Manager Won't Approve Leave Requests More than 30 Days Ahead of Time

[Anonymous]

I work for a federal agency. Our office lost about 30 percent of it's people after the fork offer last year so we're understaffed. My manager has used this as the basis for his new rule that no vacation requests will be approved more than 30 days ahead of time, no matter how far in advance you submit the request. Is this reasonable? Is there a basis in law for contesting this? I've tolerated paying higher prices for flights, hotels and car rentals to get the cancellable price but it's starting to get really expensive. Id like to go on a once in a lifetime experience and the place we'd like to stay is $2000 a night and nonrefundable and books up about a year ahead of time (safari), but it's difficult to justify dumping that much money for something I might not be able to do if my manager doesn't approve my leave request.

[Anonymous]

Is your job the kind of thing where you need to balance coverage and have people's leave line up? Does leave not get approved?

I've been a fed for 25 years and I've never had leave not approved. I did once have to negotiate a little bit with my boss when I took 6 weeks off at once, but that's it. I don't know anyone else who has ever had leave denied. If that's the case, and he just doesn't want it in the system more than a month out, then I'd just go ahead with my plans.

[Anonymous]

I've tolerated paying higher prices for flights, hotels and car rentals to get the cancellable price but it's starting to get really expensive.

How many times have you gone away in the past year?

I agree that I would just book and 99% he'll approve it, and if he doesn't, you show the email where you informed him ahead of time and the receipts of what you paid.

[Anonymous]

Do you have an HR dept?
I’d ask the official leave policy.
I work for local government and can put leave in whenever except the more notice the getter. Leave less than a week in can get denied although they try not to do that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work for a federal agency. Our office lost about 30 percent of it's people after the fork offer last year so we're understaffed. My manager has used this as the basis for his new rule that no vacation requests will be approved more than 30 days ahead of time, no matter how far in advance you submit the request. Is this reasonable? Is there a basis in law for contesting this? I've tolerated paying higher prices for flights, hotels and car rentals to get the cancellable price but it's starting to get really expensive. Id like to go on a once in a lifetime experience and the place we'd like to stay is $2000 a night and nonrefundable and books up about a year ahead of time (safari), but it's difficult to justify dumping that much money for something I might not be able to do if my manager doesn't approve my leave request.

What does this mean? Will the manager still approve any leave requests within 30 days?

[Anonymous]

Look at the rules for when a supervisor can disapprove leave - as I recall, they have to have a reason and they have to let you take the denied leave within a certain time frame.

If you have the kind of job that requires coverage, get a calendar set up. Hospital staff do major date calendars a year in advance - so you know whether you have Christmas off next year, for example - and then they trade coverage as things come up. But if it's not that kind of job, I would just book the trip and inform him you are going. The fact the office is short staffed is not your fault or your problem.

[Anonymous]

No. It is not reasonable.

[Anonymous]

To answer questions, we're not the sort of team that needs coverage like a hospital. We're all desk workers that work on long-term projects. He has explicitly said in writing that he's not going to make a decision on the leave request until 30 days before the leave request begins, and he has reiterated that the decision may be to deny the leave request. He just implemented this policy 5 months ago, so I have booked 3 vacations assuming my leave requests will get denied, but none of them have happened yet so I don't have a track record of how often he's going to deny or approve.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To answer questions, we're not the sort of team that needs coverage like a hospital. We're all desk workers that work on long-term projects. He has explicitly said in writing that he's not going to make a decision on the leave request until 30 days before the leave request begins, and he has reiterated that the decision may be to deny the leave request. He just implemented this policy 5 months ago, so I have booked 3 vacations assuming my leave requests will get denied, but none of them have happened yet so I don't have a track record of how often he's going to deny or approve.

I'm the one who asked about how many vacations you took. I was wondering if you had taken multiple in the year and that prompted the policy, but since you haven't actually gone on any yet, that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Glad you clarified.

I would definitely go above and get the actual policy. Now granted the policy may say the supervisor has discretion to do that, but find out. I would pull together the receipts and show the difference in costs you are paying to get refundable tickets/hotel. I don't know that he realizes you're doing that that because I think most feds just proceed with their plans assuming the boss is ultimately going to approve. I know someone whose supervisor didn't approve her vacation until like the day before she left and she was nervous, but there was never a doubt she was going.

I would tell the boss, and HR if necessary, I am booking a safari on X dates at $$$ nonrefundable, please let me know by Tuesday if those dates won't work. I just can't believe that HR would let him write you up for going on a trip if you tell him a year in advance and he decides to randomly deny it a month before.

[Anonymous]

Our leave request system won’t allow you to process that request until you’re within 90 days. I’d ask your boss to show you the written policy.

[Anonymous]

Here is the OPM page on scheduling leave. It's very focused on making sure you use leave throughout the year and not all at once at the end. In relevant part:

"When an employee makes a timely request for leave, the supervisor must either approve the request and schedule the leave at the time requested by the employee or, if that is not possible because of project related deadlines or the agency's workload, must schedule it at some other time."
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/leave-administration/fact-sheets/annual-leave/

I would tell your boss that it helps everyone to plan things more than 30 days out, so you will be submitting leave plans as you make them, in accordance with OPM guidance. If your office has a different written policy (doubt it) he can go find it.

[Anonymous]

Trip insurance, my bosses always unless a honeymoon or something have right to cancel vacation, welcome to the world

[Anonymous]

Seriously, I d leave this kind of job

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trip insurance, my bosses always unless a honeymoon or something have right to cancel vacation, welcome to the world

Trip insurance is not going to cover your boss denying your leave request. And sorry, this isn't welcome to the world, this is welcome to having an AH boss.

[Anonymous]

My agency doesn't formally let you submit far in advance...but I have an elementary age kid and I let my boss know as far in advance as possible when I will be out (eg spring break, winter break, weeks in summer I'll be away). It's reasonable to do so. You boss sounds like a jerk.