Does your boss have a right to call you on vacation?

by TresHappy 31 Replies latest jw friends

  • Sassy
    Sassy

    Show me the money.

    I trainined an Executive Assistant/PA/Secretary who complained about her boss ringing her at 4am in the morning for a non urgent matter. At first I was surprised but though there must be two sides to the story. The next day she complained about her much the job was impacting on her and her 8 year old son. I asked her how much she earned.

    $140,000.

    I had no sympathy for her.

    damn... I'm an Executive Secretary.... I need her job.. I sure as hell do not get that kind of pay

  • lonelysheep
    lonelysheep

    Your boss has every right to call you and YOU have every right not to answer without being reprimanded for it. Your boss should know to solve it without you or wait until you return to the office. He should respect that vacation means vacation, and you are not exempt from that. I know I sure as hell don't get paid enough to be on call. Do you?

  • Abaddon
    Abaddon

    They have the right to call.

    I have the right to ignore the call. One client's an old woman (as in whinginging moaner), and I just tend to ignore his calls.

    Normally I answer, and have ended up with an extra days leave for a half hours work helping my boss out. I think this might have something to do with the level of disapproval I can generate down a phone line.

    In total it's been maybe six phone calls in five years vacations (and this being Europe that's six months holiday over five years, so not bad), and I'm a Manager so I need to suck it up as an emergency is, well, an emergency. Only exception was this year when there were two small tasks partially completed when I left that I needed and expected to be contacted on during the first couple of days.

    But for lower down the ladder it's an impostion.

  • Wordly Andre
    Wordly Andre

    I have to check in while on vacation, I'm a manager in my company, and have to take my cell phone on vacation, and while I was in Europe my company cell didn't work so I checked in every other day by email. I don't think I do it for my boss, I do it so I know I don't have to come back to some huge emergency.

  • sammielee24
    sammielee24

    I've been in that position - major big time! My solution - I wouldn't have said a word about his call. I simply would have pretended I didn't even know he'd left a message until I got back from vacation. Unless you are an oncall person, there is absolutely no way you must be available for your employer at any time of the day. I once booked a vacation, had it approved by my direct supervisor and made my travel plans. The last day of work as I was walking out the door at the end of the day, the Director walked by as I was saying goodbye to the others in the office telling them to 'have a good week'. She immediately stopped and asked me what was going on and when I told her that I was leaving for a one week vacation, she said 'oh no you aren't'. I told her I was. She told me I wasn't. I told her my vacation was approved, booked and that I was leaving - have a good week and I waved goodbye and walked out the door.

    Her option - fire me. My come back would have been to take her to court for wrongful termination. I would have won hands down - it would have cost the firm a lot of money and a lot of bad publicity. I stayed another 15 years. You work for an employer - it's a job - respect works both ways. sammieswife.

  • PEC
    PEC

    sammieswife has it right, the vacation was approved, you can not be on call during your vacation. Now if they said that they would give me 3 months salary and the whole vacation time back, I might cut my vacation short. Unless it means canceling my race track time, that isn't going to happen; because, it may be the only chance in my lifetime to drive at that race track. Philip

  • minimus
    minimus

    I would've answered it the second time with a bit of an attitude. I'd make sure that he'd know that it wasn't worth it.

  • unbeliever
    unbeliever

    While I was out on maternity leave I was called no less than 14x. Was I pissed? No. For some reason it made me feel more secure in my job that the office had such a hard time functioning without me.

  • stillajwexelder
    stillajwexelder

    When he has in the past , it has made me feel very needed and thus very motivated. I have no problem with it

  • Highlander
    Highlander

    good point stilla,

    In most cases, a phone call while on vacation would show you're an asset at work. Second: If your job is paying you vacation time, then I think they have every right to call. As mentioned you also have the right not to answer.

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