Pregnant Woman Forced Child-Free Colleague To Give Up Her Annual Leave Slot For Her

A workplace leave ballot turned into a messy dispute when one employee won the holiday slot her pregnant colleague wanted. What should have been a simple scheduling decision quickly became a test of fairness, entitlement, and how far coworkers will push when they do not like the outcome.

OP says the company uses a ballot when more than one person wants the same annual leave date, and she won fair and square. But after the pregnant colleague lost, she kept hinting, pressuring, and even dragging in another coworker to try to change OP’s mind.

Now the situation has reached HR, and the fallout is still unfolding. Was OP wrong to stand her ground?

This is how the story started

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In OP’s company, to determine the priority of who can take leave, they conduct a ballot if more than one person wants a specific date.

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OP won the slot and was looking forward to spending the holidays with her family.

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That’s when the pressure started.

The colleague who lost the ballot dropped hints to provoke OP into giving up her slot.

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The colleague was pregnant with her fifth child and wanted the leave to spend time with her kids. In the end, she asked OP why she needed it if she wasn’t even a mom.

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OP had had enough and bluntly told her that she deserved the slot she received and that everything was fair.

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She also provided some clarification.

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With people sharing their perspectives, OP realizes that she’s not in the wrong.

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If the colleague continued to push, OP would resort to reporting her.

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Then another coworker stepped in and made things even more awkward.

Another colleague approached OP and kept bothering her about letting the leave slot go to the pregnant co-worker.

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It was actually the best friend of the pregnant colleague.

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It’s the same messy “life-event priority” tension as skipping a baby shower after being excluded from the friend’s wedding.

OP took it upon herself to report both of them to HR since they weren’t taking her seriously when she refused.

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They had different shifts, so OP doesn’t have an update on whether HR has taken any action yet.

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Some parents really do act like the rules should bend for them.

Many parents believe they have some sort of entitlement over those who don’t have children.

EsmeraldaWylde

This parent believes that fairness in the workplace is essential.

Elspeth_McRae

The situation in which child-free employees outnumber parents is possible; there is already a visible shift.

EsmeraldaWylde

This doesn’t mean they have to pick up the slack for people with kids unless they are willing.

EsmeraldaWylde

Contacting HR is a legal and practical move.

goldenhourbaby

Being badmouthed is grounds for even a basic write-up.

gaynazifurry4bernie

As if it’s an insult to be child-free rather than being a person who harasses their coworker.

DRUNK_CYCLIST

OP didn’t even make the rules for the ballots.

MrCarnality

The lady knows how to hold a grudge.

magneticeverything

And this happened on top of OP already...

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having an exhausting past two years.

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end of comment

magneticeverything

Stronger evidence in case things are prolonged.

ApplesAllDay1997

This would really come in handy for a fair decision.

Willy3726

Your needs in the workplace are valid as well, despite not having kids.

WonderMon

It was understandable that OP’s colleague would feel sad about losing the ballot, especially if she had looked forward to it. However, this doesn’t justify her provoking OP at every opportunity.

OP wasn’t the one responsible for deciding the leave slot in the first place.

Now HR is in the middle of a holiday dispute nobody wanted.

For the same kind of “pregnant friend, conflicting boundaries” blowup, read about refusing to host a baby shower for a judgemental pregnant friend.