Woman Called Waitrose After Her Funeral Leave Request Was Ignored. Then Got 3 Word Back From Boss: ‘Aw Sad Times’
A Waitrose worker whose request for funeral leave was ignored by her boss has called out her old workplace after claiming nobody believed that she needed the time off. The woman’s boss allegedly believed that she was lying, sending a short and inconsiderate response that solidified her hatred for her workplace.
In the short clip which was posted by TikToker, Emma, she writes about a time in the past when she was working at the U.K. supermarket chain known as Waitrose. She claims she applied and emailed “to get time off for a funeral and was ignored.”
Emma phoned her workplace but her boss didn’t believe her. They even went as far as to ask who had passed before telling her, “aw sad times.”
The manager’s response wasn’t the most appropriate or mature response and it has sparked a discussion on TikTok over worker’s rights. People have also taken to the comments to share their own horror stories working with bad managers and uncaring work environments.
Can a funeral leave request be denied?
First of all, let’s clear up one thing. There are certain things employers can and can’t do and funeral leave, or compassionate leave, can be denied. According to ergsy.com, it depends on the employer’s policy as to whether or not it is offered. Plenty of commenters who also worked at Waitrose claimed that the supermarket chain did offer employees compassionate leave as part of its policy.
“What OP’s manager did was explicitly against what’s outline [sic] in the partnership handbook,” explained one person. They added that managers can’t ask for evidence “unless they believe you to be lying.”
While a manager at Waitrose could deny compassionate leave it’s almost never a good idea to do so. It’s important to remember that people work to live, not the other way around, so it’s important to keep employees happy, especially when it comes to the death of a family member or loved one. Big life events like that always come before work. According to brighthr.com, “the best way to support your team is often to give them time off work.”
Others in the comment section shared their own horror stories from Waitrose and other employers who denied them compassionate leave. “I asked for a day off to go to a funeral once and was asked “do you really need to go, how close were you to them?”” One person claimed. Another claimed they worked at Waitrose and got put on a disciplinary due to taking time off for a long-term health condition.
The lesson here is that it is important to treat employees like humans and understand their life doesn’t revolve around work, something some managers clearly don’t get.
(Featured image: emmaaaemmaaaemmaaa, TikTok, Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 2.0)
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