Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
Thu May 15, 2014, 06:15 PM May 2014

wwyd?

We have 2 systems that track our vacation, sick and holiday time at my (hateful) job as a customer service rep. One is the payroll system; the other is our daily schedule tracking system.
The daily schedule tracking system is where we request vacation time and floating holiday time, as well as where we get our daily break schedule etc.

When they opened up the vacation schedule, my daily tracking system showed the wrong number of vacation hours. I went ahead and scheduled my vacation time and took it during February and this month.

2 days ago my manager came to me, all sugar and sweetness , and told me there was a mixup, that I was way over my available vacation time and that she normally watches the vacatioin, but she was behind and had only just looked at it. And she was going to have to correct it in the 5/30 paycheck. I told her I scheduled what was in the daily system. And she said well we're supposed to get it from the payroll system.

All time cards go through her, so she signed off on all the vacation that I've taken.

She left me with some printouts that were impossible to read. I can't tell from it what kind of paycheck I'm going to get on 5/30.

I checked the payroll system today. It shows us only what has accrued. I've been in negative territory since February -- and she's only telling me now. Nobody ever told me we couldn't take advance vacation and nobody ever told me the daily schedule vacation time is wrong and that we have to use the payroll system to see what vacation time we have to use. Until now that I've used up a year's vacation.

In the meantime, I just got my bimonthly pay, and it was only 1 week's pay, so apparently I didn't get paid for the vacation time I took last week, which I thought I was getting paid for.

And I'm not going to get paid for the vacation time I scheduled for next week, which I was unable to cancel. Fortunately, I was able to pick up 3 days at the lab where one of my favorite co-workers was complaining that she'd been over-scheduled. She was thrilled to give me the days and I was thrilled to "help" her since I'm desperate now for the $$.

May was supposed to be a 3 paycheck month. It's increasingly looking like a 1 1/2 paycheck month

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
wwyd? (Original Post) magical thyme May 2014 OP
What a bunch of bullshit... Callmecrazy May 2014 #1
well I spent my afternoon reviewing all the paystubs magical thyme May 2014 #2
Yeah, hypnotize them... Callmecrazy May 2014 #3
So she is responsible for your miscalculation? Generic Brad May 2014 #4
they changed the vacation scheduling process this year magical thyme May 2014 #5
True that Generic Brad May 2014 #6
not at all...I just hadn't explained the full background magical thyme May 2014 #7
you were going to check about something on friday. what happened? n/t orleans May 2014 #8
yup. I figured out what her notes to me meant. magical thyme May 2014 #9

Callmecrazy

(3,065 posts)
1. What a bunch of bullshit...
Thu May 15, 2014, 07:36 PM
May 2014

Fight for your money and insist they get their shit together. They can't treat people like that! I bet if it happened to her, she'd have a hissy. Make her show you some respect.

And sick Skittles on her ass! Yes indeed.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
2. well I spent my afternoon reviewing all the paystubs
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:01 PM
May 2014

and made a table showing vacation accrued, taken and available.

The scheduling system not only allowed me to schedule unaccrued time, it apparently also gave me more than a year's worth of vacation. What effed up systems they have.

So it looks like payroll stopped the overage time. I vaguely remember her saying something about she had already approved this time card without checking the vacation schedule. So maybe what she *thought* would be corrected on 5/30 was already corrected by payroll.

Phew! Because I refuse to go to that place again if I'm not going to be paid. Too bad, so sad for her mistake. I mean, I'll go tomorrow to confirm.

I think I'll just start spending all my time at the lab urging co-workers to take extra days off (you look soooo pale and wan...maybe you should give yourself a day at the beach ) so I can pick up more work there over the summer and ditch this place.

Callmecrazy

(3,065 posts)
3. Yeah, hypnotize them...
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:05 PM
May 2014

convince them to take time off. Tell them they don't look well. Just don't go slipping something into the coffee pot.

Generic Brad

(14,270 posts)
4. So she is responsible for your miscalculation?
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:23 PM
May 2014

I know I take the unpopular route here and know I will come off as being insensitive to your plight, but I also manage a lot of people. Yes, she did mess up a bit by approving time without checking your eligibility, but it appears to me that the miscalculation began with you. Don't you have responsibility to budget your own vacation time? Speak to your HR representative if you must, but don't be shocked if you they are unsympathetic to your situation.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
5. they changed the vacation scheduling process this year
Thu May 15, 2014, 08:54 PM
May 2014

She told us the full year was open for vacation, instead of incrementally the way they usually do it. She did not tell us we could schedule vacation for the year but not actually take it unless it was accrued. She also didn't tell us that we had to view our paystubs to find how much was accrued.

She also didn't tell us that the vacation time that shows up in the scheduling system is not a real number and should not be used for scheduling our vacation time. Because last year I *was* able to schedule my vacation based on the scheduling system.

I put in for the vacation time based on what I saw in the scheduling system. She approved it.

How am I supposed to calculate my vacation time when I'm given wrong numbers by the scheduling system, which are subsequently approved for payment by my manager? I do not have access to the system that she looks at. I only see the scheduling system and, if I know to look at it, the paystub. Even then, to see how it accrues, I had to look at multiple pay periods...and it doesn't make sense because it doesn't seem to accrue on a regular schedule, nor does the sick time, nor the floating holiday.

Not my fault if she failed to tell us the new rules.

At this point, as I wrote above, I'm thinking that the correction was for the overage only, and that she was simply mistaken about the timing. That I can live with. I just can't live with them clawing back pay for time I wouldn't have taken 2 months ago had I known it would not be pto.

They do have a responsibility to provide decent explanation of their policies, something which they fail to do on a regular basis.

Generic Brad

(14,270 posts)
6. True that
Thu May 15, 2014, 09:02 PM
May 2014

Thank you for the clarification. In no way did I mean to be disrespectful of you. I apologize if I came off that way.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
7. not at all...I just hadn't explained the full background
Thu May 15, 2014, 09:29 PM
May 2014

I was mired in my table and worried after I saw the short check today that they would try to claw back what had already been paid. Her papers showing the "correction" were unreadable to me (as I'm sure my table would be to her), but I remember her saying it would be corrected 5/30, not today.

I wouldn't have taken as much time off as I did had I thought it wouldn't be pto because I simply couldn't afford that much then, and can't now.

 

magical thyme

(14,881 posts)
9. yup. I figured out what her notes to me meant.
Sat May 17, 2014, 03:45 PM
May 2014

at least I think I did. My next check will also be slightly short, but that will remove all the excess vacation time.

Also I got a 2nd verbal warning that I may soon get a written warning. I think I'm the only person left in her group who isn't on written warning yet. They're in panic mode there, and it shows. It wasn't lost on me when I started this job that their entire night team was replaced at once, including new night manager, right at the start of their "high" season (tax time). So they're either planning on dumping us all after they train our replacements (which I don't believe they've hired just yet) or at least setting up an excuse for no raises. After the 18 cent/hour raise last year, they need to cut back. They can dump us and replace us without that giant raise.

Latest Discussions»The DU Lounge»wwyd?