What to do when previously approved time off is being revoked at the last second because my coworker requested the same days off after I did?

Question

I requested time off for Christmas way back in October, and some of it was approved October 18, so I bought plane tickets (which are now non-refundable) for a trip during those days and expected to work the rest of the week on the days that were rejected. When I got my schedule today, I saw I’m supposed to work the days that had already been approved to be off not the one’s that had been rejected and now my boss is trying to make me work Christmas Eve as well because one of my coworkers requested time off during the days that had already been approved for me but I’m now supposed to work.

I know they’re legally allowed to revoke time off, but when I was hired on almost exactly a year ago, I was told that time off is first come first served and to request time off months in advance to guarantee that another coworker can’t “steal” previously approved time off. My boss also asked that we put on the calendar what days we ask off when we ask them off, and my coworker hadn’t put anything on the calendar when I did back in October so what’s the point of requesting time off in advance if your coworker can still “steal” the days you already got approved?

I’m a technician at a pharmacy (a large corporation) where it’s common to borrow employees from another store if necessary and my boss was supposed to hire another technician a month ago but decided against it even though we’ve been understaffed for months now. So, we shouldn’t have had this issue in the first place because we’re supposed to have another person who could cover the other shift.

I already spoke to my boss about the situation and what I was told when hired on, he didn’t consider finding a compromise and told me to talk to my coworker about trading shifts even though we both wanted the entire week off and got less than half of what we requested. My coworker was hired on a few years before me and it seems that seniority is taking precedence here, so if I was told from the beginning that time off was based on seniority I wouldn’t fight this at all.

Answer 1

I was in a similar position once (except in this case the coworker who was supposed to cover me was in an accident a week before my vacation was supposed to start). My boss asked me if I could postpone the trip.

Like you, I had non-refundable tickets and some pre-paid non-refundable hotel reservations. So I said I'd postpone if they'd cover my out of pocket costs... and they did. We had a corporate travel agent and they were able to get the flight changed with a change fee, and convinced one of the hotels to let me rebook for free, but the other one wouldn't budge on their "no-refund" policy, so my company found a nicer hotel and booked me there instead -- and they threw in a week of extra vacation time to help make up for the inconvenience of rescheduling my vacation on such short notice.

Your employer may not be willing to go the extra mile for you like this, but if they allowed vacations to be double booked, they ought to at least cover your non-refundable costs.

Answer 2

You should talk with your boss again. Mention that the policy you were given, hopefully in writing, but sounds like not, was first come first serve. You have already bought airline tickets and you will NOT be at work those days. Walmart is notoriously process driven, I would expect they have written policies regarding this.

It sounds like you hold the better cards here. He is already short staffed and firing or disciplining you would make him further short staffed. Additionally it seems that you are in an in demand field and should be able to find other work. You may want to start looking now so you can either be prepared to be let go or be pro-active and turn in notice as soon as you return from the holidays.

Answer 3

You probably aren't considering legal recourse, but, assuming a common law jurisdiction, it is surely helpful to know that the law is probably on your side here. Knowing the law can be quite convincing in its own right and might well be useful when trying to persuade someone higher up to act reasonably and fairly.

Equity is a body of rules which modifies common law, including contract law, in the interest of fairness. As long as you haven't done anything untoward, you can avail of the remedies equity offers.

There is a rule of equity called promissory estoppel. It protects those who act in reliance on a promise, even when a contract does not exist.

Contract terms that allow cancelling leave aside, in booking tickets and hotels on the basis of confirmed leave, you acted in reliance on a promise of leave on given dates and are entitled to compensation.

Common sense and a basic idea of fairness should have been enough to persuade your line manager that there was something wrong with how you were treated here. Meet with your manager again (or with HR or someone more senior, using your best judgement to choose), explain your situation once more, and mention your legal right to be put in the position you would have been in but for the breach of promise (much as the employer did in this answer given previously); this may work where common sense has failed.

Unfortunately, any conflict with the hierarchy will probably be noted; standing up for yourself in a corporate environment is rarely entirely consequence-free.

(Note that this doesn't take away their right to cancel leave that you say your contract gives them - promissory estoppel merely recognises that you reasonably acted in reliance on assurances - assurances that were withdrawn - and that you should be compensated for the losses thereby incurred.)

Answer 4

I've been on both sides of this before, in retail management, and it's a pretty sucky situation to be in. I'm sorry you're in it.

From a management point of view, there's several possible things going on here. It's entirely possible that they approved the coworker's time off not realizing that you already asked it off (if they're a bit disorganized).

It's also possible your coworker is a bit more pushy than you are and a more valuable employee to them - if you've been there a year and your coworker's been there ten, for example - and told them they wanted the time off with at least some implication that they will leave if they don't get it. This is pretty common in retail with more experienced workers; they're very valuable because they have a lot of experience with store systems (in particular in something like a pharmacy, less so in cashiers/etc.), and they're also very hard to replace - while they can easily get a new job.

It's possible you don't have an out here, short of leaving for a new job. If you have the possibility of that - consider it. If you're not in a small town, but are instead in a city with multiple pharmacies, or if you are flexible about moving to another small town, this is probably your best bet; it's also the easiest way to get a pay raise, after all (though 1 year isn't a long time to stay, which can be a downside here).

I'm also a bit surprised to hear that you had time off approved during the holidays. In every retail shop I've worked in, the month of December is blocked off from any time off being approved. It's possible that your manager "approved" it without doing it the official way. (I also don't know about pharmacies specifically though; it's possible pharmacies are different even in big retail chains.)

If you want to maximize your chances of success, though, a few things.

1. Approach your manager and ask to have a conversation off the floor (in the offices).
2. During this conversation, be very polite, and never accusatory.
3. State your problem - "I asked for and was approved for these days off in October, and as a result, bought $400 in nonrefundable plane tickets." Avoid pointing out the rules at first; try to make this more of a personal discussion.
4. If your manager doesn't budge, then point out that you followed the process; you understand that scheduling is difficult particularly around the holidays, and retail always has challenges in the holiday season, but it's important that you be able to plan effectively.

If none of that works, you can try going up the ladder. Be careful about that though; going up the ladder puts you at some risk (of a poor review or losing your job ultimately). It's not necessarily wrong to do so, but it's possible you put yourself in a situation where you 'win' in the short term, but your manager resents that you made them look bad and is less willing to schedule time off/be accommodating with scheduling requests in the future. Don't go more than one step up at a time - and be prepared to be told no at each level. It's very possible that you don't have the whole story here (you may just not know it) and there's something else going on that is the reason for this.

Answer 5

I was once in a similar situation, where I was promised overtime, worked a weekend, then got told "sorry, company owner says I can't pay overtime".

I acquiesced, and regret it. I got taken for unpaid overtime many times as a result of not holding them to their word.

In your case, hold them to it. The odds are good that you'll win out, because they will not want it seen that they screwed up, they need you and probably hope to avoid temp filling the role, and you have their own words on your side.