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If it's a planned event. In non-production roles in Corporate America, people take time off with short notice all the time for various reasons: illness, pet died, hot water tank exploded, etc. I once had an appointment to meet with the HR director at a former company and she she cancelled it because she was out of the office due to her dog dying. Not exactly planned, not exactly part of the bereavement policy either. But this does happen, especially in non-production roles in Corporate America. Blue collar, production roles have a very different set of rules and expectations than white collar, corporate roles. There tends to be way more flexibility and leniency in white collar, corporate roles from my first hand experience.
I know OP's situation is different, but I'm specifically addressing your comment that even PTO is for planned events. In fact, it's not only for that. It's for any event that requires you to take time off, planned or not. Obviously planned is more helpful, but life doesn't always work out as planned.
I see what you mean. Unexpected situations do happen. Good points.
A better way to handle this would be to tell the supervisor as soon as the death occurred “Hey boss, my nephew passed away. I’ll need some time off to attend the funeral, but I’m not sure when it will be yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.” As a supervisor I always disliked when my employees sprang these last second requests on me for things they knew in advance about. I had phone and reception coverage I had to work out.
I wonder if employee was out of PTO and that was why the bereavement leave ineligibility was a problem.
This is why some employees also don't even ask for the time off. They just call out sick instead.
For one day would it have even been questioned? Would he have needed a note for one day? Not likely. But at this crazy company maybe he would have.
Chances that he would have been seen out somewhere by a coworker? Not likely. He was going to a funeral, not a ballgame with a crowd of people.
I worked at a company where people couldn't get time off if they asked. The company made people SWAP shifts with others for things like kids college graduations or weddings. If they couldn't find someone to swap with them, they couldn't have the day. Sooo, they just didn't even ask, and called out sick. (Where as IF you asked for it, didn't get it, and then a month and a half later called out sick...well then you take the chance the manager could feel some kind of way about it. Not worth it. Just don't ask and call out.....which of course is MORE disruptive to other workers, production and work flow than a planned day off. But do managers care about that? No. So, workers don't care.)
This is what I was asking in my head too. Assume this nephew of his didn't die that week as it generally takes about a week to set up funeral services. Why didn't he notify them well ahead of time?
And agree with charly, I've seen that policy many times before. As you work up the corporate ladder generally managers and/or companies are willing to give you the benefit of the doubt but this sounds like a call center job that they can fill with just about anyone with a pulse.
He has zero legal recourse.
Traditionally, funerals are within 3 days of the death, not a week and he may not have heard immediately about the death. And even though the day might have been set, not the exact time of the service. Anyway, sounds like an overreaction and a bad deal for him to get fired.
Traditionally, funerals are within 3 days of the death,not a week and he may not have heard immediately about the death. And even though the day might have been set, not the exact time of the service. Anyway, sounds like an overreaction and a bad deal for him to get fired.
I wouldn't say that's true at all.
There are just too many religious and/or family traditions -- not to mention circumstances surrounding the death itself -- to make that statement.
When my ex-husband's father died, the dean of his college told him that "that in no way constitutes and emergency" (his exact words) and that if he didn't find someone to cover his classes they would write an adverse action in his personnel file. If you know anything about small college biology departments, you know that every professor teaches their own specialty, and so a couple of his friends in the department offered to babysit his classes, but they were in no way whatsoever qualified to teach those subjects.
I had a similar situation when I was in graduate school. My mother died over Thanksgiving weekend in another state, and I missed an exam the Monday after the holiday weekend because I was helping my aunt plan the funeral. The professor didn't care (I had verification of her death) and refused to let me reschedule the exam, in spite of my advisor pleading with him.
It's a sad society we live in when a parent's death isn't a valid excuse for missing work or a test.
My dad died about four years ago and my mother this spring. In both cases, different employers, I was told to take what time I needed. This turned into a few weeks off spread out over a few months (dying isn't always fast). And now I'm working on a Saturday to cover for the guy who covered for me this spring.
If you can avoid working for someone heartless, I recommend it.
For the most part the supervisors I've had at the times I've needed have been good. For myself when I've been a supervisor, I've had nor problems letting someone off. Even helped arrange things to cover for them. Had two this week. One had enough time for me to sign him off. The other we told to just go and we'd do the paperwork and he could sign it when he got back.
That said, I've had professors where the only excuse for missing an exam would be a signed note from God that you were dead. Relatives didn't count.
When my ex-husband's father died, the dean of his college told him that "that in no way constitutes and emergency" (his exact words) and that if he didn't find someone to cover his classes they would write an adverse action in his personnel file. If you know anything about small college biology departments, you know that every professor teaches their own specialty, and so a couple of his friends in the department offered to babysit his classes, but they were in no way whatsoever qualified to teach those subjects.
I had a similar situation when I was in graduate school. My mother died over Thanksgiving weekend in another state, and I missed an exam the Monday after the holiday weekend because I was helping my aunt plan the funeral. The professor didn't care (I had verification of her death) and refused to let me reschedule the exam, in spite of my advisor pleading with him.
It's a sad society we live in when a parent's death isn't a valid excuse for missing work or a test.
In those situations above, I would have told the idiot that they are a bleep bleep bleep piece of bleep. And then I would have stood outside their houses on alternating days with a sign saying what a bleep bleep they are.
Traditionally, funerals are within 3 days of the death, not a week and he may not have heard immediately about the death. And even though the day might have been set, not the exact time of the service. Anyway, sounds like an overreaction and a bad deal for him to get fired.
But he said it was his nephew. If any of my nephews died I'd have heard about it on that very day, or the next day at a minimum.
Many funerals are pushed out many days if there are people coming in from out of town. I have no family where I'm at, if I died tomorrow there would not be a funeral on Tuesday, that wouldn't possibly give everyone enough time to attend.
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