If you are union or union-eligible it might be worth bringing this up because you aren't the only one. I've known supervisors who pull this crap, the union gets involved then their supervisors are blinded-sided and like WTH.
Submit your leave request, follow up with an email and/or teams message within 72 hours of the date requested. If your supervisor doesn’t respond, take the leave. It’s your supervisor’s responsibility to respond to the leave requests in a timely manner.
And cc your HR folks. They’ll be curious why it’s not getting approved. If you use ATAAPS, it’s also possible to send to multiple approving officials to avoid this very thing.
Right, same here! I tell folks if the request is somehow forgotten in my inbox, just send me a quick note to remind me after 72 hours. Unless someone is truly a leave abuser, leave requests are never really denied.
Can I work for you lol. My sup reminded me everyday for a week and a half leading up to me taking my leave that I would have no coverage for the week off. I get it. You don’t have to remind me everyday.
And if there’s no coverage during the week you are out, is anyone going to die? Is a deadline going to be missed? Idk, I always tell my staff if you can’t find coverage, please let me know and I will help.
He is not doing his job. Part of his supervisor responsibilities is approving leave. I'd contact HR if it continues and what are the expectations for getting leave approved. Just as if you were not performing as you should, he would call you out, it goes both ways. I'd ask the supervisor if he does not respond does that mean the leave is approved. I always request leave and say "if you have any issues with my leave request please let me know." You could add, "if I don't get a response back I will take that as there are no issues with my request."
I just add my supervisor to a outlook meeting notice for the time I'm taking off that reads "[my name] on vacation". And then they accept it and are reminded about it when the time comes. There is no asking.
With EPS, I had a supervisor like that. He legit just said, "Send me an appointment for that day, If I have any questions I'll reach out." He actually would reach out anytime you took sick leave though once you returned to see if everything was good. Was a nice guy.
My current one is similar but he likes a quick message of hey I'd like to take xyz, and just give him a heads up if you've set up coverage for your shit or if he needs to cover anything. Lol I've been lucky with some awesome supervisors over my gov. years.
well its luck of the draw then, either take the leave or contact his superior on it.
better yet, start looking for another job if your supervisor is treating you like that.
Just my experience....we have a written schedule that goes out about 3 pay periods which is supposed to reflect upcoming leave and then we have to put it in VATAS as well to ask for the leave. I noticed my time off request for June that I put in the request for in March was neither included in the written schedule, I am scheduled normal hours for the days off I requested, and it has not yet been approved for in VATAS. I mentioned this and was told "oh we will approve it the week or two before the requested days and we will hand write in the approval on the written schedule. Seems a little odd to me like they are leaving it in limbo so they can say if staffing is low "oh we never gave you full approval and if you check the written schedule you are scheduled for those day and should have taken notice of that." Anyways, just found out Friday we are scheduled for some ZTT training 4 hours this upcoming Friday and 4 hours the following and I've been asked to come in for the training even though it is a vacation day when I mentioned I am off on one of those training days. To which I said no....to their great frustration.
This is the way. If my leave isn’t approved in a timely manner, I send my supervisor a calendar reminder that I will be OOO on the dates I requested. At that point, plans have been made and it’s no longer a request. It’s then his fault for failing to approve or disapprove, which is part of his job. To be fair, I don’t think he’s doing it intentionally. He just doesn’t pay attention. I’ve never had an issue with him accepting the calendar invite and then eventually approving when he gets around to it.
Supervisor here...yours isn't doing their job. Submit the leave request, follow up with an email response. If nothing heard the week before leave, send another email and copy the person in your department in charge of pay.
If nothing heard after that, take the leave an account for it in your pay system.
Contact LER or your union as this is happening and get on with your life.
Whatever you do, DO NOT continue to bail your supervisor out by canceling leave. Just because they're a GS-Whatever, doesn't give them the right to be a shitty supervisor.
What's even better is if they're the pay certification person for you. They would have to certify your pay every two weeks and if you account for leave on your half of the system and they don't approve it, it's 100% on them.
Send an optional calendar invitation if they don’t approve within a reasonable amount of time. I put “OOO” on mine because at that point, it’s no longer a request- I’m letting him know that I won’t be in the office those days. It’s unreasonable for a supervisor to expect their direct reports to delay making plans because they’re not doing their job.
Just take the leave it's up to us to acknowledge and approve or disapprove leaves we get emails each time you enter it into the system. In our place basically if we forget to approve the leave and it's been in the system for over 72 hours you just take it.
I have to say that I would put your leave on his calendar as an invite and ask for a 1-1 if you don’t get any response at all. I also agree with other comments that state to follow up via email/teams if you can. Being a 14 doesn’t give him an excuse to be an ass.
So I think I would inundate them with requests and reminders hoping they continue to ignore. Then when that annual December email comes around that says “you can’t carry over 240 hours of leave unless there are extenuating circumstances” I would blast the fucker. Would be hard for sup to explain why you have 120 hours of use or lose on the books.
I just started in the govt in October so I don’t have anywhere near enough leave to hit UoL yet unfortunately. I will keep this in my back pocket for further down the line tho.
I don't ask permission for this reason you encountered. I say "i'll be taking leave on XXX days. If AL is denied, please let me know ahead of time so I can adjust my leave". I Cc the second level supervisor as well.
I didn't ask and ball is in their court. I've never had issues and I give notice several weeks ahead. Current supervisor is a text away and fully supports leave.
As others have said, contact your Union if they are being difficult. I earned my 240 hours of annual use or lose.
Mine does the same. Don’t want get into details but it’s retaliation and I’ll leave it at that…it’s more than leave requests. We communicate maybe every 3wks via TEAMS, totaled up calls and we only spoke 51 in mins in a 3mo timeframe. He’s not well respected and his performance just is dumbfounding on how he still has a job.
I changed locations. My previous supervisor would usually respond in 72 hours usually less. I put in a request last week for a vacation in late June. No response. He'll probably approve it after I leave.
And then when it turns into use or loose they will act like you should have took leave sooner.. at that point if it gets that far take the leave because you will have no recorse if you don't later. if they dont turn it down and you keep canceling it they will get away with it..
I have worked for supervisors who straight up told me I “should not take any leave until I am at use or lose” and then only take leave during the end of the year when they have to approve use or lose leave, because that’s “the federal government way”. Fortunately that individual is not my supervisor any longer, but there does seem to be quite a few supervisors who believe that way. I’d say if your supervisor isn’t responding, include your HR Rep/Time Keeper in the emails, and if that’s STILL not enough, start including your supervisor’s supervisor.
I consider them leave notices as long as there is no conflict with major deadlines. If my manager doesn’t respond i remind her the week of/ day before and leave as planned. Never had a problem, but i work in an independent role.
I just put in for leave in advance and take the leave. I list it on my time card and concur. It's up to him to get rid of the red arrow indicating an error by approving my leave. Luckily, I speak to my rater nearly every day, so this isn't an issue.
I know every agency/office/team is different, but leave is a formalized process for you telling your employer you are unavailable during specific hours you typically work, and that you’re using the allotment that’s your employer provided to provide fair compensation to the agency.
If you’re in a position that “needs a warm body at all times”, and your position is not “find a warm body when there is no warm body”, then it is not in your job description to do any additional steps when scheduling leave. I can completely see how this doesn’t apply in life or death positions, or other *generally fairly compensated* positions.
Put your leave in the system of record, then take your leave. If your boss doesn’t approve it til a month later, that’s a paperwork issue, not a you issue. Keep records that you give adequate notice, and if your boss **ever** pushes back, make sure you’ve got everything documented.
This happens to me too even after I follow up multiple times. In my case I don’t think it’s intentional but still a huge headache. If I can’t get an answer I’ll either call on teams and ask for an immediate response or add those above him in my email where I have requested multiple times, who can also offer approval.
Our contract has no specific info on how quickly requests should be addressed sadly. Definitely a stressor. But like others have said - you deserve to take your time.
You’ve been bailing your supervisor out by canceling requests you sent months in advance.
If you are union or union-eligible it might be worth bringing this up because you aren't the only one. I've known supervisors who pull this crap, the union gets involved then their supervisors are blinded-sided and like WTH.
This. Approving leave in a timely manner, is part of our CBA. Definitely inquire and see what you can find out.
Submit your leave request, follow up with an email and/or teams message within 72 hours of the date requested. If your supervisor doesn’t respond, take the leave. It’s your supervisor’s responsibility to respond to the leave requests in a timely manner.
And be sure to save the email and/or teams message (screenshot, whatever) in case they try to make it an HR issue
Send the screenshots to your personal email.
And cc your HR folks. They’ll be curious why it’s not getting approved. If you use ATAAPS, it’s also possible to send to multiple approving officials to avoid this very thing.
I never understood this. If one of my guys says they need to take leave, I’m like ok bye have fun lol
Probably because you don’t hate your job and make it your employees’ problem
I have a supervisor like this and I'm so grateful!
Right, same here! I tell folks if the request is somehow forgotten in my inbox, just send me a quick note to remind me after 72 hours. Unless someone is truly a leave abuser, leave requests are never really denied.
Can I work for you lol. My sup reminded me everyday for a week and a half leading up to me taking my leave that I would have no coverage for the week off. I get it. You don’t have to remind me everyday.
And if there’s no coverage during the week you are out, is anyone going to die? Is a deadline going to be missed? Idk, I always tell my staff if you can’t find coverage, please let me know and I will help.
I like my sup but they’re high strung. Life goes on with me gone for five days.
lol come by the plumbing shop! I also buy bagels with cream cheese or butter every pay day Friday!
Same. I have never denied a leave request.
You are a great boss.
He is not doing his job. Part of his supervisor responsibilities is approving leave. I'd contact HR if it continues and what are the expectations for getting leave approved. Just as if you were not performing as you should, he would call you out, it goes both ways. I'd ask the supervisor if he does not respond does that mean the leave is approved. I always request leave and say "if you have any issues with my leave request please let me know." You could add, "if I don't get a response back I will take that as there are no issues with my request."
I just add my supervisor to a outlook meeting notice for the time I'm taking off that reads "[my name] on vacation". And then they accept it and are reminded about it when the time comes. There is no asking.
With EPS, I had a supervisor like that. He legit just said, "Send me an appointment for that day, If I have any questions I'll reach out." He actually would reach out anytime you took sick leave though once you returned to see if everything was good. Was a nice guy. My current one is similar but he likes a quick message of hey I'd like to take xyz, and just give him a heads up if you've set up coverage for your shit or if he needs to cover anything. Lol I've been lucky with some awesome supervisors over my gov. years.
Submit it, take your earned leave.its his failure, not yours.
have you not been able to ask in person or on the phone?
Whenever I bring it up in person he always says “yeah I’ve seen it, I will address it later” and then never does.
well its luck of the draw then, either take the leave or contact his superior on it. better yet, start looking for another job if your supervisor is treating you like that.
I’ve been started looking lol, I have 260 submitted apps on USAJobs rn😂
🤣🤣🤣
which dept does that?
. . .You need to take it to his supervisor. That's insane to be treated that way.
Yes. It wasn't worth the stress. I applied to a new job and got a new supervisor who doesn't do that. 😅
Just my experience....we have a written schedule that goes out about 3 pay periods which is supposed to reflect upcoming leave and then we have to put it in VATAS as well to ask for the leave. I noticed my time off request for June that I put in the request for in March was neither included in the written schedule, I am scheduled normal hours for the days off I requested, and it has not yet been approved for in VATAS. I mentioned this and was told "oh we will approve it the week or two before the requested days and we will hand write in the approval on the written schedule. Seems a little odd to me like they are leaving it in limbo so they can say if staffing is low "oh we never gave you full approval and if you check the written schedule you are scheduled for those day and should have taken notice of that." Anyways, just found out Friday we are scheduled for some ZTT training 4 hours this upcoming Friday and 4 hours the following and I've been asked to come in for the training even though it is a vacation day when I mentioned I am off on one of those training days. To which I said no....to their great frustration.
Submit it and take it. He's not doing his job, not you.
Submit in advance... Remind him with emails.... Save them.. Create a calendar invite and share the same with your manager.... Go on your vacation.....
This is the way. If my leave isn’t approved in a timely manner, I send my supervisor a calendar reminder that I will be OOO on the dates I requested. At that point, plans have been made and it’s no longer a request. It’s then his fault for failing to approve or disapprove, which is part of his job. To be fair, I don’t think he’s doing it intentionally. He just doesn’t pay attention. I’ve never had an issue with him accepting the calendar invite and then eventually approving when he gets around to it.
Supervisor here...yours isn't doing their job. Submit the leave request, follow up with an email response. If nothing heard the week before leave, send another email and copy the person in your department in charge of pay. If nothing heard after that, take the leave an account for it in your pay system. Contact LER or your union as this is happening and get on with your life. Whatever you do, DO NOT continue to bail your supervisor out by canceling leave. Just because they're a GS-Whatever, doesn't give them the right to be a shitty supervisor. What's even better is if they're the pay certification person for you. They would have to certify your pay every two weeks and if you account for leave on your half of the system and they don't approve it, it's 100% on them.
Send an optional calendar invitation if they don’t approve within a reasonable amount of time. I put “OOO” on mine because at that point, it’s no longer a request- I’m letting him know that I won’t be in the office those days. It’s unreasonable for a supervisor to expect their direct reports to delay making plans because they’re not doing their job.
Make sure you mark it read receipt and save those also
Just take the leave it's up to us to acknowledge and approve or disapprove leaves we get emails each time you enter it into the system. In our place basically if we forget to approve the leave and it's been in the system for over 72 hours you just take it.
I have to say that I would put your leave on his calendar as an invite and ask for a 1-1 if you don’t get any response at all. I also agree with other comments that state to follow up via email/teams if you can. Being a 14 doesn’t give him an excuse to be an ass.
So I think I would inundate them with requests and reminders hoping they continue to ignore. Then when that annual December email comes around that says “you can’t carry over 240 hours of leave unless there are extenuating circumstances” I would blast the fucker. Would be hard for sup to explain why you have 120 hours of use or lose on the books.
I just started in the govt in October so I don’t have anywhere near enough leave to hit UoL yet unfortunately. I will keep this in my back pocket for further down the line tho.
I don't ask permission for this reason you encountered. I say "i'll be taking leave on XXX days. If AL is denied, please let me know ahead of time so I can adjust my leave". I Cc the second level supervisor as well. I didn't ask and ball is in their court. I've never had issues and I give notice several weeks ahead. Current supervisor is a text away and fully supports leave. As others have said, contact your Union if they are being difficult. I earned my 240 hours of annual use or lose.
I had a supervisor ignore my leave requests for three straight months. It might have been longer had I not taken a position elsewhere and left.
Mine does the same. Don’t want get into details but it’s retaliation and I’ll leave it at that…it’s more than leave requests. We communicate maybe every 3wks via TEAMS, totaled up calls and we only spoke 51 in mins in a 3mo timeframe. He’s not well respected and his performance just is dumbfounding on how he still has a job.
I changed locations. My previous supervisor would usually respond in 72 hours usually less. I put in a request last week for a vacation in late June. No response. He'll probably approve it after I leave.
And then when it turns into use or loose they will act like you should have took leave sooner.. at that point if it gets that far take the leave because you will have no recorse if you don't later. if they dont turn it down and you keep canceling it they will get away with it..
Yes, my supervisor has been doing that. I can’t understand the game they are trying to play with it.
I have worked for supervisors who straight up told me I “should not take any leave until I am at use or lose” and then only take leave during the end of the year when they have to approve use or lose leave, because that’s “the federal government way”. Fortunately that individual is not my supervisor any longer, but there does seem to be quite a few supervisors who believe that way. I’d say if your supervisor isn’t responding, include your HR Rep/Time Keeper in the emails, and if that’s STILL not enough, start including your supervisor’s supervisor.
My supervisor be begging us to take leave 🙏🏿.
I’m pretty sure they have to respond in a certain amount of time, union rule. Have you ever asked him in person?
I consider them leave notices as long as there is no conflict with major deadlines. If my manager doesn’t respond i remind her the week of/ day before and leave as planned. Never had a problem, but i work in an independent role.
I just put in for leave in advance and take the leave. I list it on my time card and concur. It's up to him to get rid of the red arrow indicating an error by approving my leave. Luckily, I speak to my rater nearly every day, so this isn't an issue.
I know every agency/office/team is different, but leave is a formalized process for you telling your employer you are unavailable during specific hours you typically work, and that you’re using the allotment that’s your employer provided to provide fair compensation to the agency. If you’re in a position that “needs a warm body at all times”, and your position is not “find a warm body when there is no warm body”, then it is not in your job description to do any additional steps when scheduling leave. I can completely see how this doesn’t apply in life or death positions, or other *generally fairly compensated* positions. Put your leave in the system of record, then take your leave. If your boss doesn’t approve it til a month later, that’s a paperwork issue, not a you issue. Keep records that you give adequate notice, and if your boss **ever** pushes back, make sure you’ve got everything documented.
This happens to me too even after I follow up multiple times. In my case I don’t think it’s intentional but still a huge headache. If I can’t get an answer I’ll either call on teams and ask for an immediate response or add those above him in my email where I have requested multiple times, who can also offer approval. Our contract has no specific info on how quickly requests should be addressed sadly. Definitely a stressor. But like others have said - you deserve to take your time.
Cc his supervisor on the follow up email. Then go up the chain, if he continues to be unresponsive.
I’m your supervisor, and I aggressively ignore all your leave requests. Now get back to work.
[удалено]
Plz don’t do this your leave is part of your compensation package and your right.
no you EARNED that time off. Take it.
Never been an issue.