Can we go on vacation if our boss has not given us permission? Yes, but on one condition. Please note carefully…
Planning your next vacation several months in advance allows you to regain your morale a little, to feel re-boosted. And it turns out to be even more fulfilling when you have also booked your train or plane tickets, your club, your hotel or your rental. Of course, before paying the costs, we make the necessary arrangements by asking our employer to validate our vacation dates. This is the obligatory procedure and he has the right to refuse you to leave if the dates coincide, for example, with a very tense working period for the company. “This refusal may be justified by the continuity of the service or high activity in the company or exceptional circumstances” specifies the Public Service site which adds that this decision must not be “abusive”. In addition, it must warn the employee of their refusal at least one month before the departure date.
But there is a specific case where the employee has every right to go on vacation, even if he has not obtained the agreement of his boss. Especially if the employee has sent their request in accordance with the rules, that is to say respecting the deadlines imposed by the company which generally depends on the collective agreement and having informed in writing or via a leave tool of your wishes to leave specifying your dates.
Concretely, you can pack your bags and go on vacation as you had planned if your boss has not validated your dates in time (due to lack of time or forgetfulness). “In the absence of a response from the employer following a request for leave, the employee does not commit a fault by leaving if the employer was aware of the dates of the employee’s leave and did not express no refusal. In this case, the absence of the employee does not constitute abandonment of position,” explains the French administration website.
Let us also remember that certain life situations allow you to take leave without your boss being able to object. In the context of a request for leave linked to a family event such as a marriage or civil partnership, a birth or adoption, or the death of a family member, the employer cannot refuse your request. It is advisable, when possible of course, to notify the company sufficiently in advance (for a wedding or childbirth for example).