Boss accused me of “taking the piss” for taking time off to care for my seriously ill dad — am I being unreasonable?
I’m 21 and work full-time. My dad has stage 4 cancer and is now fully dependent on me for a lot of things. He has significant mobility problems and struggles to walk, so I’ve been needing to take time off to help look after him.
Recently, we didn’t receive good news about his condition, and he needed to be in hospital on Thursday and Friday, so I booked the remaining annual leave I had available. My leave request was then denied.
What really upset me, though, was hearing my boss say that I was “taking the piss” with my annual leave because my manager apparently “just approves it all the time.” I understand that taking lots of leave can be difficult for a workplace, but I’m not taking time off for trivial reasons — I’m trying to care for my dad while he’s seriously ill.
They also brought up the fact that I’ve been on three holidays this year. However, two of those holidays were booked using annual leave carried over from the previous holiday year, as our holiday year runs June–July, so I don’t think that’s a fair representation of how much leave I’ve actually taken from my current allowance.
I have a meeting with my manager next week, who is actually very understanding, and I’m planning to explain how much this comment has affected me.
Am I being unreasonable for feeling really upset about being told I’m “taking the piss” when the reason I’ve needed time off is because of my dad’s cancer and care needs?