getting time off work

[KellyHabersham]

To some of my family members (mainly my mom, because she doesn’t seem to get it):

Please understand that I can’t just take time off work – I need advance notice to request time off, and if the monthly schedule has already been posted, I can only get time off if a co-worker is willing and available to switch/cover a shift for me. (exceptions would be an emergency, or something like jury duty)

This is NOT guaranteed to happen…..we are short-staffed in my work area, one co-worker has limited availability because of another job, and because weekends are the busiest times for us, it’s highly doubtful that our supervisor would agree to just letting me take the weekend off.

[Tama]

You work retail, don't you?

Why doesn't anyone get that you can't just take off whenever you want?

[KellyHabersham]

Nope, no retail for me......I work at a public library. (but the hours/availability are a bit like retail, as I don't have a set schedule and don't get weekends off. )

As for why people don't get it about my taking time off, I honestly have no idea.......part of it's because nobody else in my immediate family currently has a job where weekend availability is required.

[Estil]

Oh dear when I worked at Kroger calling in sick was like pulling teeth!! I can understand wanting a doctor's note if you're gone more than a few days or something but if it's just a one day bug or something the rule of thumb is this...if I'm too sick to drag myself into work you really think I'm gonna drag myself to the doctor/hospital and waste money on the bill just to hear him/her tell me to get fluids and rest (which I knew already genius...). As if losing at least a whole day or two's pay isn't bad enough for a line of work where you probably live from paycheck to paycheck... And this was in a UNION place no less!!!

[jedimaster91]

I'm having to fight for time off to go to maternity appointments. I do what I can; schedule the appointments in the afternoons--even though I prefer mornings--so I can at least help with the busier parts of the day, and try to schedule them on days when we have extra people.

I can only imagine the fight I'm going to have for actual leave. It doesn't help that my leave will be over the holidays, but there's really nothing I can do about that. And I frankly don't care.

[Dreamstalker]

My store is union; actually getting sick time applied properly is a job in itself. One day last year I actually had to call in sick before my shift with some sort of mutant flu (that in all likelihood came from one of our lovely customers).

When I was back, SM asked me why I hadn't shown up that day Turned out my sick call was actually treated as a NC/NS. Which was even more boggling because Shithead was the one I talked to (technically, he's a manager although nobody knows why).

[Kara_CS]

My ex could never understand the concept of responsible sick leave. "One of the kids is sick, I need you to stay home and help me." "I'm sick, I need you to stay home and take care of the kids." "i or one of the kids has an appointment today, I need you to take the day off because I don't want to be in town all day by myself." "We're going to visit my family this tomorrow, just call in today and we'll make it a three-day weekend. I need help with the kids." Bear in mind that my ex didn't work at all, so our kids always had a parent home to take care of them.

Then there was "If you'd just apply yourself more at work and improve your attitude, you'd have a promotion by now." Hmm, maybe. And maybe if I didn't always get a write-up for absences every six months because someone demands at least twice a month that I stay home to help out (as in, you stay in bed and fuck around with your facebook games all day while I deal with everything), maybe I'd get a promotion once in awhile.

And now there's my current job and someone in my life who doesn't require me to call in on a whim, which is good because calling in here can have consequences no matter what the reason. They wrote me up for excessive absences in May because of days I missed due to my back injury. My back injury I sustained at work and have a still-active worker's comp claim for.

[s_stabeler]

They wrote me up for excessive absences in May because of days I missed due to my back injury. My back injury I sustained at work and have a still-active worker's comp claim for.

is that legal? ( particularly since the injury was sustained at work)

[Kara_CS]

It's all kinds of illegal. But they were clever enough to hide their tracks in red tape and a paper trail so that it would basically come down to my word against there's (since there is now no physical evidence that I called in for the reason "Injury on Duty" during the month they wrote me up). But the Union was able to get them to see the error of their ways at least enough that my suspension was "on-paper" only. It's not ideal, but it'll do. They're never going to stop trying to fire me for having the nerve to rupture the fibrous tissue on my spine and herniate two discs when their chair broke, but that's a rant of its own.

[KellyHabersham]

My church secretary job was actually the worst as far as getting time off went.....not sure if it was because the job was very part-time hours, or our personnel committee just really hadn't thought things through, but just to list a few things:

- I was responsible for finding someone to cover for me
- I was not allowed to give out the alarm codes.
- Unless someone had give me the okay, I was not to give out copies of keys to the building.
- if someone could cover for me, they would only handle the phone and greeting visitors....nothing else would get done until I returned.

[BrenDAnn]

My family doesn't get this, either. I warn them every year that I might have to work Christmas, seeing as I work in a c-store that doesn't close for the holiday. Do they plan things more than a week in advance? Hell no. You want me to be there, give me time to ask off or something! Seriously!