.”

He went on to even offer more help before leaving but that he would be attending his brother’s wedding in Bali with his children, “I can help out more until I leave if that helps, but I can’t change my leave dates,” he penned before signing off on the message.

Michael says that 7 months’ notice ahead of time is more than enough of a heads up and that no one should be expected to not take that time off. As it turned out, however, Nick wasn’t too enthusiastic about the idea of him leaving the country for the 3-week leave time he put in for and proposed a counter solution instead.

“Hi Noel, I’m going to have to ask that you reduce your leave then to fly in fly out and take 3 days over the weekend then instead of the 3 weeks. Not sure what you can do for 3 weeks in Bali haha.”

Flabbergasted by Nick’s response to Noel, Michael then posted the employee’s response: “Hi Nick, I feel terrible that the company is in this position, but I can’t cancel or amend. It’s a family trip, we haven’t been together years and I haven’t had annual leave in 3 years. It’s also no one’s business how I spend my leave.”

Noel continued to offer up prospective solutions to the issue: “Can’t you get a temp or 2? Who did you have to look at my portfolio while I was away? Hope it wasn’t Jenny. Either way, you have me until I leave, so I can help out till then.”

Michael seemed to approve of Noel’s response, stating that he isn’t argumentative and is generally polite while remaining steadfast in his decision to keep his leave. But the response from the boss is where the proverbial gloves came off and his boss just told him that the leave was canceled.

“Mate, can’t stress enough, your leave is cancelled, we just can’t do it. I’m sorry,” a reply that Michael calls “appalling” for its lack of “care factor” towards Noel.

The employee’s response had him going on the offensive: “Hi Nick, I actually don’t want to come back to work now. I’m quite shocked by this email. I’m going to take my leave earlier and will start from today. While away I will think about if working with a company that doesn’t promote boundaries is a place I really want to work at.”

He capped off his message by stating, “I’m also sending this as an email to Aaron and HR as it’s totally unreasonable.”

Michael writes that the thought Noel’s response to the boss was perfectly justified and applauded him for not caving into the pressure of canceling his family vacation/holiday just to placate his boss.

Michael goes on to say that longtime employees shouldn’t have to bear the burden of operating at peak performance and carrying the load of the business at all times whenever there’s an inconvenience or something threatens normal operating practices.

What did you think of Noel’s response? Have you ever been in a position where a boss expected you to cancel a leave/vacation day simply because they had to deal with a problem they weren’t adequately prepared for?