Mother Of Three Demands Child Free Woman To Give Up Vacation Days For Her

By Annie N. in Social Issues On 29th November 2021
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It’s no secret that vacation days are few and far between in the USA. With paid vacation days being worth their weight in gold, this post on r/AITA rung true for many who would love to have more time for themselves and their families and not stress out about work from time to time.

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It started when this Redditor’s 41-year-old coworker approached her with a request. The mother of three had worked at the company for 17 years and wanted to ask the 27-year-old OP whether she could take some of her paid vacation days for herself.

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“We get 18 paid vacation days per year and unlimited sick days if we provide proof. The vacation days are added to your balance on January 1st and accumulate if you don’t use them. We can give them to someone else.”

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This coworker had used most of their days and didn’t have any left for their upcoming holidays.

“My coworker regularly takes a day or two every month or so. This year, she used 10 of her days in January when her brother dies and another 4 when her daughter got sick. As a result, she only has 4 days for the rest of this year. I have been saving my days for a long vacation and have 44 days, so about 2 months worth saved up. My coworker’s kids want her to take them on a two-week vacation. The place they want to go is in our country but pretty far away so 4 days won’t be enough.”

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While 44 days might sound like a lot, it was OP’s hard-earned time.

“She wants me to give her 6 of my days. Her justification is that I’m childless and don’t need that many days. We do get a lot of PTO. I really want to go on a trip around Europe after the pandemic.”

What was more bizarre was the insinuation that OP owed her holidays because she was childless.

“She says she needs a break more than me. She’s kind of right, maybe kids do make you extra tired. It’s not her fault she had to use 14 vacation days in the first 2 months of the year.”

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OP however stood her ground.

“I told her that I can’t give her my days. She’s upset and says that it’s my fault her kids’ dreams are being crushed.”

In the end, however, they did reach a compromise as everyone pooled their days in together to make sure the mother got her time off too.

“Update: She’s not that terrible. Some other coworkers and I each gave her a day so she could have the full two weeks with her kids.”

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People did not like the mother's attitude

"For someone asking for something she sounds really greedy and manipulative. NTA. Like the top comment says, it’s part of your compensation package. And honestly, you would be doing yourself a disservice."

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Most were concerned at the office's system and how employees were left to negotiate amongst themselves

"NTA. What kind of insane corporate system allows you to give other employees your vacation time, yet at the same time doesn't have bereavement time for loss of a close family member. I'm very thankful my union job has bereavement time as well as family sick time (you can use your sick time to take care of ill children or parents)."

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