Can My Manager Force Me to Share Personal Reasons for Leave? Facing Termination After Unapproved Absence

I was on leave for 5 days. I had informed my manager 15 days prior that I had a personal family issue and needed leave. In response, I received: "Unless the reason is clearly shared with the manager, and if I feel you genuinely need to be on leave during that duration, only then will the leave be approved. As of now, they are unapproved." So my question is, can a manager ask about personal issues forcefully?

I was on leave despite the disapproval. Then I received the response: "This indiscipline is completely unacceptable. It is no longer a performance issue but general office etiquette and discipline. I no longer see you as a fit for my team or within the company. Consider this as your 1-month notice period effective from today." Please help me. What should I do in this case?

Understanding Leave Policies and Management Prerogatives

Leave is not the right of the employee; it is the prerogative of the management. It is the responsibility of the employee to obtain the sanction of leave before proceeding on leave. When you receive the information, you should have informed them about your personal problem and obtained permission. Proceeding on leave without obtaining permission is misconduct.

I believe it would be better for you to meet with the concerned authority, appraise the situation, and try to resolve the issue instead of opting for a confrontation. Even though it is not correct on the management's part to refuse your leave, considering the entire episode, ultimately, the non-compliance will be on your side.

Regards,
Kamesh

Please also provide the name of the organization. I will forward your query to HR and ensure everything is clarified with them. HR will assist you with your request.

Sure, he has the right to take leave as all the acts have leave rules. What did you join? Have you applied for EL or any other leave? Have you sent a written communication in this regard? Do you have any other issues with your boss? When the leave was rejected, then you took leave? You could have fought back and got the sanction.

Now, send a written communication with detailed reasons for the leave taken and apologize to him for availing the leave without approval. Ask him to give you a chance for one time to prove yourself to fit into the job. Give him a written assurance about what you are going to contribute to the growth of the company in the next 2-3 months.

I cannot disclose my company name. It's a software development company. I am including a few lines from an email regarding my leave request.

Leave Request Conversation

Me: "I need 5 days off next month from 10th Oct to 14th Oct."

Manager: "Cannot be approved without a very strong reason."

Me: "Some personal family-related matters."

Me: "According to the leave policy, I am applying 15 days in advance. Therefore, I do not believe it is necessary to provide detailed explanations."

Manager: "Whenever you request leave, you must provide a reason, regardless of when you apply."

Manager: "You can review the leave policy with HR. I prefer not to discuss it here. Unless the reason is clearly communicated to the manager, and if it is genuinely necessary for you to be on leave during that period, only then will leaves be approved. Currently, they are not approved."

If you are taking leave (EL) and you are eligible for that, it means you can go ahead and take the leave. If not, then you can explain your situation, but you don't need to explain your personal problems to the manager. It is nowhere written that personal problems should be briefed to your boss if they pertain to applying for leave.

Also, the granting of leave depends on the employee's regularity to the company. If you often take leave, then managers will be jittery/reluctant to give you time off. They may feel that you are not dedicated to the job and not responsible enough. So, make sure before you go for a confrontation.

Talk to your manager in a smoother way with the presence of an HR person to resolve the issue. No company will terminate you for taking 5 days off unless there are other factors affecting it.

Hi, as stated above, it is correct that leave is not the right of the employee; it is the prerogative of the management. Also, be careful. If you proceed on leave without its sanction on the same date for which you applied for leave, it will be viewed as serious misconduct, and you may be penalized by your organization.

Yes, I have 10 (EL) in my account for this year. The last mail from the manager was:

"This indiscipline is completely not acceptable. It is no longer a performance issue but general office etiquette and discipline. I no longer see you as a fit for my team and a fit within the Company. Consider this as your 1-month notice period effective from today."

What should I reply to this mail?

I strongly feel you should ask for one more chance and apologize. Explain to him whatever your problem is.

As per Ajeet Kumar & Kamesh, first, know how to spell "Prerogative." It's not "Proragative." And as per your views, we are not in a king and slave community, and without the workforce, no company will stand still. According to your perspective, are you suggesting that if the company tells us to take a leave, we should comply? It's essential to overcome ignorance. You mentioned that personal reasons should be communicated to managers; do you follow the same practice? It's the right of the employee to take leave for whatever reason. I do not support frequent absenteeism.

Regards,
Samson

Instead of correcting the grammar, let us focus on the issue. This matter would have been solved if Mr. Chintan and his boss had a one-on-one discussion to resolve the issue. Instead of having open communication, they chose email exchanges, which was unnecessary and led to discussions about the right to take/grant leave.

At this juncture, rather than jeopardizing the situation, it would be better for Mr. Chintan to initiate a one-on-one discussion with his boss to reach an amicable solution.

Regards,
Kumar

Dear Chinthan, please talk to your manager as Kumar suggested and sort out the issue instead of sending emails back and forth. Also, if you wish, share with Citehrians what the outcome is.

Regards,
Uma.K.S

Understanding Managerial Expectations for Leave Requests

Response would vary according to a person's working style. However, it is the responsibility of the employee to state the reason, if not in detail, at least in brief. You have mentioned "personal family issue"; unless you elaborate briefly, for example, family conflicts or legal matters to be resolved, it would likely annoy the manager. Based on your described conversation, your approach seemed a bit rude. Therefore, I believe the fault lies with you.

Dear Chintan, Keeping all the rules & policies aside, this situation could have been handled better if you had taken a different route to this issue. Your manager might have gotten offended because you didn't give him a clear reason for taking leave. You don't have to go over the details, but at least an overview of your situation. It would have made him understand the real need for your request. It's all because of a small gap in communication. Even if you change your company or manager, you may get into the same situation if you follow the same route in the future. So, just walk into his office and explain the situation clearly and resolve this problem. Be Cool and Good Luck!!

Regards, Shrithi

Handling Personal Leave Requests

It is not necessary to divulge the details of personal reasons for taking leave; simply stating "due to personal reasons" is sufficient. It is inappropriate to intrude into an employee's personal life. The manager may exploit the personal situation, so it is advisable to avoid confrontations with the manager. If the manager requires a one-month notice due to the leave, there is no benefit in resisting; it will not serve any purpose.

Regards,
Inder Jit Singh Ubhi

As I am the HR of the company, I want to emphasize that when an employee goes on leave, it can impact the work of others. Therefore, I always inquire about the reason for leave and approve it based on requirements.

In my opinion, leave is a privilege for employees, not a right. Open communication is crucial to resolving such situations. I recommend discussing the issue with your manager. If a resolution is reached, that's great. If not, there should be no fear of losing your job as it seems you have already lost it.

So, go ahead and communicate.

Regards,
HR

Dear All,

From the emails exchanged, it appears there is no cordial relationship between the manager and our friend. It is always expected that an employee should get leave approved at least orally before proceeding on leave. Here, the disapproval was communicated to our friend beforehand. Therefore, he was given an opportunity to reconcile the differences. After all, a manager is vested with the power to approve or not. There was no emergency like sickness or accident, so he clearly erred in his approach and strategy. (He probably didn’t know the magic of how to avail leave without getting it approved beforehand; you should have consulted your experienced friends and colleagues).

Having said that, the only option left for him at this juncture is to meet and file the apology letter and seek pardon if he really wants to continue in the job. Still, the discretion is with the manager (maybe beyond his hands as of now HR came into the picture in issuing the one-month notice; probably he is not wanted there).

Nevertheless, alternatively, if he has a godfather, nothing is lost by giving it a try through him. If the apology doesn’t work, he can try both together. There is no hard and fast rule to accept whatever comes in the way. Remedy will always be there. Maybe it’s a good time for our friend to leave and seek other job opportunities as well. One never knows.

Regards,
Kumar S.