What did you tell your boss to get holidays approved?
The sun has started to come out and the weather is looking brighter for the next few weeks, so naturally what you want to do is get out too and make the most of these rare British days, right? Or maybe it’s been raining non-stop for the past month and you just want to get away for a well-deserved break in warmer climates.
There’s just one problem, how do you get that time off work? It seems that some UK workers employ cheeky tactics to get themselves a few days in the sun and away from the office. Now, all is revealed in new research from Skyscanner.
"...there are many of us who are willing to be quite ruthless in the battle with their colleagues for time off."
Almost one in four Brits have lied to their boss in order to get their holiday leave approved, according to the poll of over 1,000 workers by the flight comparison site.
Findings showed that over a third of workers book time off more than six months in advance in a bid to get the dates they wanted above their colleagues.
As a result almost a quarter are resorting to underhand tactics to also get their time off approved.
Of the strategies employed, 12 per cent have lied to their colleagues, claiming that their leave dates were already booked, while seven per cent ‘pulled a sickie’ claiming to their employers that they were ill when in fact they were on holiday.
Other deceitful tactics to secure holiday time off included: ‘claiming I was snowed in’, ‘saying I had a funeral of a close friend’ and ‘eating a handful of shampoo so I’d be sick in the office.’
Sam Poullain, from Skyscanner, said: “With many companies prohibiting staff from taking leave at the same time, people can go to surprising lengths to ensure they get their holiday leave when they want it.”
Further desperate attempts for time off include four per cent who have faked a family emergency, and one per cent who have even pretended that their holiday was actually their honeymoon, to trump other colleagues’ requests for time off that week.
“Our survey reveals that there are many of us who are willing to be quite ruthless in the battle with their colleagues for time off,” Sam added.
FemaleFirst
Shabana Adam @Shabana_FAM