Company forces employee to cancel approved PTO after policy change: 'They may now try to fire me if I don’t play along'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Jun 23, 2026 10:00 AM EDT

If your PTO is approved, you should be able to take it. 

This is a pretty simple idea. If you want to take time off, and let your employer know in plenty of time, and if they approve that request-- you should be able to take it. That's the point of approved PTO. But this doesn't always work out, much to the chagrin of workers, especially the worker in this story, which they shared on the anitwork subreddit. Nobody wants to feel like their time is being disrespected, and nobody wants for their job to misunderstand their intentions. Jobs are precious things, especially these days. They're not easy to get, and once you have one that you like, they're worth holding onto for dear life. But companies don't always make that easy, and they sometimes insert themselves between business and pleasure in a way they they shouldn't. Sometimes jobs don't understand that you have a life to live outside of work, and that sometimes that comes first. The employee in this situation was trying to play by the book and do the right thing, but they still ended up being punished for it. When companies change policies, they don't always think about how it might affect their employees on the ground. They think about the bottom line, not the real-life impact. But when you enact policy without thinking about it, you end up suffering. The employee in this story was put in a difficult place by their employer. Either they cancel their hard-earned time off, or they risk losing their job. 

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    A woman looks stressed out at her desk at work

  • Work Attempting to Force Me to Cancel Approved PTO

    Back at the beginning of March I was told to submit my PTO requests as my current assignment was running down, stating they wanted to know it to plan around future assignments. Back in November they decided to create carryover PTO which was never a thing with the company. They also combined PTO and sick time. All of this wasn't conveyed well. They also snuck in the clause of carryover PTO only going until June 30th of the following year.
    via whitepineowl
  • So I put in all my PTO and made sure not to loose anything as well. Now fast forward to last week when they attempted to put me on a new project. I reminded them of my PTO which was previously approved. The person I was speaking with was then saying they were unaware of this. For which I said it's been in for months and approved. They then started to say I should know better taking off time in this manner for which I said I didn't change the rules.
    via whitepineowl
  • The best part is this guy wasn't my boss and was coaching me on why this isn't acceptable even though I did nothing wrong. Meanwhile others were on the call listing to this conversation.
    via whitepineowl
  • The next day my manager reached out basically telling me I needed to cancel my time off. That I need to be available for this client obligation. That me not being available hurts the company. He went on about how he doesn't take vacation but when he's done in the past he's had to cancel as well. That conversation was basically you need to cancel your PTO which was approved. Otherwise we can't staff you on a project and we don't know when the next one will be, hurting the company.
    via whitepineowl
  • I'm in such a hard place figuring they may now try to fire me if I don't play along. Not once did management communicate about time off when trying to staff the project. Instead they leave it until the end to find out they messed up. They act like I shouldn't have taken off or know they could take it back but they never spoke to me when submitting or any other time until it impacted them.
    via whitepineowl
  • Submitted PTO and was approved. Now work expects me to cancel it or are essentially threatening letting me go.
    via whitepineowl
  • Cheezburger Image 10641524736
    via Unsplash + (Getty Images)

    A man looks confused at his laptop at work 

  • Time off is incredibly important. It helps you recharge everything that you need to do your job correctly. It's hard to do your job if you are not well rested and recharged. You need time away from your tasks in order to stay effective at them. It doesn't just happen magically, it happens with planned time away. That's what this employee was trying to do, but it backfired in a major way. Keep reading for the full story.

  • AcadiaRemarkable6992 "You can't go away because we need you but if you do we will fire you."
    via AcadiaRemarkable6992
  • JohnSolo22 "Your poor management & incompetence are not my concern. My plans are set in stone and cannot be changed. This is non- negotiable." Keep a record of it being approved from as far back as you can.
    via JohnSolo22
  • herp_derp_shmerp Just send an email, something like this: "I understand how important this project is. If you need me to be on this project in order to guarantee its success | would be happy to accommodate.
    via herp_derp_shmerp
  • I scheduled my PTO to conform to the new rules. that require me to use it by June 30th. Would it be easier for the company to pay out the accrued PTO, or make an exception and roll over my accrued PTO?" Expect them to weasel out and not reply to this kind of email. If they don't promise payout or rollover in writing, just go on vacation. If they fire you, it would be retaliation for following their rules.
    via herp_derp_shmerp
  • If they reply, in writing, consider it a nice surprise. The fight won't be over because they may try to sidestep the promise after you cancel your PTO, but at least you would have it in writing that they promised it if you needed to take further action.
    via herp_derp_shmerp
  • No_Address687 Tell them "if you would like me to work on this project instead of going on vacation, then please pay out the expiring PTO (x# hours) and here is an expense report for my non- refundable reservation charges." Send this your boss and CC the other guy the requests. If you get the money before the trip, then work. If not, then go on the vacation.
    via No_Address687

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boss antiwork workplace-stories job bosses work coworkers toxic-boss reddit thread bad bosses toxic-work-environment
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