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Woman slams 'entitled' parent over Easter holiday leave dispute

The woman, who is now a mum herself, recalls how she was expected to give up her Easter leave for a co-worker who had children.

A woman has slammed an "entitled" former co-worker for assuming she'd be okay with swapping her leave for the Easter long weekend because she didn't have any children.

The Australian woman, who is now a mum herself, this week recalled the time she was once expected to give up her booked annual leave to another employee while working at a call centre.

"I would have been 23 and single and my parents lived about six hours away from where I did," the woman who goes by 'Lady Quinn' said on TikTok. "And I booked a ticket to spend the Easter long weekend with my parents, [who] I hadn't seen in probably six months, like before Christmas. So I was really excited to spend some time with my mum and dad."

Two photos of the Australian woman sharing how her coworker assumed she would swap her Easter holiday leave with her simply because she has children.
An Australian woman has shared how her co-worker assumed she would swap her Easter holiday leave with her simply because she has children. Source: TikTok/ladycarlequinn

She then shares how her boss came up to her to ask whether she would switch her leave with a co-worker — who she gave the pseudonym 'Rebecca' — so that she could "spend Easter with her family".

Being concerned that maybe it was an "emergency, sickness" or another "good reason", she told her boss she'd speak to 'Rebecca' to discuss further. But when she did, she was brutally told: "You don't have kids so you don't really need the long weekend to spend it with your family".

"Uh b**ch, what are parents? thats my family," Ms Quinn said in her TikTok video. "She just assumed that because I didn't have children I would be totally okay for her to take my annual leave, and for me to work the Easter long weekend out of the goodness of my heart."

"I compromised and said 'oh look you can have Christmas'. I quit two months later."

'First come first serve'

The footage garnered more than 330,000 views, with many sharing their own similar experiences. "This story is so common. People with kids fail to plan and then expect everyone else to cater to their poor planning," one TikTok user said.

"I once had someone ask to switch days with me for Mother's Day... she said 'oh I didn't realise you had kids' and I said no but I have a mum!" another commented.

"As a mum, when you look back at stuff like this, it's even worse! I couldn't imagine telling someone my family was more important than theirs," a third added.

Others also said leave requests should work on a "first come, first serve basis". However, one respondent sympathised with parents who are restricted by when they can take time off, and when they are able to access daycare. "Unfortunately some of us we don't have childcare over the holidays. It's a struggle. I normally request in advance my leave," they said.

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