'It's use it or lose it!': Boss keeps denying pub kitchen manager's PTO requests, then refuses to let them roll over, kitchen manager finally puts his foot down

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 22, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Paid time off should not be the issue that it so often is for employees. When you sign a contract to work anywhere and that contract specifically states that you get a certain number of vacation days per year, that agreement should be honored by all signing parties. One would think that this would be a foregone conclusion, and yet so many workers across all industries have taken to online forums to complain about situations in which their promised PTO is rejected, ignored, or challenged.

Many employees, including this kitchen manager at a pub, have shared stories in which their PTO requests are continuously rejected up until the end of the year. That's really taking the "subject to approval" part of the clause to a morally questionable level. Then, there are those who claim that their employers gaslight them about their PTO requests or pressure them to cancel vacations because their presence is needed. We've said this before, and we'll say it again. If a company is unable to function during the temporary absence of one of its employees, then that is simply not a well-run company. There are no two ways about it.

In this scenario, our kitchen manager was repeatedly denied his vacation time and then told that his days would not roll over. Talk about a manipulative tactic! Here's a thought. If the boss was so concerned about how his pub could be run without the kitchen manager, then it's time to carefully train other employees well enough so that they can take over for a few days. After all, it's not just vacation time. What if there's a medical emergency? The successful management of this pub is a ticking clock.

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  • "My boss denied me PTO throughout the year then wouldn’t roll it over…"

    A bartender at a pub hands over a pint of beer to a customer.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • So i'm a kitchen manager at a pub. I asked for a week of back in june to burn some of my PTO and my request was rejected because there was two new people and i had to train them.
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  • Then people quit and we where short staffed for the next few months. Currently we have new people and I have been working 6 days a week to train them. There are "rules" that we aren't allowed to call out with out finding our own coverage. But no one
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  • is allowed to take my shift because I am the only one that knows how to do everything. My boss COULD but always finds excuses to not be here and when she is she just sits at the bar and drinks all day. Examples: "well i don't have anyone to watch my kid" "I already paid for these concert tickets" "Im taking a week of "4 total this year...
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  • I did call out over thanksgiving because I was sick. I could have used 25+ hours buy was only given 8. The very next week she sent us all a message saying anyone that calls out would be written up and risks getting fired. Then when i asked to rollover or
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  • cash out my PTO she said "It's use it or lose it!" I explain how i havnt had the chance because i keep doing 6 day weeks and overtime everyweek buy she doesn't seem to care. Anyway thanks for listening to my rant on how I got sc d by my boss!
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  • Three men lift their pints of beer and "cheers"
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • [deleted] Honestly, I hope that when you find your next gig, you no show, no call this one F your boss
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  • Agent-c1983: You need to have a chat with your local friendly employment lawyer. Taking PTO is a contractual right, and whilst you employer does get some say over when it can be used, constantly denying it just acts to frustrate the contract.
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  • Joey_BagaDonuts57 ⚫ Stop covering for 'Miss Management'. Start looking elsewhere, as your experience is needed everywhere. Covering for her lack of management isn't your job, it's HERS.
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  • Background-Hyena If there's no possible recourse, find a new job. Do not tell your manager that you're looking for a new job. Don't even give her two weeks notice. If she doesn't care enough to give you the benefits you've earned, she won't care enough to give you a good reference. Soak that bridge in gasoline, drop the match, and walk away.
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  • NoMansSkyWasAlright. "Hey boss, what do you think is going to happen to this place if I walk? Are you really sure you want to keep on like this?" Better yet, just don't show up for a couple of days.
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  • simulation07. I'd go into quiet sabotage mode
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  • shapeofthings ⚫ Sounds like you are the business and should ask them do you want me to walk, because you need me... pay up or else.
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  • FAnna-Banana · Tell your boss you are taking (x- amount) of PTO starting on (x- specified date) to (x-specified date). And state that it's not a request and that you are using it instead of losing it.
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  • It's your boss's job to step up, put some work in for once, and make sure they are managing the place well while the other trained employees pick up the slack elsewhere in that workplace.
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bar boss employee work PTO kitchen overworked-employees workplace Horrible Bosses employment
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