Do the preparation task first. Then read the text and tips and do the exercises.
Preparation
Reading text
From: Stefan Bauer
To: Emma Louise Jensen
Subject: Request for time off
Dear Ms Jensen,
I'm writing to request some time off between Monday 18 February and Friday 8 March in order to work on my MBA dissertation, which is due for submission on 30 March.
I understand that the three weeks I am requesting exceeds my remaining annual leave by four days. I would like to ask if those four days may be taken in lieu of the extra working hours I put in during the two weekends of the Chicago International Management Conference last November.
I have spoken to Kristian Sander and Jasmine Riber, who have both agreed to cover for me during my absence. I would also distribute a playbook for my team members so that everyone is clear on the tasks they are in charge of and the deadlines they have to meet. During my leave, I would be fully reachable by phone and email to answer any questions or provide any assistance needed. I would also be happy to discuss any further plans to ensure my workload is covered.
I believe that the research I am doing and the resulting MBA will contribute greatly to my professional development, and my improved expertise and qualifications will in turn benefit the company.
Please let me know if you need any additional information. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Best regards,
Stefan Bauer
Tips
- This is a formal request for time off, so unless you know the recipient very well, start your email with Dear ... .
- State the dates of your absence clearly.
- Be clear right from the beginning what it is you are asking for. In some cultures, it might be more common to start by providing full background information about why time off is needed. However, when communicating across cultures, it is better to be direct (but polite) and clear about what you are requesting, so as to avoid possible miscommunication.
- Give clear reasons why you need the time off, but don't go into too much unnecessary detail.
- Assure your manager that your work can be covered and that any problems during your absence can be dealt with.
- If possible, show how your company or team can benefit from your request being approved.
- End by thanking your manager for considering your request.
Discussion
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In my country (Venezuela), annual leave depends of the profession and kind of job. I thinks school´s teachers are the most take annual leave. They take approximately three months every year. From August to October and from the middle of December to the first days of January. On the other hand, the most jobs establish annual leave of 15-21 days, which can be continuous or working days. It is very common in public administration workers to use medical leave to justify absences. This is frowned upon, yet it is a well known attitude. In private companies, this behavior is unusual.
In my profession as a doctor, the annual leave is generally 18 to 21 continuous days. On occasions where you must be absent from work for any reason, the same employee seeks the replacement that will cover it, unless it is due to medical leave, because in this case is the Chief of the Department who must be in charge of solving the situation. However, when you are responsible, even if you are sick, you should try to leave everything covered.
When you need to requesting additional time off work, you can negotiate with your boss or colleagues to cover you. The most important thing is not to disturb functioning of your service or department or your colleagues
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In Venezuela vacations are 15 business days, some companies add one day to this number for each year of work on them. Often people take their vacation days in July or August, because there are no academic classes at schools, colleges or universities, so they can travel with all the family. Although there are also people with many accumulated vacation days because they do not take them and in Venezuela they are added year after year. But of course a lot will depend on the policies of each company.
Also in the days of December there are vacations for being holidays. Everyone is entitled to festivities 24 and 25 with 31 of December and 1 of January. However, most companies grant vacations from the end of the second week or the beginning of the third week of the month (according to the calendar) until the day of the Three Wise Men , which is January 6th. Following them the first Monday after, work begins again.
Another holiday in which vacation days are usually taken is Easter, in Venezuela they are national holidays Thursday and Friday, but frequently people ask for additional days which are vacation leave, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to complete the week off and take a small vacation with the family and celebrate the festivities.
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I'm not certain about how much annual leave do other companies give to their employees in Venezuela, but in my case, the company gives us 15 work days annually to be spent in whatever we decided
In the company I work for almost everyone take the days of annual leave when they want to travel, of course there are a couple of cases that have accumulated up to 60 days because they hadn't gone in leave in 4 years, which I don't think is good because we all need some time to rest and think about other things that are not work related.
In my particular case I always try to get my days of annual leave whenever I have a special occasion like a wedding of one of my friends that lives abroad o whenever one of those friends or even my family (that also lives abroad) comes to Venezuela to visit, so I can be certain that I can have those days to spend them exclusively with them.
For example, in February 1st one of my closest friends that lives in United States came to Venezuela to celebrate his wedding with his girlfriend of 9 years, I took a couple of days off to spend time with them because I hadn’t seen them in almost two years
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My people are taking from 21 to 30 days annual leave. If you served if woek less than 10 years then you deserve 21 days annual leave . And if you served more than 20 years so you deserve 30 days.and about my employees attitude towards the annual leave , we have to types , one type doesn't worry about the days off and the most important thing for him is work. The other type is the opposite one where he has to take all his allowed days off even if he has nothing to do with those days.
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Request for time off
Dear someone,
I’m writing to request some days to finish my MBA dissertation, which is due for submission on 30 April. I know I asked for other days in march to the same intention. However, I would like to know if those days may be taken in lieu of extra working hours I did two weeks ago when I took part of the Chicago Internacional Conference. I really asked for Azevedo and Luiz if they can cover this days out. For them, there is no problem, because of they follow my process and know what I am doing. On the other hand, I also distributed a playbook each one and for my team members. Thereby, during my leave, everyone is clear on the tasks and know all of the deadline they have to meet. Besides that, I told them that I will be available on the phone and email to answer any question or provide my assistant if they need. I take the opportunity to say that all my work is advanced and that there are no urgent issues.
Thus, I believe that the research I am doing and the resulting MBA will contribute greatly to my professional development, and my improved and qualifications will in turn benefit the company.
Please let me know if you need any additional information. Thank you for your consideration of my request.
Best regards,
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Nice excersice. I am learning alot.
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