ankj
6

Dear All,
Kindly help me! One of the employee of our organization has a birthday today. She mailed me the same info in afternoon. But, our rules says that an employee should provide leaves information a day before. My boss is very disappointed with me because I have considered this leave and approved. Now, he wanted me to spoil her birthday party today by conveying her that she is not supposed to come for this entire weak. She is on her probation period with first month no salary. Pls let me know what should I do to handle this situation....
Regards
Ankita

From India, Delhi
Amith R Murthy
16

Hi Ankita,
I would say allow her to avail leave since it is her Birthday and once she reports back tomorrow you can give her oral warning stating such instances will not be entertained going forward because your policy doesn't allow to do so. Convince your Manager that you would take care of such things going forward.
Regards
Amith R.

From India, Bangalore
saiconsult
1899

Hello Ankita
Find out mitigating (gravity reducing) factors that go in her favour like that she is a very efficient worker and that this is the first instance or that she has been serving the organisation for .......years an dthat she is a team playerand that her absence for a week may affect team work and such other favourable factors that can prevail up on him to condone her lapse of prior intimation.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour law Advisor

From India, Mumbai
Dinesh Divekar
7884

Dear Ankita,

You could have given additional details. What is the length of experience that an employee has? What is her designation? Is she a junior person?

Now here you need to be a bridge between your boss and the employee. If she is a junior employee then her antics could be condoned. Telling employee not to attend the duties for the rest of the week is a too harsh punishment. Please tell your "boss" that you cannot use a sledgehammer to kill the flies! Has your boss thought of the consequences of this hobgoblin's decision? By awarding this kind of punishment, will that dilettante employee get the sympathy of other employees? Will this decision reduce the morale of other employees? Will this punishment shatter motivation of the employee in question?

Is this yardstick made applicable to all the employees? If you keep the rule same for everybody then you should also have uniform punishment. What punishment is given to other employees?

By the way, who is your "boss"? Is he the manager or the Director or the owner? Did he commit any mistake any time and what punishment he has awarded for himself?

The incident well illustrates the difference between the "boss" and the "leader". It is easy to be former and difficult to be the latter. If your boss remains adamant then please do not communicate this decision today but communicate it tomorrow morning.

Thanks,

Dinesh Divekar

From India, Bangalore
JintanDinesh
Hi Ankita,
Your manager is right in his place. At work, if need be we work till late nights on our birthday's, and probably the best way to gauge a persons professionalism is through these little things. However it is also true that a little bit of understanding turns a nice place to work, into an amazing place to work. Sometimes even a verbal warning can be quite demotivating. I would say set expectation, and be a senior who grooms their subordinates, after all that's what we all look for in our seniors.
Thanks
Jintan Dinesh

From India, Kolkata
samvedan
315

Hello,

The Boss is clearly over reacting!

To correct one wrong by the employee he is committing a monumental wrong.

A person, especially one, who is on probation deserves some understanding, some kindness, some supportive climate and an inclusive approach.

This issue apart, if your organization imbibes these factors as part of your organization's culture, soon you will realize that what could lead to attrition will not happen and there will be good bonding and a sense of belonging on the part of members of the organization.

Either the Boss refuses to understand this golden truth or is incapable of understanding!

Be kind to Boss. Educate him on finer qualities of leadership and team work but not at this juncture. (It might prove counter productive!)

Try and reason out. You are NOT siding the wrong doer but are clearly protecting and furthering organization's interests is the message the Boss must get.

If he refuses to see reason and if good sense does not prevail, then so be it! Sometimes a "cost" has to be paid to "learn". This may be one such occasion.

Regards

samvedan

October 22, 2013

-----------------------------

From India, Pune
ChetnaKapita
11

Hi Ankita,
In regards to your post, her salary should go as LWP (Leave without Pay) as she is on probation. Probation period states that employee is not entitled for approved leaves or other benefits from the organization till the time they are not confirmed.
And with regards to not spoiling her birthday, no one is telling you to do that rather inform her about leaves and other policies in respect to the work in writing :) :)
And also update your boss with the same as this shall never be repeated going forward.
All the best ....

From India, Kalyan
kishorkulkarni
241

Dear Ankita,

This is a typical situation which any HR Officer has to face many a times in his carrier. But hardly any solution format is available. Here you have a scope of thinking and creating something not written in any books of HR Management.

I could see the dilemma of you. You have a boss who is a-bit-over-reactive and you have a subordinate who has just started her carrier but had a lapse.

I suggest that first you send greetings to the Birthday-Girl on behalf of yourself, your boss and the company. Let her enjoy her birthday.

Next day when she reports, call her. Tell her about the rules of leave etc. Inform her about the way she had taken leave and because of that how the boss was not happy etc. Also tell her that such things will not be tolerated. Get an leave application filled by her stating the reason of birthday party etc.

Next important step is : just you both go to the Boss and ask the lady to say sorry for not informing about leave and that she shall be always particular for all such things. Let the lady make a request to Boss to sanction her leave. ( By this time, you must have got what I am leading to. What I was trying to do was to have a direct communication between them. That certainly helps. If boss gives curses, there is no harm in listening them.)

Just doing all this, I think, it will clear everything and there will not be any points of displeasure of your boss. So just go for that..

With regards,

Adv. K. H. Kulkarni

From India, Kolhapur
couvery
183

Well, as she is on probation, better if you give him some strict warning as the same should not be repeated further otherwise some strict action will be taken against. You can warn her when she back to office after celebrating her Birthday.
Also, better if you have some advance employee management, HR or payroll software there you can save those details. that will help you.

From India, Lucknow
kannanmv
257

Dear Ankita,

My first query is do you state the leave rules/ policies/ procedures to the new employees during their induction/ orientation programme. If you have communicated to the employee about this may be she would have communicated it earlier.

From the employer's perspective did her birthday dawn on her on the day of her leave. Certainly not, it could have been planned by her in advance. Secondly, as per your statement, she is only in her first month of employment. This was the primary reason for your boss reaction. In my opinion I would not subscribe the view that he is over reacting owing to the aforesaid reasons.

Now the probable solution to the problem. Speak to your boss and tell him that you will speak to the concerned employee on her return from leave and give her a stern warning. Also seek an apology from your boss for having granted leave instantly without communicating the rules of the game (leave procedure) to the employee when she communicated to you.

I would recommend that you should not allow her to meet your boss, because you have to handle it yourself. HR has two sides of the coin. The good boss and the bad boss side. The good boss appreciates employees, motivates and cheers them when a good work is done. The bad boss chides, warns and punishes employees when they err.

Explain to your boss politely that 1 week LOP is a harsh punishment. Tell the employee that she has hardly completed one month of service and such an act of her is not considered proper.

Employee may feel demotivated when they are being told that they are on the wrong side but you can't help it.

One thing that is unanswered is, she has communicated to you. Does she report to your boss, in other words does she belong to your department? If she is in your department then you need to handle it. But on the other hand if she belongs to a different department, the department boss is equally responsible. Many a times we find the bosses sleep over such matters causing discomfort and pass the buck on to HR department to handle it.

Regards

M.V.Kannan

From India, Madras
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