Human Resource Blog

Firing an Employee for Taking Vacation Time

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We have an employee that has scheduled her full two-week vacation in the middle of one of our biggest projects, which she knew about in advance. The employee’s vacation is leaving us short-staffed and we may actually lose the account because of her vacation. Some managers have suggested that the employee should be fired so that we can find someone more reliable. Would this be illegal?

Nope. You are certainly within your rights to fire an employee for taking a vacation when your big project needs taken care of. However, if you do fire the employee and the only reason is because of the unfortunate vacation timing, other employees may not appreciate the action and there could be a real morale issue at work. It is possible, though, that other employees are dissatisfied with the employee’s choice to leave the team during crunch time and they could see benefit in letting the employee go so that the company could keep the client.

Whenever there is a tough situation like this, keep in mind that your leadership team will need to work harder to counter-balance the negative effects that could be caused by the firing. While some employees might appreciate that you stood up for the company and the contract, some employees might be upset by the fact that you would fire an employee for taking advantage of her benefits. Make sure that the employee is not taking a vacation for something important, such as a graduation or a wedding, so that it is clear that the vacation time was entirely optional and that the choice to take the vacation was left entirely in the hands of the employee.

Many companies have started to warn their employees in advance that they may have to clear their vacations with the company prior to taking off. Some companies go so far as to say that when an employee takes a vacation, the employee could be called back into the office for an emergency, if she or he is available. When the employee is called back, usually the company will compensate the employee with extra vacation days and other incentives, but plenty of employees do not like feeling like their time is not their own.

Vacation time is very important to many people. Therefore, be sure that you communicate effectively and well in advance with your employees regarding their vacations so that there is no ill-will between any members of your team. Communication is key to making a strong ream and work environment.