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I notified my boss regarding my planned vacation a month ago. Initially I planned on traveling before joining the office but he told me to travel after a month because we had KT sessions in the first two weeks of work so I postponed it.
It seems like my boss has forgotten about my vacation. a. How do I remind him of it? b. Is it a good idea to remind him the things he told me about the vacation? (he told me to travel in March instead of February).
Ps, we are a small company.
Assume positive intent, and look at it from his point of view -- which does not mean skipping vacation or moving it again.
Rather, figure out how work will get done in your absence, and brief him on the plan you've made.
For example:
"Boss, thanks again for green-lighting my vacation. I need five minutes to brief you on my coverage plan for when I'm out on vacation March X-Y. When is good for you?"
(You've already written, and done the work of, the plan before you say that.)
"Boss, here's the plan. The Smith work is due while I'm gone, so I've already done most of it, and Becky is ready to finish it off when the specs come in. The Jones project won't be due for another two weeks after I return, and Andrew has been briefed and will field any calls that come in from Jones while I'm away. And the regular pop-up administrative work will be taken by Joe, Jill and Chris in rotation -- I've cross trained with each of them.
"That's it. Anything I've overlooked? Any concerns?"
And that's how you remind your boss of your already approved vacation.
If he gives you grief, you can always suggest that, if you're truly irreplaceable, maybe he's hinting he wants you to ask for a raise.
Also if you have access to his calendar (or a shared calendar) just post your vacation days -- and those of other folks, of course.
Stand up for your rights without apology. Just like he would if it were his vacation.
If it's a small company then just him tell straight out.
'I'm on vacation starting on the xx/xx/2016 until xx/xx/2016, all my work is up to date, is there anything I need to hand over?'
You can then move forwards depending on his reply, if he doesn't remember, just remind him he approved it before and you have already made firm plans. But I would think he will remember and organise whatever he needs to.
It's not your responsibility to be training staff to take over or organising in detail what will happen while you're away without the bosses input. So give him as much advance notice as you can. In other words, have that conversation now.
Usually, HR and your manager should know the times of your holiday. HR is supposed to remember it. I tend to remind people one week before I leave for a weeks holiday (or I might say "I won't be here tomorrow" before a one day holiday).
And that's just to remind them. The company would have some really really good reason to stop me from taking holiday (it hasn't actually happened to me, ever), but obviously your manager may have forgotten and you want to avoid him running into problems because he forgot that you are leaving.
Just to make this clear: You are not confirming your holiday. You are not making sure that your holiday is still on. You booked your holiday, there is no way you are not taking it (except for a total disaster threatening the company), it is just a polite reminder of the fact that you won't be there.
If the vacation was previously discussed in e-mail, attach a copy to an e-mail reminding your boss of the vacation.
It can often be useful to turn a conversation into e-mail immediately, and keep a copy: "As we discussed this morning, I plan to take my vacation from [START] to [END]."
