Boss reports employee to HR for 'too much' vacation— what happens next will shock you

Many might say there are two kinds of bosses in the world: One that is alarmingly interested in their employees' daily lives and the other who could barely care to remember their name. Others state that all kinds of bosses are just the same and what varies is their degrees of torture. A recent thread on Reddit has proved that though bosses might have the upper hand on the employees, they as well are a part of the hierarchy.

A surprising tale of turns
A woman, who goes by the name SML on Reddit and posts under the username u/FMLitsSML, went viral on the r/mildlyinfuriating sub in March this year. She complained on the thread about her new boss who didn't like the amount of vacation time she's taking.

In fact, the boss disliked it so much that they reported her to HR. She explained that she had taken 11 days of vacation time or annual leave in 2025, which was "nothing unusual", and that her previous boss was fine with it. "However, new year, new boss, and she seems to be offended that I've dared to take so much time off," wrote SML on the thread.

She added that she received a message from her boss noting, "You've taken a lot of PTO recently. I've approved this for now, but when you are back, we need to discuss why you are taking so much time off."
To this, the woman replied and explained that she still had 27 days of annual leave allowance left due to carrying days over, negotiating further annual leave in her contract and with the company based in Europe- already allowing 31 days paid time off for a year.

Straight to the HR
Her new boss, who was based in America, couldn't believe it and said it was "excessive" and "we don't have that much PTO." Additionally, she informed the employee that she had reported her to HR.
The woman responded that she was fine with it and that she would extend her vacation for the rest of the week. She also stated that if the HR agreed that there was no problem, she would expect extra days to be "gratis", which her boss agreed to.
The HR quickly assured the employee that she was in the right and that they were "pretty unimpressed that they were going to be getting a report" from the boss.

America's work landscape
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) released a report in 2019 that labelled America as the only country without any paid annual leave policy. The woman worked in a company based in the UK where most workers work on a five-day week and are entitled to 28 days of paid annual leave a year, including bank holidays.
The woman also explained, "The boss herself is located overseas and has absolutely no idea about employee rights." She also added how previously, the boss had reported another colleague to HR for wanting to take 52 weeks of maternity leave, which is a normal statutory leave in the UK. "Again, apparently that wasn't acceptable —to which HR said 'nope, she's good to go, see you in a year. Bring baby photos'."

Social media to the rescue
While many Reddit users supported the woman, those in the US were surprised to know her paid-time-off numbers. "It's such a shame for people in the USA. I couldn't imagine not having time off. I'd burn out so fast," wrote a user.
"Sounds like an American boss who has never heard of European standards. Welcome to civilization, boss. lol," added another.
"As an American who is presently lying in bed until the last possible second that I have to get up and run in to work, this whole thread is absolutely gutting me" wrote a user expressing their views.

What are your views on this? Tell us in the comments section below.