'No thanks, boss': Manager forces employee to work remotely during their PTO, then writes them up for it, employee reports manager in response

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 2, 2024 7:00 AM EDT

When you are on vacation, there is no reason whatsoever for you to have to deal with work. Unless your job physically saves lives and makes the world a better place, there is nothing that cannot wait for you when you return from your much-deserved time off, and employers who cannot accept that, do not deserve to even have employees.

That is why I am pleased with how this Reddit story turned out because the manager didn't get away with what they did to their employee. OP (original poster) shared that while on vacation, his wife's boss kept trying to reach her because of some work crisis that could not have been handled without her. After being forced to take care of it on her PTO, she came back to work and found out that her boss had written her up for not being immediately available on her vacation. Luckily, she didn't stay silent and reported her manager to their boss in return.

Scroll down to read the full story. Up next, a story of a manager who purposely excluded a temp employee from office perks.

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    Cheezburger Image 10368201728
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    My wife was written up for something that happened while we were on vacation
    via u/kindamymoose
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    We recently celebrated a vacation in Mexico. The whole point was to get away for a few days. We had our personal cell phones but left our work cell phones behind. Crazy, right?
    via u/kindamymoose
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    At some point during our getaway, her manager called her personal cell phone. My wife didn't answer and came back to it later.
    via u/kindamymoose
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    Her boss called to tell her that something had been added to her calendar at the last minute while she was on vacation. She had no visibility to her calendar and no way to know anything was
    via u/kindamymoose
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    added. This left the calendar event with no coverage; her boss called to chastise her for it while we were on vacation. Thankfully, she was able to get back to enjoying our time to
    via u/kindamymoose
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    ourselves. We got back last Thursday night and worked Friday. Nothing about the calendar event was mentioned Friday or Monday.
    via u/kindamymoose
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    She went into work today and was handed a formal reprimand for not having coverage for the calendar event. She is changing offices in a couple of weeks. It's a longer
    via u/kindamymoose
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    commute but she will work for a different manager, one who presumably does not have his head up his I encouraged her to chat with her manager's manager about this.
    via u/kindamymoose
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    I encouraged her to chat with her manager's manager about this. Neither of us agree that it's fair to be punished for something that happened while out of office, especially when the manager
    via u/kindamymoose
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    knew she was out of office. She is reluctant to do so because she wants to leave on good terms. It honestly infuriates me. This office can't keep employees. My wife works 60-hour weeks in a
    via u/kindamymoose
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    very stressful environment. She does her absolute best and her mental health has taken a major hit. Update: She has contacted her manager's boss and is officially challenging the reprimand. (The process will take some time.)
    via u/kindamymoose
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    diflorus 6 days ago I would contact HR and potentially file a complaint. A formal reprimand isn't justified while she is on PTO.
    via u/diflorus
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    kindamymoose OP We will be having a talk when she gets home. I'm going to try and convince her to do this, even if she has to wait until she's changed offices. She's probably not the first person he's done this to.
    via u/kindamymoose
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    greenlungs604 This is complete.Why should your wife pay for the mistake of this idiot manager. She owes it to herself to get this straightened out. If anything it sets a dangerous precedent of idiotic behaviour that is likely to continue.
    via u/greenlungs604
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    Yodx At the very least, definitely push to get that day of PTO back. If they can dictate what you do then you are not on vacation.
    via u/Yodx
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    berpandicular It's the managers job to find coverage while your wife is out. You have every right to be mad, the manager was extremely out of line.
    via u/berpandicular
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    BrainWaveCC 6 days ago I agree with your take on this as opposed to your wife's take, but I would caution you to be supportive of her desire to avoid unnecessary drama, also. She's the one who will be
    via u/BrainWaveCC
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    frontline if she pushes and there is some sort of pushback, and she'll likely be low-key mad that you pressured her to do it. I totally understand your stance, but please understand your wife's dynamic, too.
    via u/BrainWaveCC
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    kindamymoose OP I will ultimately support whatever decision she makes. :)
    via u/kindamymoose
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    AntelopeExisting4538 Leaving on good terms went out of the window when the boss tried to contact her on a scheduled vacation. Go to HR and report the incident otherwise it will happen to others.
    via u/AntelopeExisting4538
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    lurklurklurky 5 days ago Make sure that your wife has copies of all relevant communications on her personal devices. If they eventually fire her or there is any other form of retaliation,
    via u/lurklurklurky
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    it's important to have the receipts. Her work devices/email/etc can be turned off at the drop of a hat. She should screenshot and save, and/or forward to her personal email:
    via u/lurklurklurky
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    • Communications about her office change (request, approval, who did what) • Her request for vacation time and the documentation that it was approved
    via u/lurklurklurky
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    • The emails from boss during approved PTO with the dates/times The formal reprimand • Documentation that she contacted HR about this with receipts above to dispute the reprimand
    via u/lurklurklurky
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    This way she is prepared if legal action ever needs to be taken.
    via u/lurklurklurky

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace reddit story PTO overworked-employees workplace Reddit company funny vacation
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