'We’re being taken advantage of': Boss refuses to pay employee for requested vacation days but closes restaurant for his own vacation

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Jul 9, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

The hypocritical relationship that bad bosses tend to have with PTO is increasingly infuriating. If your boss is entitled to take their paid vacation time whenever they want, employees should be entitled to that same freedom. There will always be loopholes and exceptions to this based on the line of work, but generally speaking, those exceptions must be expressly written and made clear in one's contract before an employee signs on to a job. Otherwise, it's just plain old shady.

 

This Redditor has unfortunately experienced that level of shadiness firsthand at the local restaurant where they work. Essentially, their boss has implemented a practice in the last couple of years where he will close the restaurant entirely for the vacation week of his choice and give all his employees their mandated PTO during that week. Now, he does not run this week by his employees in advance. There's no poll or discussion among everyone about what will be the most convenient. There's just the boss's decision, which of course,  prioritizes his best interests above everyone else's. The Redditor expressly asked their boss if their PTO could be applied to a different vacation week, but he kept dancing around the issue. Eventually, he just refused to do it. That kind of avoidant behavior is further proof that this dude is not just a selfish guy; he's just a straight-up awful employer.

 

Keep scrolling below for the original post and for the best reactions in the comments section. When you're finished, check out this post about an employee who was shamed for leaving early. 

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  • 01
    Font - Boss "forgot" to pay me PTO for my vacation, is instead putting it toward this week, when he has voluntarily closed the restaurant for his vacation...
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 02
    Font - So the owner of the restaurant I work at has been doing this thing in the last couple years where he closes for one week in order for management and back-of-house to get their annual week off without having to be short staffed (it's a smaller, family-owned place). I took a two week trip in June and asked that my PTO be used while I was gone, to which he gave a tepid "ok, sure." When I got back I saw these days were not added to my paycheck, and when asked about it he said he'd put it towa
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 03
    Font - My thing is, isn't PTO for employees to use at our discretion? Like, I didn't choose to be off this week, this isn't the same as me putting in a vacation request. If the owner closes their business for a week to go out of town, shouldn't it be on them to pay us for the hours we're missing rather than us paying ourselves with our own PTO? I don't have a great understanding of this issue, but it feels like we're being taken advantage of.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 04
    Font - Baronwastakenalready. 16 hr. ago I would remind him that he owes you for 2 weeks or you are gone. Use the week he is gone to replace the restaurant. 960 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 05
    Font - stinstin555 5 hr. ago Yep! And file a formal complaint with the department of labor in your state. U 250 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 06
    Font - Happytapiocasuprise. 11 hr. ago They screwed you over so find a better job and jump ship at the most inconvenient time for them. 215 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 07
    Font - CrazyCouponCustomer 16 hr. ago "Six of one, half a dozen of the other," my boss told me years ago when he closed to renovate. He paid me my vacation week. I was angry because I wanted my vacation pay when I wanted it. You could look into your state's unemployment rules. Maybe you could apply for unemployment for that week. 203 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 08
    Font - koiashes 13 hr. ago No. Tell him to use it for the dates you requested. 163 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 09
    Font - Grinds-my-teeth 13 hr. ago You've been hosed. Bottom line. I'm sorry. I have been there. 136 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 10
    Font - Graythor5 12 hr. ago Legally, he should have paid you when you took the time off and requested it be used. Functionally it doesn't really matter if he pays you for when you requested, or during the closure week; it's the same amount of PTO getting paid out at the same rate. The time to have fought it harder was the paycheck in June. At this point it's probably not worth fighting over.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 11
    Font - So far as a "forced" vacation week, a lot of companies do this. Especially smaller manufacturers (less than 100 employees). It's easier to shut the whole place down for a designated week or 2 and have everyone plan accordingly, than have several weeks where you're shorthanded. If you don't have the pto saved up it's just non- paid time off in my experiences. 119 Reply Share
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 12
    Font - KidenStormsoarer 8 hr. ago i'd file a wage complaint with the state, he's screwing you over multiple ways. first, you're now being paid late for money you were counting on using...if you miss any bills because of that, he's liable for that, too. second, most, if not all, states allow you to apply for unemployment for short term closures like that. it's common in the auto industry, for instance, to close for 3 weeks over new years, and for ployees to file for unemployment for those weeks.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 13
    Font - WeakToMetal Blade 11 hr. ago If he is paying you the two weeks during the week you are closed I'd say leave it be. He should have paid it when you actually took your vacation but he had he done that he still would be under no obligation to pay you when the restaurant was closed.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 14
    Font - Prestigious-Owl165. 7 hr. ago Am I crazy or is there not really much difference either way? The only difference I can see here is that you'd be getting paid late, which sucks but like if you're not broke and needing that money immediately then it sounds like it's no big deal. He's screwing you over, like, a little bit, out of laziness. Unless I misunderstood something
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 15
    Font - es153 15 hr. ago It depends where you are but in some places your employer can decide when you take vacation
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 16
    Font - josuelaker2 12 hr. ago Sounds like you just took 2 weeks unpaid leave and you still have a whole week of PTO left. Not sure if this is legal but hey, if I could bail for two weeks and come back and have PTO, that's not terrible.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 17
    Mammal - Art_Vandeley_4_Pres. 9 hr. ago Put your apron in the fryer on your way out.
    via u/MikeGreear
  • 18
    Font - Redditceodork. 52 min. ago Your boss obviously thinks you're a, stupid or b, too passive to do anything about it but he's clearly an awful boss to be playing those games with your money
    via u/MikeGreear

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boss workplace-stories toxic-manager jobs work stories toxic-workplace manager job bad jobs work employees overworked-employees Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit vacation toxic-work-environment
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