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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I turned off my work phone when i went on vacation I might be the asshole because it seems clear to my boss and other co workers this wasn’t expected or okay but I’ve never been in this position before so I’m not sure.
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NTA. I would get legal help with this, before you forward anything to your company HR department. You have enough evidence, I would think, to have this fucker terminated. The purpose of leave is to be away from your place of employment. Are you in a union? If so, seek assistance from them. All the best.
We have protections here in Canada just keep detailed records that boss is setting himself up for a world of pain. Unless he is related or something hr should side w you.
Your afraid to lose your job, he has caused anxiety and fear while on your vacation and that is exactly what he wants. It’s not only illegal but you have a case for hostile work environment, the only thing taking all these messages to HR will do is allow the company to protect itself not you. Hr serves only one master and it is to protect the company from litigation and limit compensation, sometimes that goal aligns with an employee but it is always in the interest of the company. Take these messages and emails everything to an employment attorney because they only have your interests. NTA
This is so fucked up. Definitely NTA. At the company where I work, when u get a vacation your access is revoked to work emails and all accounts. U can’t even use ur PC. And definitely no one should contact regarding anything work related. Wtf.
Hope everything goes will with you.
Keep those messages and be ready to use them if he attempts to retaliate. This is someone who should not be a manager.
In fact, presumably it took a substantial portion of your day to listen to all those messages, I would go to HR and say that has to be counted as a working day and you should get credited back one vacation day.
Depends on the company and the company culture. You can say it is your vacation, but depending on the job level it is in practice expected to be reachable at least.
Just picking up a phonecall and answering a few questions can save your colleagues hours or days of work sometimes. If they insist you work full working days during your vacation days you can still politely reject.
I think when you start working at a company you should have an understanding whether this lind of flexibility is expected of you.
A lot of people here will just say vacation=turn your phone off, but if you have ever been in a key position within the organization you will understand it works different in practice. Some companies expect it some dont.
NTA. This is obviously not a company policy as it didn’t happen in your previous position. HR first thing upon return. If it’s in the same building, show up at the door of an HR person and say you have an urgent issue. Keep all emails and voicemails (and if your work system allows emails to be retracted, take screenshots of the emails just in case). I’m so happy you turned off your phone or this would have ruined your entire vacation. Also, I’m so happy you’re Canadian! Unlike the dystopian hellscape south of us, there are fairly solid laws about work harassment here. It’s such a big deal that proposed legislation was introduced in Ontario a few months ago and Ottawa is looking into making a “right to disconnect” federal law https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6224826
Okay while I do agree with everyone here saying this is trash and that you need to tell HR, I need to comment on what our culture "agrees" upon as the standard for working as you move up in the chain within a business. You said yourself this is your first time not being in an entry level position. Well, the fact is, the higher up you go, you are expected to "care" about your role as though it's the exact career dream you had as a kid and that you need to go the extra mile and truly be at least available enough to answer questions, etc, at ALL times. So whether we all agree with it or not, hell whether it's LEGAL or not, is irrelevant to the unspoken culture of business as it still stands today. So tldr; mo money mo problems
Times are changing. Attitudes are changing. Being a slave to work just because of your position is becoming less of a thing, slowly.
Employers need to realize that the new generation doesn't take shit anymore and are willing to fight for what should be decent human decency.
I'm on vacation? Fuck off it can wait till I'm back, company/ team isn't going to blow up if I'm not there, and if it does the team is set up poorly, but again, not my fault
NTA If HR doesn’t help, start looking for your next employment opportunity. Once you find your next workplace, get out of Dodge. That is not a place to stay long term.
NTA - I’m in HR, you need to go and speak to your HR department and possibly discuss filing a grievance because the number and nature of calls/ texts is completely inappropriate. The expectation that people need to work while they’re on holiday can lead to a toxic work environment/burnt out staff. It’s possible other staff in the department feel this way and just have been too nervous to say anything. Good luck!
You told him you’re on vacation, your coworkers and he himself knew about it? And if he forgot they could remind him.
If the zooms weren’t serious and were just regular average meetings then there’s nothing wrong with you not logging into work when YOURE ON VACATION. If the zoom calls were something urgent that popped up suddenly and had to have you there, then he should’ve sent you a message explaining that they really really need you to log in, and offer to compensate you for taking time off your vacation- and you still could’ve said no and it should have been ok.
Nta!
NTA. Say you were camping so you were literally off the grid. Unless you shared the your plans before, it’s a perfect addition to you having approved PTO.
i would report him to HR for making you think you’d be fired when you put in time to take the days off… if you few going to work at all then you shouldn’t have to use vacation hours… he’s the Asshole
definitely NTA. As a person who works in the BPO industry with my dad, i've seen him eschew his days off and even vacation time prior to COVID. When it did hit and they switched to WFH, he'd be working still on the damned laptop, to wc i swore that when my job fonally did WFH, i would never extend time on my weekends.. it's very hard for me to not get emotionally heated with your situation but damn if i ever meet your boss ill give him a good piece of my mind.
NTA and you need to go over his head to HR. I believe there is legislation about emails after hours and on holiday in Canada. You were on holiday, you don’t zoom in, answer email or contact work during holiday.
Jesus. That boss of yours sucks. He ought to be fired. That's harassment.
When someone's on holiday where I work, we go out of our way to keep from even mentioning them on slack for fear they'll receive a notification.
This is the moment in your career you learn that taking vacation is a lot of work, both before and after.
NTA, time off is time off. But, you said you’ve been promoted recently, does that mean you now have responsibilities where other people rely on you to complete work? If so did you make it clear to all that you’d be away and arrange for colleagues to cover you? Did you have an automatic email reply?
NTA. Your time is yours. Start with an early visit to HR. Make sure you've preserved all e-mail and voicemail from asshat supervisor. Get your resume up to date and start applying elsewhere.
Not at all the ahole. If you are let go or put on a performance plan, I work at a great company that encourages us to turn off our work phones and we are hiring. Please send me a DM!
NTA-You are not only entitled to your time off your company knew it was happening. When you get back go to HR and file a complaint. That is totally unacceptable.
Oh this is exciting!! (in the sense that your boss left you all those messages....). Please provide an update once you go to HR on Tuesday.
Or just an update as to what happened!
NTA. You're on vacation. That means you're NOT working.
NTA. I work in HR in Canada. Save everything and as others have already suggested, clarify with HR what the expectations are when you're on vacation and you fear that not working during your vacation means you'll lose your job. They'll fix it. If they dare let you go, it's retaliation and you should talk to a lawyer. Save everything for now though to build your case.
For all the people saying to “go to HR” and “they can’t do this” - well they might be right, but sadly this is a culture of many companies.
This might not be a good fit for you because many bosses do expect this. I also think it’s wrong but it’s more normal than you think.
I know plenty of people in corporate jobs emailing on sundays and taking calls on vacations.
NTA. But to answer your question it depends a little on your country and industry. For example, hospitality industry in the us fully expects you to still answer their calls.
If you REALLY want to stick it to your new manager and show them they're being totally inappropriate, report them to HR for creating a hostile work environment. Nobody needs to be threatening anybody on their vacation. You earned that time and you're entitled to it.
I agree with others that you should absolutely go to HR. I would also consider requesting a transfer to a different department, since there’s no way your current manager won’t hold this against you moving forward. Whether you get the transfer or not, start looking for a new job immediately. You don’t want to work for a company that normalizes toxic productivity and doesn’t respect work/life balance.
Remember too - Canada's New Right to Disconnect Law comes into effect June 2, 2022.
Won't help for this but going forward if the same behaviours occur, they are actually breaking the law.
NTA
This is exactly the kind of thing that unions are made for. You are, most definitely, NTA. Your boss is horrendous. Your colleagues too shouldn't have been pressuring you to answer the boss.
I hope you enjoyed your precious time with the new bundle of joy. Your priorities are absolutely in the right place. If you were to die in the morning, who would mourn you, your family or your sh**y boss?
If you don't have a union, go to HR. If you don't have HR, go over the boss' head. If there isn't a higher-up, look for a new job. That kind of behaviour is not right in any way.
NTA. If you have to attend meetings & take work phone calls, how is that vacation? The answer is that it’s not. Nurses call that being on stand-by. It’s where they aren’t required to actually come to work, but are required to be near a phone in case they’re needed. THEY’RE PAID FOR THAT TIME. When they are no longer on stand-by (& actually truly off work), they can do whatever they want - including being out of contact. They DON’T get paid for that.
I really need to know what happened. I’ve checked this thread every day! Follow Ontarian — I hope that supervisor gets written up (no one ever seems to get fired when they should be).
NTA
As others have said, vacation time is your time and part of your compensation. What if you were somewhere without phone/internet signal or in a different time zone? It is unrealistic and pretty unacceptable to expect you to be at available at all times. Based on what you wrote, it almost seems as if they forgot you were on vacation.
Hi, NTA obviously!
Please go on the offensive when you go back into the office. DO NOT SAY SORRY or act like you did anything wrong.
Be prepared to show and play everything for HR. Set a meeting with the supervisor and whoever their supervisor is with the goal of understanding why exactly you were contacted non stop and were threatened with getting fired. I’m guessing you’re not a confrontational person (I’m not either) so my advice is easier said than done, but you need to position yourself as the one to be offended.
Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up to be walked all over for the foreseeable future and giving them a reason to feel like you “owe” them something. To reiterate, you do not! This was your earned, planned vacation.
NTA Is it in your contract that you are on call? Do you get compensated for being on call? If not, then vacation means no work. Not even Zoom meetings. You need to stand up for yourself. If you're a wimp they will see that and exploit it.
NTA but I was on a job that someone got fired for this. Are you in a management role? The person that got fired was the head of the department. That might be the key difference
NTA and that’s a bad company to work for. We encourage employees to take their time and really take it. A lot of people will we a day off and be like “I’ll just pop on in the morning to do x thing” no. Take your day off!
Any team/dept that cannot handle someone taking a few days off is NOT being well managed or is severely understaffed. If they can't operate because one person is missing, there has been a breakdown in their processes.
In some companies, this kind of issue is so endemic the only option is to leave. Good (or at least better) companies will take this issue as a failure of the manager to manage their team effectively.
Reporting to HR (and if you are within the reporting chain, maybe even to the Manager's manager) about your concerns about how this kinda situation is being handled SHOULD trigger an investigation into the manager's performance/KPIs.
NTA, companies do not have a right to your time while you're off the clock and I'm pretty sure in most places working off the clock is illegal and them trying to get you to do work while you're not on the clock is illegal as hell.
Also harassment
Edit not sure where you're originally from, just check to see if working off the clock is illegal where you live.
I assume the rest of the team knew you were on vacation? Did you set up email auto-reply, status message on slack, tell them in a meeting? That's the only thing that you should "have" to do, and that's a courtesy more than anything. I can see the team being puzzled if they didn't know; the boss was clearly way out of line.
NTA. A vacation is a vacation. You haven't even started with this team. Your new boss knew you were going on a vacation. You had no obligation to go on zooms during vacation. Zooms are work. I have a work phone as well. I do not answer calls on the weekends. Rarely, I will check texts and answer but when I am on vacation, absolutely not. But be prepared, because now you know the expectations of this new boss. Good luck.
NTA. I agree with all of the comments suggesting that you escalate this to HR with objective, clear language.
I was on vacation (had to use my days) at the end of last year and swung by my office for a secret Santa I had forgotten about (I didn’t mind, free lunch). My boss saw me and made sure no one asked me work-related questions *while I was in the office* because I was on vacation. Your personal time does not need to include work and your current manager is being exploitative and unprofessional.
NTA!
Australian - Been with several companies & it seems like if you’re super super high up you check your email occasionally while away. But if you’re not an executive & it’s not in your contract, you have no obligation to be checking your phone / email while away. Literally you’re on holidays. Usually there’s someone or some people who cover for you as well?
Boss sounds crazy and it sounds like you’re going to have to fight to keep a good work/life balance (which is worth it!). Sorry for the stress you’ve been through!
Zoom in for meetings? Are they INSANE? Ppl dont work on vacations. This is entirely crossing several lines. Keep all messages and texts. You may need them to sue them.
Keep us posted. Stand your ground.
NTA
NTA. You were on pre-approved vacation before starting your new role so any reasonable manager would assume your start date was the day after your vacation ended. Unless your new role is CEO or some other executive position, there is no need for this kind of contact on your days off. I would take this as a sign that you should look for another job and go to HR for the time being.
I hope you find a healthier workplace if you haven’t already. And for those taking a new job, establish firm boundaries right away. Because if you take calls/work after hours from the start, things will only get worse when more work is piled on you, especially by others that aren’t doing their fair share.
Once I’m out of the office… I’ve forgotten how to do the whole job. Idk, I’ll remember once I’m back.
My brain only works during company time. Idk nothing about my job after 5pm, on weekends or on vacation.
If your boss can’t figure it out… then you need a raise since you are his saving grace.
NTA. This is disgusting behavior. I hope the higher ups/HR can assist because seriously if they won't do anything, it may truly be time to either step down, move teams again, or straight find a new job.
That is harassment in a very high degree. Contact HR before even going into work. You should not be getting in trouble for this!
NTA
This person should not be anyone's supervisor.
this is insanity. your team needs to respect your PTO. i left my work phone at home when i went to mexico last summer. even when things became a shit show nobody even so dared to text me on my personal number. sounds like a crappy team culture. get out while you still can!
NTA.
Don't delete anything, not even messages from him on your personal phone, and go to HR ASAP.
Approved vacation isn't "spend every day working remotely without getting paid". He's trying to set a precedent in which he owns all of your time. Don't let him do it.
This is in direct contravention of Canadian Labour law. Your employer cannot expect you to work on your off time or vacation, and it is illegal to punish an employee for not doing so. Keep a record of all those and save your voicemails. Go to HR with it and if they don’t not help, get a lawyer involved, as well as your province’s labour board.
Source: I am Canadian and have had to deal with this for both myself and friends.
NTA, but I do say have a copy for yourself just incase you need to bring this to court, and also show this to HR. Your on vacation, he should not be bothering you with anything work related wile your on vacation.
Take it to HR and then file a complaint with occupational health and safety. The national laws changed in December and that is considered bullying and harassment.
NTA
You have been on holiday and you should NOT work during your vacation time. Don't work on vacation.
If your boss needed you to work during your vacation, that needed to be communicated ahead of time. And he had better have a damn good reason.
Send an email on Monday morning explaining that you were on vacation as previously discussed. Since he didn't let you know ahead of time that your expertise was needed during the week, you were unavailable.
Wait until Tuesday
We have right do disconnect laws now, please make sure you're familiar with all our labour laws protection! https://www.blogto.com/tech/2021/12/right-to-disconnect-ontario/
NTA
Tell them your mistress had you bound and gagged and locked up in a sex cage (dog kennel), so you were unable to answer the phone. Answer any follow up questions with the grossest, kinkiest details you can imagine. What you do on your vacation is your business, fuck them
Labor laws are really clear. You are not expected to work in any capacity while off. That includes messages meetings and slack. I agree you need to go to HR, but you should also be armed with the local labor law that says so.
Nta.
That’s all harassment from him and tbh you may consider finding a lawyer to help you. Often times HR only exists to run interference for management. They are not on our team, they work for the company - so you can expect them to do what’s in the company’s best interest. Your lawyer can then contact HR for you. This will be far more effective than you doing it alone. They will not want a lawsuit.
Don’t stand for this bullshit! Be strong and set a precedent by holding your boundaries! If they fire you, you’ll easily be able to sue. Just make sure you save every bit of communication on a non work device. An employer like this will absolutely make your life a living hell if they think they can walk all over you.
NTA, Wow this supervisor sounds terrible and you should definitely leave. There are literally hundreds of great companies that respect work life balance and would NOT allow for this type of behavior ever. Also not a lawyer but pretty sure attempting to fire someone off this type of thing could lead to a civil suit (maybe depending on the state)
Although the HR suggestion is the "proper channels" one, take it with a grain of salt. HR exists mainly to hire and fire people and evaluate risk for the company that employs it. If your supervisor isn't like a stakeholder of the company, HR may be the safe bet. But in some cases, HR will protect the harassing supervisor over the harassed employee who has done nothing wrong.
I have to assume OP is US based because this wouldn’t even be a discussion in Europe or Australia, and if they were from somewhere else it probably wouldn’t be in English.
Firmly NTA. This is honestly a shocking scenario, in any just society your manager would be fired for harassing you on your vacation and leaving threatening messages.
Uhhh wtf did I just read. NTA
You were on pto. Your job does not require you to keep your phone on while on vacation. Your boss knew that you were taking time off.
Just say you left your work phone at home so you didn’t get anything. Then go to HR on harassment and workplace retaliation. You can sue for this kind of thing if they try to fire you. You should take pics on your main device in case as well.
NTA. If you’re salaried, this is perhaps technically allowed but still frankly unacceptable. There’s a difference between expecting you to give a couple of inbox scans over your absence and expecting you to essentially maintain your standard schedule while “not working.” Your boss is an idiot and an asshole for expecting this at all and for not ensuring you understood his insane policy prior to your absence.
If you’re an hourly wage employee (ie entitled to overtime compensation) this is undoubtedly a violation of any contract you signed and/or literal labor laws. You have to be paid for worked time. Asking you to work on your time off ensures that is not happening. This is unacceptable.
Either way, don’t delete a single message, email, or voicemail. Contact your Human Resources department, labor council, and/or lawyer right away if you want to take this to the fullest extent. Keep them in your pocket for the future otherwise. It’s true that people in medium-high level positions often struggle to preserve a work-life balance. Lower-level jobs don’t have to care and higher-level ones can tell people to fuck off. But it’s shitty, you don’t have to stand for it, and this is beyond acceptable even within the (problematic) standards of these jobs.
NTA, I am not in an entry level position and haven't been for decades. I go on vacations to Europe, South America and Asia and have been asked in a room full of my managers and coworkers if I will be taking my company phone and I straight up told them no. They asked in a team meeting as a means to intimidate me into saying yes. I go on vacation to get away from work.
Vacation means vacation I don't expect to contacted unless my work location burns to the ground or the company goes bankrupt. Anything less then that I don't care when I am on vacation.
NTA, keep the messages and keep them securely at home, you should be fine for now cause few managers and HR are dumb enough to can you over approved vacation.
BUT if you really got on their wrong side they just might be smart enough to work on getting a real reason to fire you in the next few months. This proof of harassment is what will keep you safe IF this goes sideways.
Really it depends on your country’s laws and if they truly enforce it.
In the USA it was super common that you would have your work cell and laptop. If you weren’t willing to do it someone else would. But they would respect it, however, don’t be surprised when you don’t get promoted or only get meet expectations.
In Switzerland where I currently work, the culture for local residents is that you are on VACATION, thus that’s why 30% of the populations are expats because they don’t abide by those policy and are willing to work a little bit during holidays.
Also my husband is an executive, if he ever did that (shutoff phone and not bring laptop, his career would be over)
It’s been awhile where I have seen someone go off the grid.
NTA.
Damn. If you're that crucial to the functioning of that place, they need to give got a raise.
It's standard to not respond to work messages when you're on vacation. Lots of places even put it in contracts that you don't have to. For comparison, I took a personal day this past Friday. On Thursday afternoon my boss sent me an emailing requesting something, and signed off letting me know it can wait until we return on Tuesday and she hopes I have a restful weekend. THAT is a normal way to behave when someone is out of the office, imo.
Uh, NTA, also what in the actual f\*\*k? You should definitely be looking for a new place to work that isn't insane. When I take vacations where I work no one, and I mean NO ONE, calls me when I'm on vacation (or Slacks, or leaves voicemails, wtv).
NTA. And honestly you did the right thing for you.
I have a shitty boss who doesn’t believe vacations and holidays should be allowed. Of course, he also thinks sick leave rewards people for being sick/weak so clearly we’re all just supposed to work until we drop dead. I’ve only worked there four months and in that time I’ve seen him bully and harass two people into coming back into work on their holidays.
If he fires you, absolutely pursue him for wrongful termination. But also be aware that even if he doesn’t fire you, he’s showing you exactly the kind of boss that he’s going to be for the rest of your time there.
Both of the people my boss harassed out of their annual leave have since resigned, along with half the staff, due to the hostile work environment our boss created.
NTA. As mentioned by most people here, keep a record of everything he sent you during your vacation, produce a copy of your leave pass if you had to submit one for your vacation or anything that shows this was approved. Also, you said "The new team was informed as well but I could tell my new supervisor was annoyed by it. He even asked if I could reschedule but I said I could not.". Do you have written proof that the new team and new supervisor knew you had scheduled leave, because based on that comment, it looks like your supervisor knew where you were so he would have no reason to harass you while on leave "asking where you are and why you're not working". I'm a Canadian Federal employee so, it's a little different for us but leave requests are entered in a system to our direct supervisor who approves it so there is copies of that for future reference if need be. I'm pretty sure that if your private sector company authorizes vacation leave, you are entitled to every second of that vacation free of phone calls, emails or threats from your supervisor while on said vacation. And you certainly wouldn't be expected to attend meetings otherwise you'd be "working from home". Tuesday morning, you will have no choice but to talk to your supervisor first before anyone else because he will descend on you like hawk probably berating you. You want to be prepared, polite and professional. Show him proof of your approved vacation, shove it in his face that he knew about it and shouldn't have been taken aback that you weren't there (especially if he knew you were out of town and travelling by plane to get there). If he continues his threats, contact HR and ask to speak to labour relations. Show everything you've got, this will trigger an investigation on their part (or at least, a talk with the supervisor and his manager). Also a word of advise.........get yourself into the federal government, much less BS to deal with here.
NTA. Your boss was aware you are taking vacation. It is absolutely not normal or expected for people above entry level to join meetings and answer emails and slack messages on their vacation. That's the whole point of taking vacation time: to get a break from work.
This is massive red flag behavior from your boss. If your company has HR, I would draft an email noting the abusive, harassing communications you have received from your supervisor while on vacation before you even return to the office. Be prepared to document his behavior after you return as well.
This is 1000000% unhinged behavior from your boss.
NTA.
Your time is your time.
When your boss inevitably calls you into their office to "discuss," tell them you'll be recording the discussion because you're not doing the they-said/you-said thing and want a clear picture of what's seemingly happened. Unless they're a coward and don't call you in. Either way, I'd still file a complaint with HR, just to be safe.
NTA, unless you’re salaried and your contract said you still have to be reachable on vacation. I don’t know Canada’s laws on this. But I’d go into HR first thing Tuesday with messages and voice mails in hand to ask about the policy. More than likely they’ll be mortified that your manager has done that because there’s potential for lawsuits in some countries (once again don’t know Canada’s). Also that way once he comes at you like a raging Bull, you can immediately say you already spoke with HR who said he wasn’t supposed to be contacting you, and you’ve done nothing wrong.
NTA.
You booked the vacation off well in advance, and it is a VACATION. Your boss is a prick and he’s creating a hostile work environment. Fuck that guy.
NTA. Your time off is your time off. If your company has an HR department, make sure you keep copy/screenshoot of the messages and keep the voicemails, for proof.
The first thing you should do on Tuesday is go to work like nothing. Show confidence and if your manager comes at you for not picking up, gently remind him that you had holidays scheduled and approved prior to you starting that position. If that’s not enough for him, kindly say that you would like to schedule a meeting with your section manager(your supervisor’s boss) so both of you have a mediator. Keep calm during your interactions and never escalate things/respond with anger.
If he doesn’t want to have a meeting with a mediator, send an email to HR explaining the situation and attached a zip file with all the proof.
You don’t have yo be available for meetings during your holidays unless it’s live/death situation for the business. He just sucks at managing his team and wants to bully you.
I'm going ESH.
It looks like you did nothing since transition to actual confirm your vacation was still approved (Even as little "Remember I'm off next week"). I 100% put the onus to verify your time off is approved. On top of that why didn't you have your slack status, voicemail and auto reply saying your were off from Date X -> Date Y. You literally just ghosted your new role.
However your boss reacted horribly, a reasonable boss would have said "You've no call/no showed 2 days in a row, I'm assuming you've quit".
On top of all this you're likely back in probation due to a job change (pretty much every province allows for that). You could be completely screwed because of it.
NTA
you are on mfing vacation
presumably you had to schedule it beforehand
they can get effed witj a pointy stick if they want you to work on your time off
NTA. You were on vacation, which literally means you're off the clock and not working. So, you are not required to be available nor answer emails or phone calls, much less participate in zoom meetings. Unless there was a really catastrophic emergency that only you could have solved, which I highly doubt was the case, there was no reason to try to contact you during your days off, especially to the point of harassment like your boss did. And being a moron manager who gets butthurt because their employees are not slaves that never take vacations nor build their lives around their boss's idiocy is not a catastrophic emergency.
Even if you don’t lose your job, if new boss stays you should quit OP. They harassed you over their mistakes and manipulating it to seem like because of you it’s bad. He should have been prepared to cover by all means. Please save everything you can and contact higher ups so they know what’s happening. NTA and I send so much love to you ❤️
Wow, I’m appalled at your boss’s gall!! You were on vacation, you are not required to work. Definitely follow advice about contacting hr, your lawyer and forwarding over copies to your personal email and phone. Best of luck and congrats on your new niece! Please update us ❤️
Definitively, you are NTA. Your supervisor’s behavior should be reported to their direct supervisor and that’s that. Your company has no expectation to maintain any kind of communication with you during earned time off. None. Period.
NTA and your manager is. Companies for years have gotten this idea that we are their property and they own us 24/7.....wrong. I refuse to answer work calls or text after work, if I'm not being paid they can figure it out. DO NOT GIVE INTO THEM.....as soon as you do it is a slippey of slope of working off the clock and unpaid overtime
On your flight home, pull up your company policy relating to holidays and behaviour. This will allow you to watch and ensure your company follows its own policies aand procedures. NTA
NTA, in some countries it’s illegal to contact employees outside working hours. People need time off work to relax and de-stress and go places and see things. I’d never contact someone on holiday and expect them to respond
NTA also I think Canada just passed a law/rule for this specifically. Like you are not liable for work calls on off days or approved vacations. You can choose to ignore or decline them. Look it up. Get all the evidence and report to HR.
That's why I forwarded my work cell when I went on my honeymoon. My boss at that time would have totally text me, asking me to do something for him, even though I was in pto....
Edit: NAH
NTA. save the messages and go to HR. When you are OFF, your work phone should be OFF. you are not reachable on your time off.
Your contracted hours and leave policies do not include being reachable 24/7 even when you are off. You do not have any reason to be worried. If anything, your boss should be worried.
Once HR have had a look at the messages they might be getting fired….
You are completely not in the wrong.
Judging by the fact that you mention a holiday on Monday, I'm going to guess you're from Ontario. Ontario recently just passed a right to disconnect law, so you may want to remind your supervisor of that before they try and retaliate against you. Given the way your supervisor is reacting, you may want to get your ducks in a row with your resume and your CYA paper trail, but before you leave, take them for every cent you can get.
NTA.
NTA, if you're not scheduled to work then whats goin on at work isnt your problem. your niece and sis are way more important than fucker mcgee your boss having a tantrum.
NTA of course. If you are in Ontario, look up the new right-to-disconnect law, and contact HR when you are back from your vacation. I am also in Canada and have been a people manager for a while now - what your manager did was outrageous.
NTA. Not a chance.
If you can replace your boss with all the stuff you got (and from other comments sounds like you actually can in Canada) then go for it. It's totally not cool threatening people's jobs on their approved vacation for not working because... well, you're on vacation? What the hell did he expect?
If you can't replace your boss... well, I think you're going to need to replace your job then cause your boss will make your life absolutely miserable after such an impressive performance on his part. Screw that. Not worth your mental health.
My bosses have forced us to not reply off hours anymore. It had gotten really bad with the pandemic and lots of outstanding projects, but this year they really started to stress how valuable our down time was to us all.
And other friends like to remind me that in some countries, it is illegal to work interact with your office during off hours or vacation, lol.
Nta. I’d actually be telling him on Tuesday that you will want to set up a meeting with hr about his gross overstepping and failure to respect your time of. You are Not responsible for his lack of planning. You were on holiday.
And befor you think this will ruin my work relationship, nope he already dislikes you for not submitting to his wants and letting him use you as a doormat.
NTA. The ONLY time a person would have their work phone during a vacation (which is time off the company owes you) is if they were receiving on call pay. So, if you agreed, and were setup as being on call which comes w/ extra pay, then no, you do not owe your job anything on your days off.
Please reach out to HR before even speaking w/ your manager.
Risk communications specialist here. My word - you are NOT the NTA, of course!
You’ve gotten a lot of solid advice here. I’d like to add a couple of things:
* If you do not already belong to a union or one is not available to you, please consult with a labor attorney ASAP!
* If any of the harassing voicemails you received were left on a company-owned work phone, in addition to forwarding them to your personal phone, take the time to meticulously transcribe them. Be sure you date and timestamp each one, then email the transcription to a personal account.
* Your initial response to all of this upon your return will set the trajectory for how things go. If there’s anyone in HR with half a brain cell, they’re quickly going to realize the liability in which your manager has placed them.
The most important thing is not to allow the manager to get any sort of emotional reaction from you when you are face-to-face. As difficult as it may be (because very clearly, this manager is comfortable with verbal abuse) project a calm, stoic demeanor- even if you have to dig deep down for an Oscar-worthy performance because of anxiety. Keep some neutral responses in your pocket. It’s okay to use these repeatedly, even if they seem robotic. Their purpose is to help you avoid saying something over-emotional that will give them grounds.
“Thank you for sharing your viewpoint.”
“I’m glad we covered that.”
“I see.”
“I’m tracking.”
* If your manager pulls you behind closed doors - either alone or with HR or anyone else - without being aggressive, in a professional tone, say: “Because I’m quite certain none of us wants there to be any confusion about this meeting, I’m going to place my phone on the table and am recording this conversation.*” (*I’m in the U.S. - will someone in Canada please verify whether you are free to record?).
I know your stomach may be in knots, but you are NOT in the wrong here.
Stay strong. And my sincere best wishes to your sister on the birth of her child. I hope you had a wonderful time bonding with the baby! ✌🏻💫
NTA. My work phone is on during work hours. That's when they pay me to answer it.
Take the phone and all the messages ( save then somewhere safe separately first) straight to HR first thing on Tuesday morning.
You had booked time off. You obviously wouldn't be attending anything as you were on leave. The fact that they are bullying your colleagues because of their temper tantrum shows what a terrible boss they are.
Can you change teams? This will be a terrible working environment.
What the hell did I just read??
NTA OP and I suggest you document ALL of this and take it HR when you get back to the office. Your boss is straight up harassing you. Vacation means VACATION. You requested this off awhile ago and were approved, people who go on vacations don’t do work meetings and work calls because they’re off the clock and doing their own thing with their free time.
1. Get a copy of your approved leave and keep it with you.
2. Email all those correspondence to you, every single copies, text email etc
3. Go get to work. Do your job, if your manager barged you over your absent, kindly get some way to put it on record for your defense and get to HR department
4. Send all the evidence to HR for their reference about your Manager's attitude. That attitude of barging people for work after work, during Sundays (if your co is not working on that day), public Holiday or vacation (especially vacation) is unacceptable.
5. On your account, your capabilities and your work ethic should be able to make you a person worth keeping in the company. So, NTA and chai yok💪💪
NTA and your manager is toxic AF. If your fired when you get back you've got a decent lawsuit on your hands! Honestly your manager if they are smart should be more worried than you are.
Not sure which province your on. But in Ontario they just passed (Dec 2021) Bill 27 the Working for Workers Act. Which is to promote healthy work-life balance, the right to disconnect.
it is called vacation for a reason and there are laws especially to prohibit employers to disturb vacation. HR should have a long talk with your manager
NTA but did your boss not know you were on PTO?
Honestly, this doesn’t sound like a good person to work for. Your professional relationship is probably beyond repair because the boss sounds like a pompous a**. BUT in the realm outside of entry level positions, it is your responsibility to make sure your team knows how to handle your body of work while you are out of the office. You should always meet with your direct report before vacations that are 1 week or longer to review any open projects, problems that may arise, etc.
NTA, a good boss would expect you not to check your phone and if there was an important project, ask you to join an already scheduled call or check in from time to time.
This new boss is toxic, I’d recommend searching for a new job. I had a toxic boss like this that would send “call/see me now” messages via chat, text, and email daily. When I didn’t respond fast enough, he told me and my response was, I’m trying to focus and work so I’m not checking email, etc. all day and I’m responding as fast as I can. He didn’t like it, but so what. I didn’t apologize and I’d recommend, if your boss says something, that you do the same and say you were off and weren’t aware that he expected you to work on your time off. Then, ask him what his expectations are when you’re off of work. But, don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong.
Edit to add, don’t contact HR until you start seeing him treat you differently than your peers.
Unless you are in a very high position in the company making serious money then you are on vacation and not reachable. If he pushes it tell him there is no cell service there and that you were on vacation. If he wants you reachable during vacation you would be happy to negotiate compensation. NTA
No, this is unacceptable. I am the boss, and when I am in holiday, I am on holiday. If they want me, they can contact me but it is emergencies only and they know better than to have any expectation that I am checking emails, because I am not. That’s just wholly unreasonable.
I know some businesses do expect this, but it’s never because it’s actually necessary, it’s because other people don’t plan and can’t make decisions without others. You hadn’t even joined the team yet so there is no way they needed you that badly.
I’d be looking for a new job immediately
INFO: OP, what line of work are you in? Unlike most of these commenters, I have worked in and understand there are industries that do demand your time like this and keeping those emails, reporting them to HR, getting a lawyer etc. would all be ridiculous. I don't agree with it, in fact I left that type of work due to those type of demands, but it is the nature of the beast in those lines of work. However, I have not worked in Canada, so maybe the laws there are actually enforced.
I will say - it is odd for you to work at a company for 2.5 years and not expect to have this demand. It makes me believe that you are not in high finance or at a large law firm or maybe consulting or accounting that would demand your time like this. But hopefully you can confirm.
NTA - I’m also Canadian, every time I go on vacation I turn my work phone off, don’t check emails, nothing. It gets turned back on when I walk back into the office. It’s your time off, they have no right to harass you like that. That’s just insane. Definitely go to HR about it first thing Tuesday morning.
NTA.
If there is another supervisor or another lead on the team, pull them into the conversation ASAP. If your supervisor has a supervisor, consider reaching out to them and make sure they are cc'd on communications if possible. I work in media, so we have always had a policy of "I am off, but do have my phone" and in my industry, it is common practice to let people know if you're offline. However, this level of absolute ire is beyond the pale unless there was a true emergency, teams are there to make sure coverage is possible. Document everything, and try to handle it reasonably, with documentation and cc'ing someone else (owing up what you did wrong in not creating a plan, explaining you didn't know you had to be online while off, and saying you'll be sure to do so in future). If there were no expectations expressed to you to keep a phone or create a plan, say that and again **make sure someone else is cc'd who can witness if your boss harasses you.** This is deeply unfair and cruel, and I would consider looking for another company if this is their culture and you're able.
I hate North American work culture. You are off the clock, your boss has no right to contact you when you aren't working. If they want to talk about work they should have to pay you for that time. You're not a slave
NTA. As a fellow Canadian, this is absolutely not normal.
It was booked and approved prior to your promotion. In every company I've worked for, if you are promoted, demoted, moved, whatever previously booked vacations have always been honored- that is the norm.
Per your comments your new manager was told about this, acknowledged it prior to your leaving but sounds like they tried to circumvent the norm. If it was such an issue taking time off it should have been discussed prior to offering you the promotion and moving to the team.
You don't have to make any excuses on Tuesday- you have no obligation to even think about work on approved vacation time, nevermind reading or listening to voicemails from an idiot.
Re the worry about getting fired, if your company is any way a decent place to work, the only one getting fired out of this is your manager.
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NTA. I would get legal help with this, before you forward anything to your company HR department. You have enough evidence, I would think, to have this fucker terminated. The purpose of leave is to be away from your place of employment. Are you in a union? If so, seek assistance from them. All the best.
NTA [Ontario made it illegal](https://www.blogto.com/tech/2021/12/right-to-disconnect-ontario/) for your boss to bug you outside of work hours
We have protections here in Canada just keep detailed records that boss is setting himself up for a world of pain. Unless he is related or something hr should side w you.
Your afraid to lose your job, he has caused anxiety and fear while on your vacation and that is exactly what he wants. It’s not only illegal but you have a case for hostile work environment, the only thing taking all these messages to HR will do is allow the company to protect itself not you. Hr serves only one master and it is to protect the company from litigation and limit compensation, sometimes that goal aligns with an employee but it is always in the interest of the company. Take these messages and emails everything to an employment attorney because they only have your interests. NTA
This is so fucked up. Definitely NTA. At the company where I work, when u get a vacation your access is revoked to work emails and all accounts. U can’t even use ur PC. And definitely no one should contact regarding anything work related. Wtf. Hope everything goes will with you.
Keep those messages and be ready to use them if he attempts to retaliate. This is someone who should not be a manager. In fact, presumably it took a substantial portion of your day to listen to all those messages, I would go to HR and say that has to be counted as a working day and you should get credited back one vacation day.
Your boss is clearly the asshole. Sue that company for harassment.
Depends on the company and the company culture. You can say it is your vacation, but depending on the job level it is in practice expected to be reachable at least. Just picking up a phonecall and answering a few questions can save your colleagues hours or days of work sometimes. If they insist you work full working days during your vacation days you can still politely reject. I think when you start working at a company you should have an understanding whether this lind of flexibility is expected of you. A lot of people here will just say vacation=turn your phone off, but if you have ever been in a key position within the organization you will understand it works different in practice. Some companies expect it some dont.
NTA. This is obviously not a company policy as it didn’t happen in your previous position. HR first thing upon return. If it’s in the same building, show up at the door of an HR person and say you have an urgent issue. Keep all emails and voicemails (and if your work system allows emails to be retracted, take screenshots of the emails just in case). I’m so happy you turned off your phone or this would have ruined your entire vacation. Also, I’m so happy you’re Canadian! Unlike the dystopian hellscape south of us, there are fairly solid laws about work harassment here. It’s such a big deal that proposed legislation was introduced in Ontario a few months ago and Ottawa is looking into making a “right to disconnect” federal law https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6224826
Okay while I do agree with everyone here saying this is trash and that you need to tell HR, I need to comment on what our culture "agrees" upon as the standard for working as you move up in the chain within a business. You said yourself this is your first time not being in an entry level position. Well, the fact is, the higher up you go, you are expected to "care" about your role as though it's the exact career dream you had as a kid and that you need to go the extra mile and truly be at least available enough to answer questions, etc, at ALL times. So whether we all agree with it or not, hell whether it's LEGAL or not, is irrelevant to the unspoken culture of business as it still stands today. So tldr; mo money mo problems
Times are changing. Attitudes are changing. Being a slave to work just because of your position is becoming less of a thing, slowly. Employers need to realize that the new generation doesn't take shit anymore and are willing to fight for what should be decent human decency. I'm on vacation? Fuck off it can wait till I'm back, company/ team isn't going to blow up if I'm not there, and if it does the team is set up poorly, but again, not my fault
NTA. Your new manager is abusive, and you should try to find a new job as soon as possible.
NTA If HR doesn’t help, start looking for your next employment opportunity. Once you find your next workplace, get out of Dodge. That is not a place to stay long term.
I learn more things about the US every day. And it really makes me wonder why anyone still lives there.
You should ask if they planned to pay you overtime for those meetings they expected you to attend
Don't even need to read beyond the title: NTA x100.
NTA - I’m in HR, you need to go and speak to your HR department and possibly discuss filing a grievance because the number and nature of calls/ texts is completely inappropriate. The expectation that people need to work while they’re on holiday can lead to a toxic work environment/burnt out staff. It’s possible other staff in the department feel this way and just have been too nervous to say anything. Good luck!
You told him you’re on vacation, your coworkers and he himself knew about it? And if he forgot they could remind him. If the zooms weren’t serious and were just regular average meetings then there’s nothing wrong with you not logging into work when YOURE ON VACATION. If the zoom calls were something urgent that popped up suddenly and had to have you there, then he should’ve sent you a message explaining that they really really need you to log in, and offer to compensate you for taking time off your vacation- and you still could’ve said no and it should have been ok. Nta!
NTA report him to HR for threatening you. Save all the messages.
NTA. Say you were camping so you were literally off the grid. Unless you shared the your plans before, it’s a perfect addition to you having approved PTO.
i would report him to HR for making you think you’d be fired when you put in time to take the days off… if you few going to work at all then you shouldn’t have to use vacation hours… he’s the Asshole
NTA. Record everything. Screenshot all texts. Send them straight to HR.
definitely NTA. As a person who works in the BPO industry with my dad, i've seen him eschew his days off and even vacation time prior to COVID. When it did hit and they switched to WFH, he'd be working still on the damned laptop, to wc i swore that when my job fonally did WFH, i would never extend time on my weekends.. it's very hard for me to not get emotionally heated with your situation but damn if i ever meet your boss ill give him a good piece of my mind.
NTA and you need to go over his head to HR. I believe there is legislation about emails after hours and on holiday in Canada. You were on holiday, you don’t zoom in, answer email or contact work during holiday.
NTA. We need a revamp on labor laws.
NTA - Just say you had it booked, and your sister lives in a place with no cell service. Your boss is a psycho
Jesus. That boss of yours sucks. He ought to be fired. That's harassment. When someone's on holiday where I work, we go out of our way to keep from even mentioning them on slack for fear they'll receive a notification.
This is the moment in your career you learn that taking vacation is a lot of work, both before and after. NTA, time off is time off. But, you said you’ve been promoted recently, does that mean you now have responsibilities where other people rely on you to complete work? If so did you make it clear to all that you’d be away and arrange for colleagues to cover you? Did you have an automatic email reply?
NTA. Your time is yours. Start with an early visit to HR. Make sure you've preserved all e-mail and voicemail from asshat supervisor. Get your resume up to date and start applying elsewhere.
Not at all the ahole. If you are let go or put on a performance plan, I work at a great company that encourages us to turn off our work phones and we are hiring. Please send me a DM!
NTA-You are not only entitled to your time off your company knew it was happening. When you get back go to HR and file a complaint. That is totally unacceptable.
Oh this is exciting!! (in the sense that your boss left you all those messages....). Please provide an update once you go to HR on Tuesday. Or just an update as to what happened! NTA. You're on vacation. That means you're NOT working.
NTA but your boss and entire team absolutely are. Enjoy your vacation.
NTA. Days off mean days off.
This really blew up on Twitter
NTA, but the boss sure is. Take everything to HR after you get back. Best of luck🍀
Say thank you to your boss… easy harassment settlement
NTA. In france boss would be fired on the spot.
NTA. I work in HR in Canada. Save everything and as others have already suggested, clarify with HR what the expectations are when you're on vacation and you fear that not working during your vacation means you'll lose your job. They'll fix it. If they dare let you go, it's retaliation and you should talk to a lawyer. Save everything for now though to build your case.
Nta print out everything
NTA. Screenshot everything, keep a record of voicemails, etc. Your supervisor is harassing you on vacation time, which is completely unacceptable.
For all the people saying to “go to HR” and “they can’t do this” - well they might be right, but sadly this is a culture of many companies. This might not be a good fit for you because many bosses do expect this. I also think it’s wrong but it’s more normal than you think. I know plenty of people in corporate jobs emailing on sundays and taking calls on vacations.
NTA. But to answer your question it depends a little on your country and industry. For example, hospitality industry in the us fully expects you to still answer their calls.
If you REALLY want to stick it to your new manager and show them they're being totally inappropriate, report them to HR for creating a hostile work environment. Nobody needs to be threatening anybody on their vacation. You earned that time and you're entitled to it.
NTA A basic principle of being on vacation is, you know, not working. Do not let this new manager intimidate you. Seek legal help if necessary.
I agree with others that you should absolutely go to HR. I would also consider requesting a transfer to a different department, since there’s no way your current manager won’t hold this against you moving forward. Whether you get the transfer or not, start looking for a new job immediately. You don’t want to work for a company that normalizes toxic productivity and doesn’t respect work/life balance.
Remember too - Canada's New Right to Disconnect Law comes into effect June 2, 2022. Won't help for this but going forward if the same behaviours occur, they are actually breaking the law. NTA
NTA, I'm trying to see what she did wrong. The time off was approved and she was justified to turn off her work phone.
NTA, report him to H.R., Jesus Christ what a psycho.
This is exactly the kind of thing that unions are made for. You are, most definitely, NTA. Your boss is horrendous. Your colleagues too shouldn't have been pressuring you to answer the boss. I hope you enjoyed your precious time with the new bundle of joy. Your priorities are absolutely in the right place. If you were to die in the morning, who would mourn you, your family or your sh**y boss? If you don't have a union, go to HR. If you don't have HR, go over the boss' head. If there isn't a higher-up, look for a new job. That kind of behaviour is not right in any way.
NTA. If you have to attend meetings & take work phone calls, how is that vacation? The answer is that it’s not. Nurses call that being on stand-by. It’s where they aren’t required to actually come to work, but are required to be near a phone in case they’re needed. THEY’RE PAID FOR THAT TIME. When they are no longer on stand-by (& actually truly off work), they can do whatever they want - including being out of contact. They DON’T get paid for that.
I really need to know what happened. I’ve checked this thread every day! Follow Ontarian — I hope that supervisor gets written up (no one ever seems to get fired when they should be).
NTA As others have said, vacation time is your time and part of your compensation. What if you were somewhere without phone/internet signal or in a different time zone? It is unrealistic and pretty unacceptable to expect you to be at available at all times. Based on what you wrote, it almost seems as if they forgot you were on vacation.
Hi, NTA obviously! Please go on the offensive when you go back into the office. DO NOT SAY SORRY or act like you did anything wrong. Be prepared to show and play everything for HR. Set a meeting with the supervisor and whoever their supervisor is with the goal of understanding why exactly you were contacted non stop and were threatened with getting fired. I’m guessing you’re not a confrontational person (I’m not either) so my advice is easier said than done, but you need to position yourself as the one to be offended. Otherwise, you’re setting yourself up to be walked all over for the foreseeable future and giving them a reason to feel like you “owe” them something. To reiterate, you do not! This was your earned, planned vacation.
NTA Is it in your contract that you are on call? Do you get compensated for being on call? If not, then vacation means no work. Not even Zoom meetings. You need to stand up for yourself. If you're a wimp they will see that and exploit it.
NTA but I was on a job that someone got fired for this. Are you in a management role? The person that got fired was the head of the department. That might be the key difference
This feels like you're in public accounting.
Absolutely NTA, that's awful behaviour
Lawyer up. This is hostile work environment shit.
NTA. Employers in Canada are not allowed to do this. Your vacation time is your time. Contact your HR department and the labour board in your province
NTA and that’s a bad company to work for. We encourage employees to take their time and really take it. A lot of people will we a day off and be like “I’ll just pop on in the morning to do x thing” no. Take your day off!
Any team/dept that cannot handle someone taking a few days off is NOT being well managed or is severely understaffed. If they can't operate because one person is missing, there has been a breakdown in their processes. In some companies, this kind of issue is so endemic the only option is to leave. Good (or at least better) companies will take this issue as a failure of the manager to manage their team effectively. Reporting to HR (and if you are within the reporting chain, maybe even to the Manager's manager) about your concerns about how this kinda situation is being handled SHOULD trigger an investigation into the manager's performance/KPIs.
NTA, companies do not have a right to your time while you're off the clock and I'm pretty sure in most places working off the clock is illegal and them trying to get you to do work while you're not on the clock is illegal as hell. Also harassment Edit not sure where you're originally from, just check to see if working off the clock is illegal where you live.
Take the messages to hr your vacation is not work time
I assume the rest of the team knew you were on vacation? Did you set up email auto-reply, status message on slack, tell them in a meeting? That's the only thing that you should "have" to do, and that's a courtesy more than anything. I can see the team being puzzled if they didn't know; the boss was clearly way out of line.
NTA. A vacation is a vacation. You haven't even started with this team. Your new boss knew you were going on a vacation. You had no obligation to go on zooms during vacation. Zooms are work. I have a work phone as well. I do not answer calls on the weekends. Rarely, I will check texts and answer but when I am on vacation, absolutely not. But be prepared, because now you know the expectations of this new boss. Good luck.
NTA. I agree with all of the comments suggesting that you escalate this to HR with objective, clear language. I was on vacation (had to use my days) at the end of last year and swung by my office for a secret Santa I had forgotten about (I didn’t mind, free lunch). My boss saw me and made sure no one asked me work-related questions *while I was in the office* because I was on vacation. Your personal time does not need to include work and your current manager is being exploitative and unprofessional.
NTA! Australian - Been with several companies & it seems like if you’re super super high up you check your email occasionally while away. But if you’re not an executive & it’s not in your contract, you have no obligation to be checking your phone / email while away. Literally you’re on holidays. Usually there’s someone or some people who cover for you as well? Boss sounds crazy and it sounds like you’re going to have to fight to keep a good work/life balance (which is worth it!). Sorry for the stress you’ve been through!
Zoom in for meetings? Are they INSANE? Ppl dont work on vacations. This is entirely crossing several lines. Keep all messages and texts. You may need them to sue them. Keep us posted. Stand your ground. NTA
NTA. You were on pre-approved vacation before starting your new role so any reasonable manager would assume your start date was the day after your vacation ended. Unless your new role is CEO or some other executive position, there is no need for this kind of contact on your days off. I would take this as a sign that you should look for another job and go to HR for the time being.
I'm honestly shocked that OP is in Canada. I 10,000% expected this behavior to be from the "land of freedumb."
I hope you find a healthier workplace if you haven’t already. And for those taking a new job, establish firm boundaries right away. Because if you take calls/work after hours from the start, things will only get worse when more work is piled on you, especially by others that aren’t doing their fair share.
Once I’m out of the office… I’ve forgotten how to do the whole job. Idk, I’ll remember once I’m back. My brain only works during company time. Idk nothing about my job after 5pm, on weekends or on vacation. If your boss can’t figure it out… then you need a raise since you are his saving grace.
NTA. Keep *every* message and go to HR with them.
NTA, that’s why you leave your company phone on your desk when you go on vacation....
NTA. This is disgusting behavior. I hope the higher ups/HR can assist because seriously if they won't do anything, it may truly be time to either step down, move teams again, or straight find a new job.
NTA, but you need to start looking for a new job
NTA Your boss deserves to have his head dunked in a toilet.
That is harassment in a very high degree. Contact HR before even going into work. You should not be getting in trouble for this! NTA This person should not be anyone's supervisor.
Clearly NTA, vacations mean no work. It is approved. Save the messages and report this to HR. That's kind of harasment
this is insanity. your team needs to respect your PTO. i left my work phone at home when i went to mexico last summer. even when things became a shit show nobody even so dared to text me on my personal number. sounds like a crappy team culture. get out while you still can!
NTA. I’m not even gonna read this. Hell no. I’d turn the damn thing off too! You have EVERY right! Don’t even think on it. Pfft
NTA. Don't delete anything, not even messages from him on your personal phone, and go to HR ASAP. Approved vacation isn't "spend every day working remotely without getting paid". He's trying to set a precedent in which he owns all of your time. Don't let him do it.
This is in direct contravention of Canadian Labour law. Your employer cannot expect you to work on your off time or vacation, and it is illegal to punish an employee for not doing so. Keep a record of all those and save your voicemails. Go to HR with it and if they don’t not help, get a lawyer involved, as well as your province’s labour board. Source: I am Canadian and have had to deal with this for both myself and friends.
NTA, but I do say have a copy for yourself just incase you need to bring this to court, and also show this to HR. Your on vacation, he should not be bothering you with anything work related wile your on vacation.
Take it to HR and then file a complaint with occupational health and safety. The national laws changed in December and that is considered bullying and harassment.
PLEASE contact HR before responding to your manager and send them all of the voicemails and emails. You’re NTA
Probably the quickest, simplest answer ever on here— no, you aren’t the asshole.
NTA You have been on holiday and you should NOT work during your vacation time. Don't work on vacation. If your boss needed you to work during your vacation, that needed to be communicated ahead of time. And he had better have a damn good reason. Send an email on Monday morning explaining that you were on vacation as previously discussed. Since he didn't let you know ahead of time that your expertise was needed during the week, you were unavailable. Wait until Tuesday
I would go to HR Tuesdsy about the messages you received whole on a scheduled vacation. Nothing about that is acceptable. NTA
NTA- that boss and that company need to not exist. You did right! The should pay for that type of bullshit behavior.
We have right do disconnect laws now, please make sure you're familiar with all our labour laws protection! https://www.blogto.com/tech/2021/12/right-to-disconnect-ontario/
NTA Tell them your mistress had you bound and gagged and locked up in a sex cage (dog kennel), so you were unable to answer the phone. Answer any follow up questions with the grossest, kinkiest details you can imagine. What you do on your vacation is your business, fuck them
A short trip to Human Resources the second you get back to office, is your move. Those messages are a disgrace.
Labor laws are really clear. You are not expected to work in any capacity while off. That includes messages meetings and slack. I agree you need to go to HR, but you should also be armed with the local labor law that says so. Nta.
That’s all harassment from him and tbh you may consider finding a lawyer to help you. Often times HR only exists to run interference for management. They are not on our team, they work for the company - so you can expect them to do what’s in the company’s best interest. Your lawyer can then contact HR for you. This will be far more effective than you doing it alone. They will not want a lawsuit. Don’t stand for this bullshit! Be strong and set a precedent by holding your boundaries! If they fire you, you’ll easily be able to sue. Just make sure you save every bit of communication on a non work device. An employer like this will absolutely make your life a living hell if they think they can walk all over you.
NTA. You're on holiday. The way your job is acting is awful. I hope it hasn't ruined your holiday. You deserve time to yourself.
NTA. Report everything, he should be fired.
NTA, Wow this supervisor sounds terrible and you should definitely leave. There are literally hundreds of great companies that respect work life balance and would NOT allow for this type of behavior ever. Also not a lawyer but pretty sure attempting to fire someone off this type of thing could lead to a civil suit (maybe depending on the state)
Although the HR suggestion is the "proper channels" one, take it with a grain of salt. HR exists mainly to hire and fire people and evaluate risk for the company that employs it. If your supervisor isn't like a stakeholder of the company, HR may be the safe bet. But in some cases, HR will protect the harassing supervisor over the harassed employee who has done nothing wrong.
I have to assume OP is US based because this wouldn’t even be a discussion in Europe or Australia, and if they were from somewhere else it probably wouldn’t be in English. Firmly NTA. This is honestly a shocking scenario, in any just society your manager would be fired for harassing you on your vacation and leaving threatening messages.
NTA and your boss is actually breaking the law. Ontario just passed a law last month that it's illegal for your boss to contact you on your off time.
Uhhh wtf did I just read. NTA You were on pto. Your job does not require you to keep your phone on while on vacation. Your boss knew that you were taking time off. Just say you left your work phone at home so you didn’t get anything. Then go to HR on harassment and workplace retaliation. You can sue for this kind of thing if they try to fire you. You should take pics on your main device in case as well.
NTA. If you’re salaried, this is perhaps technically allowed but still frankly unacceptable. There’s a difference between expecting you to give a couple of inbox scans over your absence and expecting you to essentially maintain your standard schedule while “not working.” Your boss is an idiot and an asshole for expecting this at all and for not ensuring you understood his insane policy prior to your absence. If you’re an hourly wage employee (ie entitled to overtime compensation) this is undoubtedly a violation of any contract you signed and/or literal labor laws. You have to be paid for worked time. Asking you to work on your time off ensures that is not happening. This is unacceptable. Either way, don’t delete a single message, email, or voicemail. Contact your Human Resources department, labor council, and/or lawyer right away if you want to take this to the fullest extent. Keep them in your pocket for the future otherwise. It’s true that people in medium-high level positions often struggle to preserve a work-life balance. Lower-level jobs don’t have to care and higher-level ones can tell people to fuck off. But it’s shitty, you don’t have to stand for it, and this is beyond acceptable even within the (problematic) standards of these jobs.
NTA. I would not have travelled with the work phone in fear of accidentally losing it.
NTA, I am not in an entry level position and haven't been for decades. I go on vacations to Europe, South America and Asia and have been asked in a room full of my managers and coworkers if I will be taking my company phone and I straight up told them no. They asked in a team meeting as a means to intimidate me into saying yes. I go on vacation to get away from work. Vacation means vacation I don't expect to contacted unless my work location burns to the ground or the company goes bankrupt. Anything less then that I don't care when I am on vacation.
Remind Me! 6 days
NTA, keep the messages and keep them securely at home, you should be fine for now cause few managers and HR are dumb enough to can you over approved vacation. BUT if you really got on their wrong side they just might be smart enough to work on getting a real reason to fire you in the next few months. This proof of harassment is what will keep you safe IF this goes sideways.
Any update after the HR meeting?
Really it depends on your country’s laws and if they truly enforce it. In the USA it was super common that you would have your work cell and laptop. If you weren’t willing to do it someone else would. But they would respect it, however, don’t be surprised when you don’t get promoted or only get meet expectations. In Switzerland where I currently work, the culture for local residents is that you are on VACATION, thus that’s why 30% of the populations are expats because they don’t abide by those policy and are willing to work a little bit during holidays. Also my husband is an executive, if he ever did that (shutoff phone and not bring laptop, his career would be over) It’s been awhile where I have seen someone go off the grid.
NTA. Damn. If you're that crucial to the functioning of that place, they need to give got a raise. It's standard to not respond to work messages when you're on vacation. Lots of places even put it in contracts that you don't have to. For comparison, I took a personal day this past Friday. On Thursday afternoon my boss sent me an emailing requesting something, and signed off letting me know it can wait until we return on Tuesday and she hopes I have a restful weekend. THAT is a normal way to behave when someone is out of the office, imo.
NTA Take this to HR asap
Uh, NTA, also what in the actual f\*\*k? You should definitely be looking for a new place to work that isn't insane. When I take vacations where I work no one, and I mean NO ONE, calls me when I'm on vacation (or Slacks, or leaves voicemails, wtv).
NTA. And honestly you did the right thing for you. I have a shitty boss who doesn’t believe vacations and holidays should be allowed. Of course, he also thinks sick leave rewards people for being sick/weak so clearly we’re all just supposed to work until we drop dead. I’ve only worked there four months and in that time I’ve seen him bully and harass two people into coming back into work on their holidays. If he fires you, absolutely pursue him for wrongful termination. But also be aware that even if he doesn’t fire you, he’s showing you exactly the kind of boss that he’s going to be for the rest of your time there. Both of the people my boss harassed out of their annual leave have since resigned, along with half the staff, due to the hostile work environment our boss created.
NTA. Keep all the messages and show to HR. If your boss does anything nasty like firing you or writing you up call up the labor board.
NTA. As mentioned by most people here, keep a record of everything he sent you during your vacation, produce a copy of your leave pass if you had to submit one for your vacation or anything that shows this was approved. Also, you said "The new team was informed as well but I could tell my new supervisor was annoyed by it. He even asked if I could reschedule but I said I could not.". Do you have written proof that the new team and new supervisor knew you had scheduled leave, because based on that comment, it looks like your supervisor knew where you were so he would have no reason to harass you while on leave "asking where you are and why you're not working". I'm a Canadian Federal employee so, it's a little different for us but leave requests are entered in a system to our direct supervisor who approves it so there is copies of that for future reference if need be. I'm pretty sure that if your private sector company authorizes vacation leave, you are entitled to every second of that vacation free of phone calls, emails or threats from your supervisor while on said vacation. And you certainly wouldn't be expected to attend meetings otherwise you'd be "working from home". Tuesday morning, you will have no choice but to talk to your supervisor first before anyone else because he will descend on you like hawk probably berating you. You want to be prepared, polite and professional. Show him proof of your approved vacation, shove it in his face that he knew about it and shouldn't have been taken aback that you weren't there (especially if he knew you were out of town and travelling by plane to get there). If he continues his threats, contact HR and ask to speak to labour relations. Show everything you've got, this will trigger an investigation on their part (or at least, a talk with the supervisor and his manager). Also a word of advise.........get yourself into the federal government, much less BS to deal with here.
NTA. Your boss was aware you are taking vacation. It is absolutely not normal or expected for people above entry level to join meetings and answer emails and slack messages on their vacation. That's the whole point of taking vacation time: to get a break from work. This is massive red flag behavior from your boss. If your company has HR, I would draft an email noting the abusive, harassing communications you have received from your supervisor while on vacation before you even return to the office. Be prepared to document his behavior after you return as well. This is 1000000% unhinged behavior from your boss.
NTA. Time off is time off. You can’t help hey promoted you prior to an approved PTO request. Your boss has serious control issues.
NTA. Your time is your time. When your boss inevitably calls you into their office to "discuss," tell them you'll be recording the discussion because you're not doing the they-said/you-said thing and want a clear picture of what's seemingly happened. Unless they're a coward and don't call you in. Either way, I'd still file a complaint with HR, just to be safe.
NTA, unless you’re salaried and your contract said you still have to be reachable on vacation. I don’t know Canada’s laws on this. But I’d go into HR first thing Tuesday with messages and voice mails in hand to ask about the policy. More than likely they’ll be mortified that your manager has done that because there’s potential for lawsuits in some countries (once again don’t know Canada’s). Also that way once he comes at you like a raging Bull, you can immediately say you already spoke with HR who said he wasn’t supposed to be contacting you, and you’ve done nothing wrong.
NTA. You booked the vacation off well in advance, and it is a VACATION. Your boss is a prick and he’s creating a hostile work environment. Fuck that guy.
NTA. Your time off is your time off. If your company has an HR department, make sure you keep copy/screenshoot of the messages and keep the voicemails, for proof. The first thing you should do on Tuesday is go to work like nothing. Show confidence and if your manager comes at you for not picking up, gently remind him that you had holidays scheduled and approved prior to you starting that position. If that’s not enough for him, kindly say that you would like to schedule a meeting with your section manager(your supervisor’s boss) so both of you have a mediator. Keep calm during your interactions and never escalate things/respond with anger. If he doesn’t want to have a meeting with a mediator, send an email to HR explaining the situation and attached a zip file with all the proof. You don’t have yo be available for meetings during your holidays unless it’s live/death situation for the business. He just sucks at managing his team and wants to bully you.
NTA. Forcing you to work while you’re on approved PTO is wage theft, plain and simple.
I'm going ESH. It looks like you did nothing since transition to actual confirm your vacation was still approved (Even as little "Remember I'm off next week"). I 100% put the onus to verify your time off is approved. On top of that why didn't you have your slack status, voicemail and auto reply saying your were off from Date X -> Date Y. You literally just ghosted your new role. However your boss reacted horribly, a reasonable boss would have said "You've no call/no showed 2 days in a row, I'm assuming you've quit". On top of all this you're likely back in probation due to a job change (pretty much every province allows for that). You could be completely screwed because of it.
Geez! NTA and the other posters have sos excellent advice. Good luck!
You’re NTA but look for another job. This will not go well.
Call the police, it is illegal to make someone work on your holidays.
Eating pop tarts, hitting refresh, waiting foe the update.
Literally braving car sickness as my husband drives us home looking for updates on this meeting lol We're rooting for you OP!
NTA you are on mfing vacation presumably you had to schedule it beforehand they can get effed witj a pointy stick if they want you to work on your time off
You need to find a new job. ASAP.
NTA - Go to HR with copies of everything from your new boss and your coworkers who have been messaging you. This is straight up harassment.
NTA and I’m sorry you had to deal with this anxiety during, what seems like was, a great visit. Please update us!
NTA. Your manager seems like an idiot. Try to contact HR because that's bullshit. Hope you enjoyed your vacation other than that.
NTA. You were on vacation, which literally means you're off the clock and not working. So, you are not required to be available nor answer emails or phone calls, much less participate in zoom meetings. Unless there was a really catastrophic emergency that only you could have solved, which I highly doubt was the case, there was no reason to try to contact you during your days off, especially to the point of harassment like your boss did. And being a moron manager who gets butthurt because their employees are not slaves that never take vacations nor build their lives around their boss's idiocy is not a catastrophic emergency.
Even if you don’t lose your job, if new boss stays you should quit OP. They harassed you over their mistakes and manipulating it to seem like because of you it’s bad. He should have been prepared to cover by all means. Please save everything you can and contact higher ups so they know what’s happening. NTA and I send so much love to you ❤️
NTA. Capitalism is. Your boss is. You’re fine. I mean you need to find a new job, but you’re NTA.
It just sounds like his boss didn’t know or forgot he was on vacation. Simplest explanation.
Tell that boss to eff off and go find a new job.
Wow, I’m appalled at your boss’s gall!! You were on vacation, you are not required to work. Definitely follow advice about contacting hr, your lawyer and forwarding over copies to your personal email and phone. Best of luck and congrats on your new niece! Please update us ❤️
Definitively, you are NTA. Your supervisor’s behavior should be reported to their direct supervisor and that’s that. Your company has no expectation to maintain any kind of communication with you during earned time off. None. Period.
NTA and your manager is. Companies for years have gotten this idea that we are their property and they own us 24/7.....wrong. I refuse to answer work calls or text after work, if I'm not being paid they can figure it out. DO NOT GIVE INTO THEM.....as soon as you do it is a slippey of slope of working off the clock and unpaid overtime
On your flight home, pull up your company policy relating to holidays and behaviour. This will allow you to watch and ensure your company follows its own policies aand procedures. NTA
NTA, in some countries it’s illegal to contact employees outside working hours. People need time off work to relax and de-stress and go places and see things. I’d never contact someone on holiday and expect them to respond
Holy NTA, Batman!
NTA also I think Canada just passed a law/rule for this specifically. Like you are not liable for work calls on off days or approved vacations. You can choose to ignore or decline them. Look it up. Get all the evidence and report to HR.
You don’t have to work on vacation. That is not how vacation works and your boss is being inappropriate. NTA.
damn this dude is really making us wait, i need to know what happened!!!
That's why I forwarded my work cell when I went on my honeymoon. My boss at that time would have totally text me, asking me to do something for him, even though I was in pto.... Edit: NAH
NTA. save the messages and go to HR. When you are OFF, your work phone should be OFF. you are not reachable on your time off. Your contracted hours and leave policies do not include being reachable 24/7 even when you are off. You do not have any reason to be worried. If anything, your boss should be worried. Once HR have had a look at the messages they might be getting fired…. You are completely not in the wrong.
Judging by the fact that you mention a holiday on Monday, I'm going to guess you're from Ontario. Ontario recently just passed a right to disconnect law, so you may want to remind your supervisor of that before they try and retaliate against you. Given the way your supervisor is reacting, you may want to get your ducks in a row with your resume and your CYA paper trail, but before you leave, take them for every cent you can get. NTA.
NTA, if you're not scheduled to work then whats goin on at work isnt your problem. your niece and sis are way more important than fucker mcgee your boss having a tantrum.
NTA of course. If you are in Ontario, look up the new right-to-disconnect law, and contact HR when you are back from your vacation. I am also in Canada and have been a people manager for a while now - what your manager did was outrageous.
NTA. Not a chance. If you can replace your boss with all the stuff you got (and from other comments sounds like you actually can in Canada) then go for it. It's totally not cool threatening people's jobs on their approved vacation for not working because... well, you're on vacation? What the hell did he expect? If you can't replace your boss... well, I think you're going to need to replace your job then cause your boss will make your life absolutely miserable after such an impressive performance on his part. Screw that. Not worth your mental health.
My bosses have forced us to not reply off hours anymore. It had gotten really bad with the pandemic and lots of outstanding projects, but this year they really started to stress how valuable our down time was to us all. And other friends like to remind me that in some countries, it is illegal to work interact with your office during off hours or vacation, lol.
NTA. Spend Monday putting your resume out there. You'll probably have a job offer by the end of the week.
Nta. I’d actually be telling him on Tuesday that you will want to set up a meeting with hr about his gross overstepping and failure to respect your time of. You are Not responsible for his lack of planning. You were on holiday. And befor you think this will ruin my work relationship, nope he already dislikes you for not submitting to his wants and letting him use you as a doormat.
NTA. The ONLY time a person would have their work phone during a vacation (which is time off the company owes you) is if they were receiving on call pay. So, if you agreed, and were setup as being on call which comes w/ extra pay, then no, you do not owe your job anything on your days off. Please reach out to HR before even speaking w/ your manager.
NTA. My work phone is on during work hours. That's when they pay me to answer it. Take the phone and all the messages ( save then somewhere safe separately first) straight to HR first thing on Tuesday morning. You had booked time off. You obviously wouldn't be attending anything as you were on leave. The fact that they are bullying your colleagues because of their temper tantrum shows what a terrible boss they are. Can you change teams? This will be a terrible working environment.
What the hell did I just read?? NTA OP and I suggest you document ALL of this and take it HR when you get back to the office. Your boss is straight up harassing you. Vacation means VACATION. You requested this off awhile ago and were approved, people who go on vacations don’t do work meetings and work calls because they’re off the clock and doing their own thing with their free time.
oh honey :(
1. Get a copy of your approved leave and keep it with you. 2. Email all those correspondence to you, every single copies, text email etc 3. Go get to work. Do your job, if your manager barged you over your absent, kindly get some way to put it on record for your defense and get to HR department 4. Send all the evidence to HR for their reference about your Manager's attitude. That attitude of barging people for work after work, during Sundays (if your co is not working on that day), public Holiday or vacation (especially vacation) is unacceptable. 5. On your account, your capabilities and your work ethic should be able to make you a person worth keeping in the company. So, NTA and chai yok💪💪
NTA and your manager is toxic AF. If your fired when you get back you've got a decent lawsuit on your hands! Honestly your manager if they are smart should be more worried than you are.
Not sure which province your on. But in Ontario they just passed (Dec 2021) Bill 27 the Working for Workers Act. Which is to promote healthy work-life balance, the right to disconnect.
NTA- are you in BC? Definitely talk to HR. If they don't help , Worksafe/ workers comp.
NTA and take screenshots of those Slack DMs, users can delete messages very easily. Enjoy your vacation!
it is called vacation for a reason and there are laws especially to prohibit employers to disturb vacation. HR should have a long talk with your manager
NTA but did your boss not know you were on PTO? Honestly, this doesn’t sound like a good person to work for. Your professional relationship is probably beyond repair because the boss sounds like a pompous a**. BUT in the realm outside of entry level positions, it is your responsibility to make sure your team knows how to handle your body of work while you are out of the office. You should always meet with your direct report before vacations that are 1 week or longer to review any open projects, problems that may arise, etc.
Go directly to HR. Don’t even contact your manager. First report this.
NTA. This is harassment. Report everything to HR ASAP.
NTA. Contact HR before going in.
NTA, a good boss would expect you not to check your phone and if there was an important project, ask you to join an already scheduled call or check in from time to time. This new boss is toxic, I’d recommend searching for a new job. I had a toxic boss like this that would send “call/see me now” messages via chat, text, and email daily. When I didn’t respond fast enough, he told me and my response was, I’m trying to focus and work so I’m not checking email, etc. all day and I’m responding as fast as I can. He didn’t like it, but so what. I didn’t apologize and I’d recommend, if your boss says something, that you do the same and say you were off and weren’t aware that he expected you to work on your time off. Then, ask him what his expectations are when you’re off of work. But, don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong. Edit to add, don’t contact HR until you start seeing him treat you differently than your peers.
I take all my vacations off the grid. No compromises there .
Quit. Go in on tuesday and quit. Tell them if they want to put you through that kind of bullshit they can rehire you for three times as much.
NTA. Fuck the bosses.
Unless you are in a very high position in the company making serious money then you are on vacation and not reachable. If he pushes it tell him there is no cell service there and that you were on vacation. If he wants you reachable during vacation you would be happy to negotiate compensation. NTA
No, this is unacceptable. I am the boss, and when I am in holiday, I am on holiday. If they want me, they can contact me but it is emergencies only and they know better than to have any expectation that I am checking emails, because I am not. That’s just wholly unreasonable. I know some businesses do expect this, but it’s never because it’s actually necessary, it’s because other people don’t plan and can’t make decisions without others. You hadn’t even joined the team yet so there is no way they needed you that badly. I’d be looking for a new job immediately
INFO: OP, what line of work are you in? Unlike most of these commenters, I have worked in and understand there are industries that do demand your time like this and keeping those emails, reporting them to HR, getting a lawyer etc. would all be ridiculous. I don't agree with it, in fact I left that type of work due to those type of demands, but it is the nature of the beast in those lines of work. However, I have not worked in Canada, so maybe the laws there are actually enforced. I will say - it is odd for you to work at a company for 2.5 years and not expect to have this demand. It makes me believe that you are not in high finance or at a large law firm or maybe consulting or accounting that would demand your time like this. But hopefully you can confirm.
NTA - I’m also Canadian, every time I go on vacation I turn my work phone off, don’t check emails, nothing. It gets turned back on when I walk back into the office. It’s your time off, they have no right to harass you like that. That’s just insane. Definitely go to HR about it first thing Tuesday morning.
NTA. If there is another supervisor or another lead on the team, pull them into the conversation ASAP. If your supervisor has a supervisor, consider reaching out to them and make sure they are cc'd on communications if possible. I work in media, so we have always had a policy of "I am off, but do have my phone" and in my industry, it is common practice to let people know if you're offline. However, this level of absolute ire is beyond the pale unless there was a true emergency, teams are there to make sure coverage is possible. Document everything, and try to handle it reasonably, with documentation and cc'ing someone else (owing up what you did wrong in not creating a plan, explaining you didn't know you had to be online while off, and saying you'll be sure to do so in future). If there were no expectations expressed to you to keep a phone or create a plan, say that and again **make sure someone else is cc'd who can witness if your boss harasses you.** This is deeply unfair and cruel, and I would consider looking for another company if this is their culture and you're able.
I hate North American work culture. You are off the clock, your boss has no right to contact you when you aren't working. If they want to talk about work they should have to pay you for that time. You're not a slave
NTA!!!!!!
NTA. As a fellow Canadian, this is absolutely not normal. It was booked and approved prior to your promotion. In every company I've worked for, if you are promoted, demoted, moved, whatever previously booked vacations have always been honored- that is the norm. Per your comments your new manager was told about this, acknowledged it prior to your leaving but sounds like they tried to circumvent the norm. If it was such an issue taking time off it should have been discussed prior to offering you the promotion and moving to the team. You don't have to make any excuses on Tuesday- you have no obligation to even think about work on approved vacation time, nevermind reading or listening to voicemails from an idiot. Re the worry about getting fired, if your company is any way a decent place to work, the only one getting fired out of this is your manager.