How do I ask for days off before a job starts?

March 5, 2017 3:14 AM

I've just got a new job (Hurrah!) and I had a planned vacation that occurs a few weeks into it. How do I ask for that?

The new job starts in a few weeks, and we had planned on going on a vacation over Easter weekend. Thankfully, in Denmark, the Thursday/Friday/Monday are all holidays, but I still will be wanting to take the Tuesday/Wednesday (before Easter) off. How do I go about doing this?

(I should note that I'm used to working in an academic setting where if you want time off, you just have to make sure that any teaching or administrative duties will be taken care of, and that people know where you are)

posted by vernondalhart to Work & Money (16 answers total)

Family commitment and non-refundable plane/hotel on these dates.
posted by sammyo at 3:48 AM on March 5, 2017

Tell them you need the days off, unless you're actually asking. Ideally, you should have let them know during the interview process that you would need time off so soon after starting.
posted by blackzinfandel at 3:54 AM on March 5, 2017 [14 favorites]

"I have booked a holiday trip from <date> to <date>. I'll need to take those days as leave."

That's it. Don't ask for permission, don't ask. State it as a fact.

It's Denmark - you live in a reasonably civilised country. It won't be an issue. You might have to go into a bit of leave debt, but that's not a problem

Every employer deals with this all the time. It's never an issue.
posted by Combat Wombat at 5:39 AM on March 5, 2017 [5 favorites]

"I have booked a holiday trip from to . I'll need to take those days as leave."

That's it. Don't ask for permission, don't ask. State it as a fact.

Maybe this is a cultural thing and I'm wrong, but I wouldn't do this. Yes, this isn't a big deal to most employers but when starting a new job first impressions matter and you want to look like you're a good fit and you want to succeed and make them confident that they chose well when hiring you.

Stating you're taking a holiday vacation within a few weeks of starting a position kind of gives an impression that you really don't care that much about getting up to speed and doing well. It has a hint of selfishness and not being a team player and not caring how this may negatively affect your coworkers.

If you're going to state it as a fact, apologize for the bad timing and say it's a long-planned family obligation that you can get out of if your employer would prefer that.

I don't think the issue itself is a big deal to most employers, but the way you phrase it might be.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 6:15 AM on March 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

Employers are people and they understand that people have lives. The time to bring it is up is when you get the job offer but before you accept the job. Leave is just another benefit that can be negotiated. Offer to take it as unpaid leave and it shouldn't be a problem. I've done this a few times and it;s never been a problem, and it's never been unpaid leave. At worst I just go negative on my PTO balance.
posted by COD at 6:19 AM on March 5, 2017 [15 favorites]

Ask/tell as soon as possible so your boss/department is not counting on you being there or in meetings those days. I agree this should have been communicated at the offer stage but if not, just do it pretty quickly and apologetically. It shouldn't be an issue really but it's about acknowledging the impact on the team, and offering for it to be unpaid.
posted by warriorqueen at 6:28 AM on March 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

Maybe this is a cultural thing and I'm wrong, but I wouldn't do this.

Not necessarily wrong, but if you're approaching this from a US perspective then you're probably bringing a degree of worry that's somewhat unwarranted. The EU Working Time Directive grants 4 weeks paid leave a year as a minimum (although exact amounts on top of that, and implementation, vary by country), so vacation time is much more of an expectation for employers. Having said that, given that I can't imagine that the employer will say "no", I'd be inclined to phrase it as "I already have these two days booked, I just wanted to check that it will be OK for me to take them" rather than presenting it wholly as a fait accompli.
posted by howfar at 7:21 AM on March 5, 2017 [6 favorites]

Also there are going to be like two people in the office for a two day week.
posted by rockindata at 8:52 AM on March 5, 2017 [3 favorites]

This is purely a US perspective, so YMMV: An employer's concern in a situation like this is that the new employee (you) sees the job as one of obligation ("I'm here to do only what's necessary to continue getting paid") versus one of aspiration ("I'm here to make a contribution"). If you can allay that concern - perhaps by explaining how you plan to get up to speed and, oh by the way, I had prearranged this holiday before I knew I'd be starting this job - you've probably salvaged and maybe even enhanced how you're seen in the company.
posted by DrGail at 9:04 AM on March 5, 2017

I've been in this situation multiple times. Each time when negotiating start date, I informed my manager I have a trip planned for x dates, and I'll need that time off. i was prepared to take it as unpaid leave, but never mentioned that fact to my manager. It was not a big deal at all. It would have been slightly annoying if I had waited until my first day, but I don't see that as a big deal either. Each time I was accommodated and it was never mentioned again, not a factor at all. I didn't ask for time off, I told them I was going to be taking that time, and wanted to work out a mutually acceptable solution.

Don't ask unless you're ok with being told "No".
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 10:24 AM on March 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

If your employer doesn't want to help you take time off, start looking for a new job now, you'll need it.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 10:25 AM on March 5, 2017

I live in France and get six weeks vacation . . . I still have to ask for specific time off, I can't just demand it. That would come off as unprofessional and entitled. And of course, my employer can always refuse if they feel they need me to work during those days.

So coming from this EU perpective, I definitely think you should still frame it as a question, while making them aware that you already booked the vacation. Since many people do take off during Easter time, it could be that those senior to you already have vacations planned for that period and thus your employer will need you to actually be in the office (this, of course, depends on the nature of the job). I would be apologetic when bringing it up. As others have already said, you should have asked about it during the offer stage so now you'll know that for next time!

My script would go something like this:

"I meant to bring this up earlier, but it slipped my mind. Prior to starting here, I planned a vacation from XX/XX/XX to XX/XX/XX. The (hotel, flight train ticket, etc) I booked are unrefundable. Is there any way to work it out so that I can have these days off?". If your boss seems to bulk, mention that you are willing to take this as unpaid vacation time (if that is indeed the case).

The sooner you do this, the less annoyed your employer will be for you not bringing it up earlier!

Good luck!
posted by Blissful at 10:41 AM on March 5, 2017

So, I just went through this situation. I planned a vacation last year and then my husband had to make a job transition which required a move for both of us and, subsequently, a job transition for me too.

When my new employer made their offer I explained that I already had a vacation planned and I would not be able to take the job unless they could accommodate the time off.

It sounds like you have already accepted the job offer. If so, I would bring this up as soon as possible. Perhaps even framing it apologetically, but not offer it as a question unless you're really willing to not take the time off.
posted by shesbookish at 12:38 PM on March 5, 2017

I'm not sure that offering to take it as unpaid is going to make any difference. In fact, that seems to be potentially worse from the employer's perspective, because you can't take unpaid leave in lieu of statutorily mandated paid leave, so taking it as unpaid leave might actually amount to taking more annual leave overall.
posted by howfar at 12:47 PM on March 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

I "asked" in the "I do hope this isn't a problem and I'm sorry if it's awkward but..." sort of vein at multiple jobs, and no-one has batted an eyelash at advancing my vacation to cover the days. If need be, I would have offered to take the time unpaid, but cancelling is not a thing that anyone expected to be on the table.

(I have a set-time vacation in early September and have coincidentally gotten my last two jobs in late summer. This is in the US, in the non-profit sector.)
posted by desuetude at 10:30 PM on March 5, 2017

I suspect this is a cultural issue more than anything the company will care about. You, as a Canadian, are not used to the holiday allotment procedures that would occur in Europe. I'm still not quite used to the amount of holiday I get in the UK vs what I was used to in the USA. In all likelyhood they will not bat an eye at the mention of two extra days at the start of a long weekend. In fact I suspect that a number of your colleagues would also be taking those days (or a few days after Easter) off.

While I can't exactly speak for what Denmark would do for holiday allotments I suspect it is like the UK. In essence you will recieve a pro-rated allocation of holiday days depending on how much of the year is left when you join (so if you start in march you will receive 5/6th of the holiday allotment because you will have 10 out of 12 months left)

The only way I could see there being an issue would be if you were looking to take like 3 weeks off not two days. Two days is nothing and won't be noticed whereas three weeks will interrupt their training plan for you.
posted by koolkat at 6:29 AM on March 6, 2017