Employee offers perfect response after boss tries to cancel annual leave in ‘appalling’ texts

An Aussie has quit his job after receiving an “appalling” text message from his boss trying to cancel his upcoming family holiday.

The wild text exchange was shared by Michael Sanz, a business owner and outsourcing expert who often has workers sharing their bad boss experiences with him.

Mr. Sanz shared the conversation between the worker, Noel, and his boss, Nick, to TikTok, telling his followers: “You’re not going to believe this message I just got sent.”

Sanz revealed to news.com.au that it was actually the boss who sent him the exchange “like a badge of honor” because he believed he was in the right.

He informed staff member Noel before making the TikTok and ensured the worker was fine with the texts being shared.

The first message is from the boss, who informs Noel that another staff member, Jenny, has resigned and therefore Noel’s leave booked in for the following week has been canceled, with the boss claiming it would be “all hands on deck” while they try to find a replacement.

“We can push back a few months. I’ve advised HR it’s now changed for you. Appreciate your understanding,” the boss wrote.

As he reads out the messages in the video, Mr. Sanz says what everyone is thinking at this point: “This guy sounds like a tool. He’s automatically canceling leave without any conversation.”

Noel then texted back saying that while he appreciates how “frustrating” this situation would be for the company, he can’t cancel his leave as he has his brother’s wedding in Bali.

“All flights are paid for and my kids are in the wedding party,” he wrote.

“I did book this in seven months ago, so canceling isn’t an option. I can help out more until I leave if that helps, but I can’t change my leave dates.”

Nick, the boss, then asked the worker to reduce his leave from three weeks to three days, having the audacity to add: “Not sure what you can do for three weeks in Bali haha.”

Mr. Sanz questioned why the boss is acting like this is a “joke”, noting he would be “furious at this point” if he was the employee.

Noel replied saying he “feels terrible” that the company is in this position, but reiterated that he couldn’t cancel or amend his trip.

“It’s a family trip, we haven’t been together in years and I haven’t had annual leave in 3 years. It’s also no one’s business how I spend my leave,” he said, suggesting they get some temp workers in to cover until they can find a permanent replacement.

He then said he could help out with the extra work until he leaves.

The next reply from the boss was branded “appalling” by Sanz, with the text reading: “Mate, can’t stress enough, your leave is canceled, we just can’t do it. I’m sorry.”

This appeared to be the last straw for Noel, with the worker claiming he no longer wants to come back to the office and had been left “shocked” by the exchange.

He informed Nick that he would now be moving his leave to start “from today” and during his time off he would consider whether “a company that doesn’t promote boundaries is a place I really want to work at”.

Noel added that he would be sending this “totally unreasonable” exchange to HR.

Sanz praised Noel for his handling of the situation, saying no worker should have to justify taking their annual leave.

“His holiday should go ahead, the running of the business should be left to the business owners, they should get a temp in there or a virtual assistant,” he said.

Since being posted, the video has gained more than 667,000 views and hundreds of comments, with people left stunned by the boss’s request.

“Oh hell no! He handled that well, not his problem,” one person wrote.

“Business Owner here. Unacceptable by the boss. Not the employees problem. Enjoy Bali!” another said.

One claimed they would have “quit after the first text”.

After the video went viral, Noel reached out to Sanz to thank him and his followers for their support and provide an update on the situation.

He said he went to the wedding in Bali, turned his phone off for three weeks and had a great time with his family.

Shockingly, his wife received a number of missed calls from the office, presumably because they couldn’t reach him.

“I came back to work after my leave and management were all a bit distant. I had decided on my break to find another job but didn’t want to let my clients down,” Noel said.

“So I cam back, gave notice, made sure my clients were up to date, and found a new job (with higher pay).”

Speaking to news.com.au, Sanz revealed that after posting that video he received dozens of messages from people from across Australian UK, New Zealand and the US who have had similar experiences.

In situations where there is a more “relaxed” relationship between employers and employees, Mr. Sanz often finds that one party will lean on this and overstep work boundaries.

“Whilst people can be familiar during work, often when leadership tries to infringe on personal space/ time, we see staff bite back,” he said.

“They are only paid to perform certain duties and more often already feel undervalued and underpaid.”

He said that any workers who find themselves in a similar situation need to make their work boundaries clear.

“Staff need to stay firm and make plans with confidence and always include HR in the conversation,” he said.

“Companies need to provide better education to management and staff around work leave so there are no levels of guilt that they often put on leave takers.”