It started when I pulled out my copy of the employee handbook to check something: when I saw Grandma on Saturday, she said she was glad to see me since it would probably be the last time, and while she has been saying that for years, and may well hang on for years more, I wondered what my company's policy was on taking time off around a death in the family. Morbid, I know, but there we are.
To my surprise, the employee handbook did not have a policy for that, which seemed strange to me. So I went to the company intranet, which they tell us is where the answers to all our questions reside. Mind you, at least in my position, I rarely have to go there for anything, but in this case I did, and started poking around, trying to find it.*
*And it turns out to be far from the point of this post, but just FYI, they do have a policy, but they don't include grandparents in the list of relatives. So.
I clicked on a section for requesting vacation time, which we have actually been told not to use when we want vacation time approved; instead, at the beginning of the year, we're each given a spreadsheet that shows how much time off we get, and we update that and send it to the manager to request specific time off. So I wasn't surprised that this part of the intranet showed I had unused vacation time when I have used some, but I was surprised at how much it said: 22 days. Twenty-two! I get two weeks of vacation time, not four! "What's going on?" I wondered.
So I kept digging until I found the employee handbook, which it turns out has been updated since the version that I have. And guess what it says?
In addition to the normal public holidays, all full-time and permanent employees are entitled to 20 working days’ holiday per year. ... This will increase by 1 day for every completed year of service, up to a maximum of 25 days per year.Well, that would work out to 22, all right. So what gives? I emailed my boss (who would be the first to tell you that he has no power in the company, but he's the one to ask his boss), and he apparently checked with her and the answer was, "That's what happens when your company is based in the UK; would that it was the same for us."
Excuse me?
Mind you, I couldn't really believe they would give me more time, and I have heard before (not specific to this company) that people in the UK do get more vacation time than we do in the US, but, but, but. Their intranet specifies that I, specifically, get 22 days. Their employee guide on the intranet specifies that it is the "sole Handbook for use in the company." It doesn't say it's only for the UK. If these rules are only for some employees, they need to say so.
I guess what I feel is, I understand there may be reasons to have different benefits in different countries. But there is no reason to tell some people what others are getting that they are not. And to have it in writing that everyone gets this, and then the spoken answer to the question is, "Oh, well, but not for you," is like rubbing our faces in it. If there are valid business reasons for it, then fine, that's their decision, but I really didn't want to know.
Am I wrong to be this upset? It really bothers me! I know I can't make them give me more vacation time, but I really, really want them to fix what the intranet and guide show, if that is not true for everyone. On the one hand, I don't want to make a huge stink about it--mostly because if, as they say, they will let me keep working for the company when I move to Florida, and I don't have to job search on top of moving, then I don't want to jeopardize that--but this is, well, it's just so wrong. I can't come up with any more compelling argument for why they should fix it, but it's really, really bugging me.
Maybe what it boils down to, why I'm so upset, is that I really value vacation time. Doubling what I get would make a real difference to my quality of life. And it feels like they're ... I don't know, toying with me? Mocking me? Certainly not valuing me. This is the part where I know I'm being too emotional about it, but that's how it feels right now. Hopefully I will feel better about it tomorrow.
What do you think? Can you help me articulate this? Or do you think I should just let it go? What do you think?
I don't have advice other than to commiserate that it suuuuuucks. The amount of time we get off in the US is crap. Useless crap. Work/life balance seems to much better in other countries.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that yes, we do get more days off in the UK - I actually get 31 plus bank holidays. But around 20-25 is more normal - unless you have a zero hours contract or work in the gig economy where you get none at all. My high number is in part down to long service - when you have worked for the organisation for more than 10 yrs you get extra days off.
ReplyDeleteI think it's cruel to raise your hopes then get them dashed - but it may be worth finding the appropriate person to request that the information is updated as you may get some good will credit that way, if nothing else.
Oh yeah, that stinks. BUT, since you are planning to make the move to Florida soon and do not want to be job hunting, I would make as few waves as possible. Once you're there maybe start a job search because that is a really really crummy way to do things. Also very sloppy.
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