Can My Boss Deny My 5-Month Earned Leave Even After Booking My Trip? Need Advice!

Hi, I am working for a Ltd Finance Company for the last 15 years. Now, I have applied for earned leave for 5 months for traveling abroad. Though the HR department at the Corporate Office will have no issues in sanctioning the same, the sanctioning authority first has to be my immediate boss. She has refused to do this, citing that 5 months is a long time to be on holiday. For her, leave is not a matter of right, and work will suffer, and the corporate office will provide no temporary staff for replacement.

Now, just because work will suffer at the local office level, can I be denied my hard-earned leave? How do I go about getting the leave sanctioned? I have applied for the leave well in advance, giving the requisite notice period. Only 5 days of the leave notice period are remaining. Kindly advise as I have already booked and paid for the tickets to travel abroad. Please note no change in the travel itinerary can be effected.

Deeply anguished.

Addressing Leave Denial Concerns

You have a genuine problem! Do you have leave rules in your company? If yes, what do the rules say on this issue?

Regardless, your immediate supervisor is legally correct, inasmuch as no leave is a "right" to be used exactly when one wishes to, even at the cost of organizational work exigencies, but is a privilege. It is morally and ethically wrong to take a rather narrow view of the matter. What is your track record regarding earned leave utilization in the past three years? If you have a significant E.L. balance lying unavailed, your record is bound to be good!

If the facts and merits of your case are in place, the work aspect is a mere excuse. Even otherwise, when someone is absent, his/her work is taken on by others. Especially when it is known that the absence is going to be long, most certainly alternate arrangements can and must be made for the work to be taken care of.

In fact, by being difficult and reluctant to grant leave of this duration and putting forward excuses like "work exigencies," your supervisor is only proving a point against the basic principle of organization and professionalism. This principle is, "No one is indispensable!"

In the present case, you should approach the superior once again, diplomatically marshalling arguments why it is justified, based on logic and facts, for her to grant the leave. I suppose you should mark a copy to the HR and the immediate supervisor's superior and seek their intervention. If you do that, be convinced that you would be doing nothing wrong.

If you decide to follow this strategy, I, and in fact, all of us would be interested in knowing the outcome!

Cheer up, be positive!

Regards,
Samvedan

August 1, 2010

I agree with Samvedan's views. In addition to his views, I would like to point out that the mindset of corporates needs to change, especially with people becoming more conscious about work-life balance, giving time to themselves and their family, having some periodic breaks from work for renewing oneself, etc.

Gone are the days when a person would work continuously (most often in one company) from joining until they retire. Today, people want to explore the world, dabble in some other profession or pastime, take longer breaks from work, change jobs to experience a wider spectrum of employment opportunities, etc.

However, corporates still frown upon employees seeking long leave or sabbatical, are suspicious of employees who change jobs frequently, and are skeptical of hiring people who have had a long break in their career, etc.

In your case, your immediate boss, by not recommending your leave, is proving that 'you are, indeed, indispensable'. They cannot manage a temporary substitute or arrangement, which shows incompetence and a lack of sympathy.

I hope better sense prevails and you enjoy your leave and vacation.

Warm regards.

Dear Frieda, I personally feel that before planning your 5-month-long foreign tour and finalizing the to-and-fro bookings, you should have taken your boss into confidence and obtained her consent beforehand. I fully agree with Shri Samvedan and Shri Raj Kumar Ji that no one in the world is indispensable, and the boss should manage the affairs during your absence from duty. However, the boss is the boss. The boss has to manage the important work of a financial institute during the absence of a responsible senior person. So please apologize to your boss and seek her consent.

Experience with Leave Policies

I have worked in the public sector for 41 years, and my studies and experience with government leave rules have taught me that a person seeking leave for such a long duration should always consider their boss's reaction beforehand and obtain the boss's prior consent before finalizing the itinerary. You mentioned that your itinerary cannot be changed now. So the only solution left is to change your boss's mood. Ruthe huye Boss ko mana lo aur videsh mein nischint hokar jao.

Best wishes for happy holidays abroad!

विश्‍वास और विश्‍वासनीयता: विपक्‍षी |

Best regards,

Shyam Agrawal

Dear Friends,

Thank you for the valuable contribution to my thread. As you have rightly said, a boss is a boss, whether to take her into confidence or not is a matter of debate.

In my case, the holiday or leave was not planned in advance. It is only because my husband got an opportunity to work overseas for 3 years that we have decided to accompany him, get him settled, and travel back.

I agree with Mr. Raj Kumar above. Everybody needs time off for family, self-renewal, etc. Keeping this in mind, the reason given in my leave application was: "Work-related Stress, suffering from Diabetes and Hypertension, Need time off from work hence family decision to take a vacation abroad."

As rightly pointed out above, my track record regarding earned leave utilization in the past three years is very good. Further, I have given the requisite notice period, so I don't think I should be sorry for applying for leave and giving the requisite notice.

Furthermore, when you know the mindset of a corporate boss, who thinks only of work and work—not done by herself—but by others who do it for him, work will definitely suffer. In such circumstances, it is truly difficult to convince such a boss who herself does not go on a holiday but takes pride in encashing the earned leave beyond the permitted limit. Yes, I do agree about my seniority in the position, but as Samvedan has pointed out, nobody is indispensable.

As suggested above, I did approach the superior once again, marshaling arguments why it is justified for her to grant the leave, but to no avail. The only way now, I suppose, is to mark a copy to the HR and the immediate supervisor's superior and seek their intervention.

Only 3 more working days left. Hoping better sense prevails and no unpleasantness is caused.

In the meanwhile, could somebody help me in drafting a diplomatic letter to be mailed to my HR dept?

Thank you once again.

Regards,
Freida