Organising your annual leave from work in order to maximise the time you can spend with your children when they're off from school can be a nightmare - especially when you're likely to get much less time off in a year than they do.
But one woman has been left fuming at her colleagues because they keep asking her if they can buy some of her annual leave so that they can have more time off with their kids, despite her recently welcoming her own baby.
The new mum explained that her company allows colleagues to buy and sell annual leave between themselves, and admitted that prior to having her baby, she was quite happy to give up some of her leave to her colleagues because she didn't have a use for all of it.
However, after coming back from maternity leave, she's been inundated with requests to give up her holiday - and was even branded "unfair" for wanting to keep all of her annual leave now that her circumstances have changed.
In a post on Mumsnet, she said: "My workplace allows us to buy and sell annual leave amongst ourselves. We are open 365 days a year and don't allow staff to book Christmas Day off- we can volunteer to cover those shifts.
"I've worked in the same department for 20+ years and have always had more annual leave than I needed, so I've often sold to colleagues. I will usually volunteer to cover the Christmas shifts so that others can spend it with their kids.
"In the 20 years I've been here we've had some staff turnover, but most of our department has had kids/grandkids at any given time. I've ended up gaining a reputation with the parents as the person to go to to buy more annual leave from.
"I've just come back off of maternity leave and already I'm being approached by multiple colleagues asking to buy days of my annual leave to cover school break, events with their kids etc. I've also been asked if I'll still be volunteering for the Christmas shifts. I've explained that my priorities have changed, and now I have my own family I'll be using my full annual leave myself."
The mum said she's had colleagues "follow" her out of the building at the end of the day to beg for some of her annual leave, and has been slammed for "ruining" their childcare plans because they assumed she'd still be willing to part with her holiday.
She added: "This hasn't gone down well. I've had colleagues sending me multiple emails asking me about buying my annual leave, which I've ignored, and had two follow me out of the building last night trying to tell me I don't need a lot of annual leave with a baby because they don't remember anything anyway. Basically trying to pressure me into selling them my annual leave so they can take it with their own kids.
"I've been told it's unfair that I've suddenly decided I'm going to stop selling my annual leave because I've been doing it so long it's become expected, and other parents have planned their childcare assuming they'll be able to buy extra annual leave from me. They aren't getting that I've been happy to give up any leave I don't need pre-baby, but now I have my own that won't be happening!"
Commenters on the post were firmly on the mum's side, with many saying her colleagues were being "cheeky".
One person said: "That's cheeky of them. They can't decide how you spend your annual leave!"
While another added: "Your colleagues need to back off. I would tell them once politely and firmly, that you are not selling any leave. If they ask again refer them to your manager. And tell your manager you're being pestered unpleasantly by your colleagues."
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