Boss refuses to approve any PTO requests, employee finds a way around it in the company handbook, resulting in office chaos when more employees follow suit: ‘Thank you, legal team’

'I have read and accepted the terms and conditions' is a lie we all tell almost every single day of our lives, and we all admit to it. No one reads the terms and conditions; we just check that little box and hope for the best.

Some terms and conditions, however, can actually be extremely beneficial, and reading them can help you out a lot, like the company handbook many employees are handed on their first day at their new job.

When the employee below was getting told they would not be able to use their remaining PTO because the boss refused to approve it, they knew they had to do something about it. Instead of picking fights, this employee turned to the good ol' handbook and found exactly what they were looking for–a paragraph stating that they can use their PTO in one-hour blocks every day. 

So, instead of taking days off, this employee took off two hours here, an afternoon there, and no one could tell them no. Soon after, more employees followed suit, which led the boss and HR to take a serious look at their own handbook, the one they assumed no one reads anyway.

Like what you see? Follow our WhatsApp channel for more.

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut Bar Mor Hazut
Advertisement

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

boss workplace-stories employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace time off reddit story PTO overworked-employees workplace Reddit company vacation
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

Teen daughter refuses to let mother confiscate her phone, after ignoring repeated requests to stop blasting YouTube at 2 a.m., so her mother uses parental controls to lock the phone, daughter claims she has no right: 'I bought it with my Xmas money'

Teen daughter refuses to let mother confiscate her phone, after ignoring repeated requests to stop blasting YouTube at 2 a.m., so her mother uses parental controls to lock the phone, daughter claims she has no right: 'I bought it with my Xmas money'

Trending Now

Employee refuses to attend a mandatory, unpaid Saturday team-building event so he can spend quality time with his child, sparking workplace conflict as his boss questions his commitment to “company culture”: ‘Saturday is my one full day with my kid’

Employee refuses to attend a mandatory, unpaid Saturday team-building event so he can spend quality time with his child, sparking workplace conflict as his boss questions his commitment to “company culture”: ‘Saturday is my one full day with my kid’

01
‘She quit a week later. Three others followed. All four mentioned the "family" hypocrisy’: CEO calls company family for years, denies financial help to a longtime employee after she loses her house, then criticizes her for not being “team player”

‘She quit a week later. Three others followed. All four mentioned the "family" hypocrisy’: CEO calls company family for years, denies financial help to a longtime employee after she loses her house, then criticizes her for not being “team player”

02
Company says basic office supplies are for managers only, new hire brings his own and forces a policy change overnight: 'Facial tissues are not for non-managers'

Company says basic office supplies are for managers only, new hire brings his own and forces a policy change overnight: 'Facial tissues are not for non-managers'

03
'Guess I'll take lunch then': New manager triples employees' workload, refusing to let anyone go home before everyone is done, employee uses their lunch break to "avoid" working

'Guess I'll take lunch then': New manager triples employees' workload, refusing to let anyone go home before everyone is done, employee uses their lunch break to "avoid" working

04
Elderly home sellers fail to disclose HOA to buyer, forcing them to pay decades of debt, leading buyer to refuse to let sellers pick up their lawnmower after the sale: ‘They want it back out of spite’

Elderly home sellers fail to disclose HOA to buyer, forcing them to pay decades of debt, leading buyer to refuse to let sellers pick up their lawnmower after the sale: ‘They want it back out of spite’

05
A Midmorning Snack of 22 Brown-Bagged Funnies to Get You Through the Workday (November 3, 2025)

A Midmorning Snack of 22 Brown-Bagged Funnies to Get You Through the Workday (November 3, 2025)

06
Advertisement