Lisa asked her boss if she could attend her uncle’s funeral. His response left her gobsmacked
A boss has sparked fury after refusing to let an employee take the day off to attend her uncle’s funeral over a bizarre reason.
Employee Lisa texted her manager Sam reminding him of her request for compassionate leave after the loss of her uncle, with whom she was close.
‘Hey Sam, I’ve just seen your email about holding off on requesting annual leave, but just wanted to make sure I was still able to take next Wednesday off. I wouldn’t be asking, but as you know, it’s for my uncle’s funeral,’ Lisa said in the text.
However, the boss pushed back on her request.
‘Lisa, again I’m very sorry to hear about your uncle as you know, but I can’t make any exceptions. If I give you time off, I’ll have everyone coming to me with special requests,’ he responded.
Stunned, Lisa replied: ‘Surely you can make an exception here? My uncle and I were really close and I’m sure the rest of the team will understand.’
But Sam declined to grant her compassionate leave because her uncle was not considered an ‘immediate’ family member.
‘I am really sorry but no, it would be different if it was immediate family but this is just too much of a stretch,’ he responded.
A boss has sparked fury after refusing to let an employee take the day off to attend her uncle’s funeral. Manager Sam declined to grant employee Lisa’s compassionate leave because her uncle was not considered an ‘immediate’ family member
Lisa then tried to compromise so she could attend her uncle’s funeral.
‘It’s just one day and I’ll make sure I don’t fall behind on anything. This would really mean a lot to me,’ she said.
After spending 15 minutes thinking about the situation, Sam agreed to let Lisa attend the funeral – but there were conditions she needed to meet.
‘How about you work half the way and make up the hours for the rest of the week? I think we can justify that, just don’t tell the others you’re getting special treatment lol,’ Sam said.
Lisa replied: ‘Okay thanks.’
It’s unclear what happened next, but the text message exchange was re-shared by British entrepreneur Ben Askins, who calls out ‘toxic’ bosses for their mistreatment of employees.
‘This is madness. This is so bad. He acted like he was doing her a favour?’ Ben said after reading out the text messages on social media.
‘This is clearly a special occasion. Of course her team would understand. How is this your decision to make? She’s already mentioned how close she was to her uncle. What on earth are you playing at here?
‘This is an awful moment in your life, stand up and help your team out. Different people require different things at different moments. It’s okay to treat some people slightly differently, depending on the circumstance.’
After spending 15 minutes thinking about the situation, Sam agreed to let Lisa attend the funeral – but there were conditions she needed to meet
His video has been viewed more than 12,000 times, with many weighing in on the office worker’s situation.
‘Going to a family funeral is not a request, it’s letting them know you won’t be there at work,’ one suggested.
‘Literally after the first no I would’ve said that’s a shame, I’ll also be working my notice when I get back from the funeral,’ another said.
‘I’d be looking for a new job ASAP,’ one added.
Meanwhile, many shared their own experiences after having to take time off work to attend a family member’s funeral.
‘I was really upset when my husband’s uncle died, he wouldn’t have certainly count as a close relative, but my boss is a human luckily,’ one said.
‘One of my ex-colleagues was refused time off for her aunt’s funeral because aunts and uncles were not considered “close enough family”, She quit the next day,’ another shared.
‘That’s mad. My boss let me have a free day to go to my mum’s best friend’s funeral because I had known her my whole life and she was basically like an aunt,’ one said.
