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Manager Balks When New Hire Quits After They Refuse To Honor Her Non-Refundable Vacation Request

RobinHiggins/Pixababy.

Being the boss isn’t always an enviable position.

While you earn the opportunity to put the title on your resume, you are also saddled with multiple responsibilities, which includes maintaining the morale of your staff.

Redditor Artistic-Comment20 angered a recent new hire, after declining to accommodate a request she made prior to signing on.

To the original poster (OP)’s surprise, this resulted in the new hire promptly leaving their job.

Questioning whether or not they were in the wrong for their actions, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:

“AITA for not scheduling the new hire’s vacation?”

The OP first gave some clarity as to what their job entails, and how a recent new hire made a request the minute she accepted the job.

“I’m the manager of a small team at a large company.”

“Each manager does their team’s schedule.”

“I hired Lacey last week.”

“Lacey told me when she accepted the job that she already had non-refundable vacation plans at the end of May.”

“I told her that I did the schedule and would try to accommodate her.”

But after some review, the OP decided that allowing Lacey to take the vacation wasn’t possible, which was not what Lacey wanted to hear.

“I couldn’t accommodate her at all.”

“There’s already another team member out.”

“I put up the schedule and was very surprised at an e-mail from Lacey regarding her vacation not being scheduled.”

“I informed her we didn’t have the flexibility and that she was expected to work.”

But Lacey didn’t agree, and things in the office took a turn both for Lacey, as well as themself.

“When I went to my lunch break, I walked by Lacey’s desk and was surprised to see it packed.”

“She handed me her lanyard and told me she quit.”

“She said that she wasn’t losing out on $2500 and that she already had an offer from one of the jobs she turned down that promised her vacation was safe.”

“I’m now being called into my boss’ office because she quit so fast.”

“But in my experience, if you start a new job, you understand that you are last for vacation.”

“My fianceé says that I’m an idiot and she was telling me, not asking me.”

“TL;DR: Didn’t grant new girl’s vacation request and she quit.”

“Am I the a**hole for not approving it?”

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:

  • NTA – Not the A**hole
  • YTA – You’re the A**hole
  • NAH – No A**holes Here
  • ESH – Everybody Sucks Here

The OP found little to no support from the Reddit community, who largely agreed that they were, indeed the a**hole for refusing to let Lacey take her vacation.

Everyone agreed that honoring vacation plans made prior to getting hired is a common practice, and wondered if the OP was really qualified to be a manager.

“YTA.”

“To quote your fiancee, ‘you’re an idiot, she was telling you, not asking you’.”-saintphoenixxx.

“YTA.”

“Here’s a thought – what would you have done if Lacey was never hired and the other team member went on their vacation?”

“I used to be a manager at my company, and we regularly accommodated new hires’ pre-made vacation plans.”

“I can’t think of a time when we didn’t.”-cupcakejo87.

“YTA, but I can’t stop laughing.”

“What were you expecting to happen?”

“If you thought you had that kind of power, please, please, by all means do tell us the absolutely gargantuan salary you were paying her.”- HelenGonne.

“YTA.”

“You are the type of person who shouldn’t be a manager.”

“Go back to school and take some basic business management classes, and realize how you f*cked up in numerous ways.”-thehumblebaboon.

“YTA, and probably should not be in any management position.”-throwawaymwd.

“YTA.”

“I have a friend who just started a new position.”

“We have a trip in July that we planned a year ago.”

“She took the position being clear she needed the time off, even if it was unpaid.”

“Lacey did the same.”

“Your HR offered the position knowing the condition.”

“You didn’t even check with HR and decided you knew better and the company just lost talent they had to compete for.”

“Don’t be surprised if you are competing for new positions soon yourself.”

“A manager position does not appear to be a good fit for you.”

“This is 100% normal in the US.”-Pickle0847.

“YTA.”

“Wake up and smell the coffee.”

“The days of unrestricted bullying of employees and screwing over their lives has come to an end.”

“It’s an employee’s market, not an employer.”

“She took your job with the understanding that she was ALREADY COMMITTED for time in May.”

“Why the hell would she stay and continue to work for someone so selfish and inconsiderate?”

“She fired you, because you were a bad worker and incompetent at your job, and she’s hired another employer who has promised not to be a bad worker.”- Euphoric-Round-5182.

“YTA.”
“When you hire someone and they let you know in advance that they have non-refundable tickets for a vacation, it’s not an ask, it’s a tell.”

“You are hiring them knowing that this is the case and you work around it.”

“There is no ‘sorry no’ about it.”-mastimama0722.

“YTA.”

“She told you about her vacation plans before she was hired because it was a condition of employment.”

“You’re a bad manager for not understanding that.”

“YTA.”-overseas-mango.

“YTA.”

“She agreed to the job on the condition that the non-refundable vacation was approved.”

“You didn’t approve it, so you’ve lost the worker.”

“Oh and you’re ALSO TAH for that ‘if you start a new job, you understand that you are last for vacation’.”

“That tells me that it wasn’t that you ‘couldn’t’ accommodate her vacation, it was that you wouldn’t.”

“That is literally the worst kind of management for not understanding that.”

“Lacey is 100% better off not working for you.”

“Your fiancée is a smart woman.”

“Listen to her more.”- OldMan_IT.

“10000% YTA.”

“Who’s this Lacey and how do I become her friend?”-Final-Bell-6103.

“YTA.”

“She was promised a specific set of dates off and she took the job based on that promise.”

“You immediately went back on the promise, and she quit.”

“I’m amazed you’re in charge of people based on how unable you are to follow that logic.”

“It’s not like expected to be first for all vacation picks or told you after the hire.”

“You messed up, bud.”-JurassicParkFood.

“YTA.”

“Ask your boss if you could transfer into a non-management role, because if you don’t understand how badly you screwed up here then you shouldn’t be in a position of responsibility over anyone.”-Kufat.

“YTA for the bait and switch on Lacey’s vacation, but ALSO for referring to female employees as ‘girls’.”

“Please stop.”

“Stop both.”- mcchillz.

“YTA.”

“That’s not how vacations work.”

“Especially when you’re hired on and you let them know.”

“Terrible manager.”- Significant_Title_60.

“I don’t know why but this is so satisfying.”

“YTA.”- Decent_Sky_9880.

“YTA.”

“If you weren’t going to be able to accommodate that, you should have told her. If someone shares a conflict during the hiring process, it means that they likely value it more than the job.”- beckdawg19.

“Are you kidding me?”

“I don’t know the rules in the US, but in Europe you honor the scheduled holiday for a new hire no matter what.”

“I just went three weeks without my best payroller.”

“That’s on me because she told me upfront at interview when she had already booked holidays.”

“YTA so much and you’ll keep losing staff unless you learn to be more flexible.”-Spotinella.

“YTA. When an employee quits they are firing their manager.”

“You showed her what kind of a manager you are and she fired you for it.”-MissRable_AF.

“YTA.”

“Standard practice is if it’s booked before you take the job it’s a non negotiable.”- Kerrytwo.

“YTA and honestly it doesn’t sound like management is a position for you.”-XanGable.

“YTA.”

“She told you WHEN SHE WAS HIRED about it.”

“It wasn’t really a request for vacation time, it was a condition for accepting the job.”

“You got by without her before, you can suck it up for a week.”

“Why on Earth would she want to stay with a company that clearly has zero respect for her?”-Careful-Bumblebee-10.

“YTA.”

“You hired her under the condition she would be allowed that vacation.”

“You didn’t even inform her, just posted the schedule.”

“No discussion.”

“No courtesy.”

“No respect.”

“Can’t uphold your promises.”

“And you’re surprised she immediately quit?”

“Now you’re out of an employee to cover the schedule for those days plus every other day in the immediate future.”

“Great job!”-ThatThreesome.

The OP did seem to lead Lacey on, and it’s equally surprising that they didn’t give a more sympathetic explanation of why they couldn’t accommodate her vacation.

Maybe this will be a learning experience for the OP, and they will handle these situations better going forward.

Assuming they still have this job.

Written by John Curtis

A novelist, picture book writer and native New Yorker, John is a graduate of Syracuse University and the children's media graduate program at Centennial College. When not staring at his computer monitor, you'll most likely find John sipping tea watching British comedies, or in the kitchen, taking a stab at the technical challenge on the most recent episode of 'The Great British Baking Show'.