u/notsocooolredditor

I’m looking for some advice on whether this is normal/allowed under company policy.

I’m due to go back to my home country for around 4 months (Nov–Feb) because my parents are unwell and having surgeries. I informed my manager months ago and my lifestyle break was approved.
My current store is now over an hour drive away since I relocated, so I discussed with my manager that I’d apply for vacancies at other stores. I recently applied for another store and clearly mentioned in my application that I already had an approved lifestyle break.
When I asked my manager to endorse my application, they called me in and told me they had cancelled my lifestyle break because I had “broken their trust” by applying elsewhere.
I’m confused because I had already told them I was applying to other stores, and my break had already been approved.
Can a manager cancel an approved lifestyle break for this reason? Has anyone experienced something similar?

So basically what happened is, during my break I was on a WhatsApp call, but the internet in the store was really bad. Without really thinking, I grabbed a bottle of coconut water and stepped outside to get better signal.

The call only lasted like 2 minutes, and then I went back into the store, paid for the drink, and came out again.

But one of the shift leaders saw me and thought I was trying to leave without paying, so now they think I didn’t intend to pay and I’ve been called in for a disciplinary meeting.

It’s kind of frustrating because I did pay, it was just a misunderstanding.