laRubiaBonita Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 So it is near the end of the fiscal year, which means we get year end performance reviews. Apparently I take to much time off work, 37 days in the past FY, to be exact… they calculated up. But, really, I don’t get it. I still have vacation time left in this FY, I still have personal days, still have comp. time, still have a ton of accruing sick leave. So why do I get this leave if I am not allowed to take it? And if I do use MY earned vacation time, I get a negative mark in my review records. WTF! The remarks says, “due to the nature of our organization, when you miss multiple days it places undue hardships on other employees and staff generally” What… people have to mail there own damn letters when i am out (they do not- the letters are there when i get in), and answer the phones, and deal with all the crazy f**kers… do the crap work which get shoved to me basically? Cry me a river….. Why does the company bother giving me this time? Undue hardships my arss…. In fact the other secr. That works in my dept. has been out almost all week, and I have been working 8-5 since Tuesday, covering all her phones and dealing with her work load…. Did they ever think that maybe all this s**tty work is that reason I need to take off? Do they want me to burn out? Do I have a valid point, or am I really a slacker? Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I still have vacation time left in this FY, I still have personal days, still have comp. time, still have a ton of accruing sick leave … if I do use MY earned vacation time, I get a negative mark in my review records. say WHAT??! that sounds pretty screwy to me – and like someone's gunning for you, LRB. do you keep records of the time you take off, and for what reason – doctor appointments, vacation time, funerals, unplanned personal leave (like family emergencies), illness, school, etc? If you do, see how the company handbook addresses those situations ... my guess is that (A) there is no company handbook, so (B) they're making it up as they go along and © you're getting assessed as taking off too much time simply because they cannot distinguish shxt from shineola. maybe it's time to tell them that you expect to be reimbursed for all that unused vacation time since they refuse to let you take it, and see what their response is seriously, though, if they're gonna pull crap like this, your best defense is to document, document, document. That way you can tell them where to put it when they try to tell you something stupid like this again. Link to post Share on other sites
Touche Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 No, you absolutely have a valid point. This doesn't sound right. You need to ask what you have asked here. Are those your days to take off or not? What is their problem exactly? Is the problem with sick days or with vacation days or what exactly? You need to know. Is it possible they made a mistake on how much time you actually took off? Link to post Share on other sites
curiousnycgirl Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Is it a question of giving folks notice before you take time off? Planned time off is one thing, then everyone can plan around it and schedule accordingly - inlluding the person taking the time off (they catch up and finish everything before taking off). If you call out without notice, it can and often does put a hardship on everyone else. If that is not the case - then they are ridiculous, bordering on illegal (depending on where you are) Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 While they shouldn't have given you the days and you certainly shouldn't have any days left over if they are going to complain about it. They set the rules and you are following them.. but... 37 days means you are off at the very least one day per 2 weeks or so.. That does mean somebody is having to cover you quite a bit.. Personally if it were me I would ask them why it counts against you to take days set there by the management. I would also consider my long term goals there.. if you are expecting to move up or stay where you are in terms of job and pay.. If you want to move up then you need to cut back on taking days off.. they have a tendency to move up people that can be counted on in terms of always being at work.. We have an artist here that likes to brag on his accomplishment that he has been here almost 25 years and he has never missed a days work.. ever... Those things we never overlook.. he is paid very well and has a management position of the department. Link to post Share on other sites
Author laRubiaBonita Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 that is the thing... with my job, office manager/ secretary/ mediator i do give at least a weeks notice, if not more, for vacation. sick leave, i generally do not call in sick often... unless i am really sick. all of my leave is approved by my boss, he signs off on it. i actually just turned in a request to have tuesday off... everyone else is off today. i am in the process of looking through my time sheets to calculate which time was used and how much. but i am just soo pissed... i do soo much for this department (which is another reason i think they are being stinky about it), i never get a thankyou, all i hear is "maybe you could do it this way" "or that way" as for moving up... it will not happen. it is the politics of the office i am in, plus i am a chick....and i have no family in higher positions. i work for a sexist and nepotic local government. pay raises are not awarded on merit, just time in the company. Link to post Share on other sites
hotgurl Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 How much vacation time do you get? 37 days is a lot. I get 10 vacation days and 6 sick days. Did you ask them why you are getting punished for taking off earned time? Link to post Share on other sites
Author laRubiaBonita Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 i start the Fiscal year off with 15 vacation day, 15 sick, 11.5 paid holiday, and 2 personal days. plus i accrue extra hours like comp time. so i looked through my old time sheets and i have calculated 22 vaction days and 12 sick days.... mind you that i used to take a whole day as sick leave when i had doc. appointments, but then i got no-ed on that... so that is why my sick days seem so high. plus it is all done in hours, then it is divided into days. i still have 31.14 hrs of vacation left, 14 hrs of personal, 12.25 of comp, and 222.7 hrs of sick leave and if i do not use all my vacation it gets rolled into sick leave, and they will push other employees to use theirs before they loose them..... i have a comment section, and i need a well phrased and tactful way of ask what the hell they want from me.... any ideas? Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 There probably isn't any easy way to ask that kinda question.. Maybe you could ask them about why they think you have taken too many days off ? The way you calculated it that you are within your allotted amounts.. I'll tell ya this though.. asking for Tuesday off right after a review that you were told you take too many days off isn't really a good sign. Link to post Share on other sites
curiousnycgirl Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I would write something neutral indicating that to your understanding all the time you had taken off was well within corporate guidelines, and pre-approved by your management. I would further write that you are concerned that this has been perceived in a negative light and would appreciate any and all mentoring/management guidance on how to correct this perception. That way you've put the monkey on your boss's back! Link to post Share on other sites
Art_Critic Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I would write something neutral indicating that to your understanding all the time you had taken off was well within corporate guidelines, and pre-approved by your management. I would further write that you are concerned that this has been perceived in a negative light and would appreciate any and all mentoring/management guidance on how to correct this perception. That way you've put the monkey on your boss's back! I like this advice.... Link to post Share on other sites
Trialbyfire Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Some good advice here. I would also add some statistical information about what you've taken off versus what you've got remaining, similar to what you've already posted. It's difficult for management to refute hard numbers. I'm surprised you aren't in a union of some form, since you work for a government of some sort. You could always grieve it. Link to post Share on other sites
sunshinegirl Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I like curiousgirl's suggestion because it doesn't have a defensive tone to it. If you can, try to keep an open mind, at least until you can have a face-to-face conversation about it (I assume you received this in some kind of written feedback and therefore had no chance to discuss it directly/immediately). Someone could have made a mistake in their calculations, or maybe there is an unspoken "ethic" at your workplace of people not taking actually accrued vacation (while I don't work in a law firm and I don't think you do either, my impression from friends who do work in big firms is that while they technically do get X amount of vacation, they are sort of looked down upon for actually using it). Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites
Star Gazer Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 I think it really depends on the nature of your work. Are you in a turning-papers type of environment (the work will still be there tomorrow, just different 'papers'), or is it project-based (where your constant attendance is necessary for the company to thrive)? Sure, I have a certain amount of vacation time allotted to me every year. But if my boss believes that I am taking vacation time while letting very important cases go to sh*t, he'd be damn pissed, even if I only took three days...and rightfully so, IMO. Link to post Share on other sites
Author laRubiaBonita Posted May 25, 2007 Author Share Posted May 25, 2007 thanks! i did use curiousnycgirl suggestion. AND..... i got tuesday off. Link to post Share on other sites
curiousnycgirl Posted May 25, 2007 Share Posted May 25, 2007 Glad to hear it - please let us know how it all goes! Enjoy your extra long weekend! Link to post Share on other sites
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