Micromanagement Dilemma: Was I Wrong to Defend HR's Decision on Employee Leave?

Hi All, I am working in an IT company managing a team of 20 members. I have one query and hope to get valid answers.

Micromanagement and Leave Approval Issue

Being a small company, it is micromanaged by its CEO. All decisions are solely taken by him. On one occasion, an employee had to go on leave for a day, and the CEO was not available to approve his leave. Therefore, the HR of the company consulted with the concerned member about the work status of that employee to decide if the leave could be approved. The other employee, with whom he was working, said no work was pending against him, and we could approve his leave. The HR approved his leave for a day, and the employee left for the day. When the CEO came to know that the leave was approved without his consent, he became furious and asked me to take disciplinary action against the HR for approving the leave without his permission. However, as I was not convinced, I refused to take action against the HR.

Please send me your feedback on whether I am right or wrong.

Thanking you,

Sheerin

When the organization is maintained solely by the CEO (Proprietary), the HR could have contacted the CEO before granting the leave. If not, he/she could have explained the situation to the CEO later. If neither is done, there is nothing wrong in taking action against HR. In this case, the HR will be asked to provide a written explanation.

Now, the HR will explain the reason in his explanation letter. Please go ahead and proceed.

Regards,
Ajay
[Email Removed For Privacy Reasons]

Thank you for your feedback. The issue at hand is that the CEO is based in the UK and micromanages the remotely located company in India. Although different departments are established to run the company, no one is authorized to make decisions independently. This lack of autonomy hampers the working process. Additionally, due to the CEO's busy schedule, there are times when he is unavailable. The HR team has discussed the problem with the CEO, but he is unwilling to acknowledge their concerns. The CEO's main argument is how the HR can approve leave without his permission, despite understanding the urgency of the situation.

Thanks