leave request

[susan1234]

My manager just resigned and I have a new manager. I have a relationship with this person because she has been an  administrative officer in our department. I asked my new manager if I can leave 45 minutes earlier in 2 weeks, i .e., use vacation time. She replied by saying that if I find someone to cover she will approve the leave. Our temp  is available to work a later shift that day. I would be with her up to 5:30 pm and she would be on her own from 5:30 to 6:15 pm. However, it is, in fact,the manager's responsibility in my organization to arrange for coverage. How do I convey that to my manager in a professional, diplomatic manner?   I do not want to always have to arrange coverage if I want to take time off.

[gee4]

Might be a bit tricky Susan as your new manager may want to change how things are done.  

G

[raindance]

How you deal with this depends on the circumstances, but generally the direct and polite approach wins the game.

If it is company policy that the manager arranges cover, then you could say to her something along the lines of "As you know, it's company policy for you as my manager to arrange cover, but on this occasion I've arranged for X to provide cover, as you requested".  Said with a big smile, that should do the trick: manager doesn't feel threatened and you get your message across.  If necessary, she will either check the policy - if she doesn't know it already - or she will ask you for a copy.

If it isn't company policy that cover is arranged by the manager, then you may wish to discuss with your manager how she would like this matter to be dealt with in future, and what should happen if you absolutely need that time off but can't arrange cover.  If it is written down somewhere - an email confirming the substance of your discussions, printed and filed in your own records - will be sufficient.

Best wishes,

Raindance