Holiday Dime Vs. Sick Days

kylith

I booked some time off at the end of January back at Christmas time. I was told today that the girl who was supposed to be covering me is ill and has given no date for her return to work. My boss has basically shrugged his shoulders and said "We can't have both of you out at the same time, and if you can't find cover [tough]".

My question is; can he do this? Flights and accomodation have been booked and I was really looking forward to this.

I work for my family, if that makes any difference.

Malice

Have you got a contract and if so, what does it say about holidays? Personally I'd tell my boss as tactfully as possible that if I am so important to the company that they can't manage without me then the next performance review should reflect that.

If you are in fact that important to the company then your boss has really left himself in an awkward situation. What happens if you call in sick anyway or if you, God forbid, get hit by a bus?

NinjaTruncs

According to the OP the boss didn't say they were that important, they said both employees can't be off at the same time, a suttle but important difference if you want to play the I'm too important card.

re the OP's question, until the holidays are approved they are not approved and i have always been told not to book anything until they have confirmed the time off. Did your boss give any indication before you booked that they would be ok to take?

kylith

NinjaTruncs wrote: »

According to the OP the boss didn't say they were that important, they said both employees can't be off at the same time, a suttle but important difference if you want to play the I'm too important card.

re the OP's question, until the holidays are approved they are not approved and i have always been told not to book anything until they have confirmed the time off. Did your boss give any indication before you booked that they would be ok to take?

Yes. I was told that it would be no problem to take the time off, which is why the flights and accomodation were booked. It's the person who would be covering me while I'm away who's sick.

UDAWINNER

sounds lousy and even worse when you consider you work for your family

kylith

UDAWINNER wrote: »

sounds lousy and even worse when you consider you work for your family

Well, it's always been a running joke for me that there's no-one you can exploit like your family. If a normal boss asks you to work on your day off you can tell him no, if your boss is a member of your family then you're liable to wind up with your mother asking why you wouldn't help him 'after all he's done for you'.

dudara

I would ask to be compensated for the costs incurred with the flights and accomodation. After all, you did go ahead and book those things based on approval from your employer.