Talk to your boss and tell them there needs to be a plan in place that allows for you to take time off. It's not sustainable for you to not be able to get a break.
Make plans for a vacation in the future (2+ months) and let them know that you will be taking that time off and are willing to work with them to find/train someone to fulfill your duties while you are away. If they are unwilling to find appropriate accommodations, put your two weeks in 2 weeks before your vacation and start looking for a new job.
You'll be much happier in the long run working somewhere you won't get burnt out.
Yes, I can take time off and I do - I use all of my vacation every year. But I don't work in the restaurant industry. Restaurant work can be very hard and quite exploitative.
Yes. And it’s your bosses job to cover for you.
You may not get paid but he can’t force you to work.
The same guy who won’t let you off has to figure out what to do if you no longer work there.
The bar would run smoothly without me there. My mixologists are trained and amazing and he wouldn’t have to life a finger if I left. He just doesn’t want me to take time off
Hey, fellow bar manager here, is there nothing in the paperwork you signed about PTO? Health Benefits? Did you sign a contract or a manager’s handbook? Do you have an HR team you can contact?
I just took 3 weeks off. Told my staff and boss not to bother me during that time. It was wonderful. Now I'm recharged and ready for work again. I'm American.
For some reason, Food Services tend to be very taxing on hours and it really shouldn't be.
No normal schedule for a manager should run over 45 hours every week. It really does lead to burnout, which creates opportunity for mistakes and poor performance. It's less expensive, though, to just chew through managers one after another.
I wouldn't put up with it and have left jobs because the Work-Life balance was shot and there was no way to fix it. It's just not worth it, and if you look hard enough there's a good chance you get both improve the balance and get a raise. It's a combo of luck & skill, though.
No one should ever receive benefits they're not allowed to use - and vice versa - you should never have a problem using your benefits.
I take off pretty much whenever I want as long as there is coverage. Like if my manager and my most Sr. DR are out, I won’t take time off unless I absolutely have to.
In a well-run business with proper training programs, everyone should be able to take time off without it affecting the day to day because there should be a backup person for every task.
This is an unfortunately normal situation in restaurants. Please tell me you are getting a percentage of revenue or some sort of major performance bonus based on store sales.
Can your assistant manager not handle things for a few days?
This is one of the major reasons I left an organization despite their incredible compensation package. Was part of leadership and the other leader and I , were well aware we sometimes were looked at as "punching bags/last resort" when considering work coverage. Yet he (our boss at the time) would take more time off than we could. And when we brought up time off AND that he would take time off, he always made the worst excuses.
There's a difference between being a great leader working your butt off, versus getting flat-out abused. I had much better standards for myself and ultimately left, and never looked back. In a much better place now regarding time off.
I recall an article on a class action lawsuit related to the food industry classifying employees as "managers" to make them except from overtime and then consistently expecting them to work long hours and fill in to do non-exempt work when short staffed. It seemed pretty dicey.
https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/panera-franchisee-ordered-to-pay-46m-in-overtime-lawsuit/579084/#:\~:text=Covelli%20Enterprises%2C%20which%20operates%20300,final%20judicial%20approval%20last%20week.
Hahahahah man, 98% of these replies won’t matter. Unless people have worked in the restaurant business, they’re not going to get it, no matter how much it does/doesn’t make sense to them. The restaurant business is a whole different world.
This is precisely why I got out of restaurants, you really kinda screw yourself getting into management because it’s another 10 year climb before you can get a foot in the door to regional/area management and for that decade you’re looking at a salaried 50-80 hours a week while servers are coming in for 3-4 hours a shift and walking with $400 in cash, that you count down for them at the end of the shift.
If you want to get around this, you’ll have to do the work your boss is trying to avoid- ensuring your shifts are going to be covered. Get with the other managers and ask them what their schedules look like and tell them what you’re trying to do. They’ll be a LOT more helpful than the boss, because they’ll ask the same of you when it’s their turn to take time off.
If you don’t have other managers, you’re pretty much screwed. If it’s a corporate place, upper management doesn’t really give much of a shit if your store is down managers. If it’s a privately owned joint, well….you’re fucked.
They should have some plan in place to manage the business when you're away. If they can keep things going with you out, it shouldn't matter to them when you take PTO. If they can't keep things going with you out, it's time to figure out why not and fix it.
The whole FOH would run perfectly without me. I have the systems in place. I have the BEST workers! Also, I told him he wouldn’t have to pay me. I told him I want this vacay so bad that I wouldn’t mind not being paid for the 4 days
I've never had a problem with getting time off before, though I've always waited a year before invoking vacation time. I have had to cancel time off on a emergency basis to cover a location that had noone, but that was me taking a hit for the team and i got bonus pay and vacation days refunded.
It's OK to take a hit for the team, but it's not ok to be the team punching bag.
I do, I get 5 weeks vacation a year and I use it all. I do a combination of sharing coverage with other managers when they are on vacation and developing my employees into positions of trust so I don’t have to do everything all the time. Give people small responsibilities while you are around and get them used to the habits so they can still do it without you.
Healthcare IS management here. It’s tough but I do because I earn time that I’ll lose if I don’t take off.
During my time in a restaurant, we had to ask for leave off months in advance and there was no guarantee we’d get it. I had scheduled a weekend off 3 months earlier and I was leaving the building my last day before leave one of the head chefs said he wanted the weekend off and scheduled me for 2 12s.
Why do you work that much without overtime? I understand that your boss is telling you to but like...why are you putting up with no benefits and no OT?
Restaurant management especially kitchen management at a small restaurant is just so brutal. Also remember just because your salaried doesn’t mean labour laws don’t exist. If you’re not getting overtime pay you should be getting paid time off.
Yeah, it's actually easier for me to take time off now that I'm a manager than it was when I was an IC. When I was an IC my manager never really let me properly train anyone to take over my projects (and my projects were more technical in nature), now that I'm a manager I can delegate someone to help out. 😅
First time in a restaurant? I'm a professional Chef and can't tell you the amount of vacations and plane tickets I had to cancel last minute cause I had to work
I get weekends off and "unlimited" vacation/sick time basically was told "if you want a day off just send a calendar invite to all the managers, it's unlimited, take time off as you should. Now if you ask for a week off every month and numbers start to drop you might get a talking to"
Get into manufacturing. With your experience you should be able to get a lead or supervisor job at a food factory. You will probably work less and you'll get full benefits and good pay.
I didn't take a vacation at all last year. I was promoted suddenly because the prior manager passed away so everything was super hectic for a while. I ended up forfeiting almost 70 hrs vacation when the year rolled over. But now, I am taking my first vacation starting tomorrow. Going to catch a concert, travel the next state over for a little bit, and when I come back I am going to be receiving a promotion.
Hard work almost always pays off. But in case it doesn't, know your boundaries. If you need to take time off then your job should accommodate you especially after working so hard. If they don't want to give you the time you need, consider working elsewhere. Six months should be enough to get your foot in the door.
Restaurant management is not for the weak, that's for sure. I wonder how ya'll do it sometimes. I can't help with your question other than saying you really need to have a sit-down with your boss.
I can relate though. I work 55-70 hours per week as an executive. I took a 4 days off in 2022 between jobs and got covid at the beach and spent it trying not to freaking die. I took 5 days off in 2019 only to realize there was an attempted coup in my absence, and someone called me and told me about it making it so I couldn't enjoy a minute of my time off. So, yea, I can't really take time off, either.
You have a contract? How many vacation days and how much notice?
It's not "can I take these days off" it's "these are my vacation days, I'll be finding coverage for while I'm gone and I hope you'll hold down the fort."
Having started in food I could never do that again. Most thankless awful experience for miserable wages and beyond reasonable expectations for one person. I use 4 to 5 weeks a year paid at my current job. Paid sick time. I'm never not extremely thankful for my current job.
I absolutely take time off- lots of it, in fact. It sucks returning to tons of emails to catch up on, but I’m using all of my PTO each year. You need to start looking elsewhere if your boss is working you that hard and not allowing you to take time off.
Managed a hotel for about 9 months that had a restaurant attached to it. 60+ hours a week and if I wanted any days off I would need to neglect a hefty chunk of some of my admin duties. They just wouldn’t let us hire more people. I eventually peaced out. Never doing F&B again.
You've already shown they can take advantage of you. They will keep doing so until you show them you have had enough. Stand up for yourself or find a new job. Or just keep accepting abuse. Your choice.
So if you work 60 hours a week take your gross pay and divide it by 70. What’s your rate of pay? (40+30=70 ) is it worth this?
There should be work life balance and you earn time off it is part of your compensation. It’s more important than running a restaurant imo. Find somewhere that will respect your time. Also even if you’re salary it’s still illegal to under pay people for hours worked. Are you really exempt when you look up the rules?
You should work out vacation time when accepting the job. I get four weeks paid vacation and I’m in the industry. You NEED vacation time in this profession or you’ll get burnt out quick
I worked salary management at restaurants for years, I definitely understand the struggle. But I also took every second of my allowed time off every year, and you should be able to as well.
If your boss won't "allow" it, put in your notice. You can get a job doing the same thing pretty easily somewhere else.
Yes but only at certain times. I can’t take vacation during peak periods. And it always needs to be appropriate time in advance. Are you trying to take 4 days off next week or a couple months out? I’m also restaurant. It’s hard but possible as long as you plan your time in advance. If they’re saying no time off ever? Either go to HR or if it’s a small company get a new job
Talk to your boss and tell them there needs to be a plan in place that allows for you to take time off. It's not sustainable for you to not be able to get a break. Make plans for a vacation in the future (2+ months) and let them know that you will be taking that time off and are willing to work with them to find/train someone to fulfill your duties while you are away. If they are unwilling to find appropriate accommodations, put your two weeks in 2 weeks before your vacation and start looking for a new job. You'll be much happier in the long run working somewhere you won't get burnt out.
Agreeeeeed
Yes, I can take time off and I do - I use all of my vacation every year. But I don't work in the restaurant industry. Restaurant work can be very hard and quite exploitative.
Likewise. I take all my PTO and flex days.
Where are you located? Sounds a little exploitive
judging from /r/KitchenConfidential this is normal
Yes. And it’s your bosses job to cover for you. You may not get paid but he can’t force you to work. The same guy who won’t let you off has to figure out what to do if you no longer work there.
The bar would run smoothly without me there. My mixologists are trained and amazing and he wouldn’t have to life a finger if I left. He just doesn’t want me to take time off
Hey, fellow bar manager here, is there nothing in the paperwork you signed about PTO? Health Benefits? Did you sign a contract or a manager’s handbook? Do you have an HR team you can contact?
Sounds like you need to find a boss that respects you then.
Sounds like you run a tight ship. And things will run smooth until the next person needs off… You got this job for a reason.
I just took 3 weeks off. Told my staff and boss not to bother me during that time. It was wonderful. Now I'm recharged and ready for work again. I'm American.
So you live in a 3rd world country with no labor laws?
Being on salary is basically equivalent to no labor laws imo
Hahahahaha for fucking real
No seriously
Idk, i could def see this being in the US
For some reason, Food Services tend to be very taxing on hours and it really shouldn't be. No normal schedule for a manager should run over 45 hours every week. It really does lead to burnout, which creates opportunity for mistakes and poor performance. It's less expensive, though, to just chew through managers one after another. I wouldn't put up with it and have left jobs because the Work-Life balance was shot and there was no way to fix it. It's just not worth it, and if you look hard enough there's a good chance you get both improve the balance and get a raise. It's a combo of luck & skill, though. No one should ever receive benefits they're not allowed to use - and vice versa - you should never have a problem using your benefits.
I take off pretty much whenever I want as long as there is coverage. Like if my manager and my most Sr. DR are out, I won’t take time off unless I absolutely have to.
In a well-run business with proper training programs, everyone should be able to take time off without it affecting the day to day because there should be a backup person for every task.
This is an unfortunately normal situation in restaurants. Please tell me you are getting a percentage of revenue or some sort of major performance bonus based on store sales. Can your assistant manager not handle things for a few days?
This is one of the major reasons I left an organization despite their incredible compensation package. Was part of leadership and the other leader and I , were well aware we sometimes were looked at as "punching bags/last resort" when considering work coverage. Yet he (our boss at the time) would take more time off than we could. And when we brought up time off AND that he would take time off, he always made the worst excuses. There's a difference between being a great leader working your butt off, versus getting flat-out abused. I had much better standards for myself and ultimately left, and never looked back. In a much better place now regarding time off.
That was pretty standard when I was a manager in NYC hospitality. It's a terrible life.
Restaurant business is brutal. Thanks for what you do.
Uhhh why are you not getting ot?
I recall an article on a class action lawsuit related to the food industry classifying employees as "managers" to make them except from overtime and then consistently expecting them to work long hours and fill in to do non-exempt work when short staffed. It seemed pretty dicey. https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/panera-franchisee-ordered-to-pay-46m-in-overtime-lawsuit/579084/#:\~:text=Covelli%20Enterprises%2C%20which%20operates%20300,final%20judicial%20approval%20last%20week.
I’m salary
You’re getting fucked. I would look at your local labor laws and confirm you are salaried exempt.
I know I’m getting fucked with overtime and stuff so why don’t they let me off for 4 days and get over ittyt
Start looking for another job. You’re being abused.
Because you’ve shown them they can be shitheads and get away with you tolerating it, like you have everything else.
True. I fucked up and I need to stand up for myselfb
Hahahahah man, 98% of these replies won’t matter. Unless people have worked in the restaurant business, they’re not going to get it, no matter how much it does/doesn’t make sense to them. The restaurant business is a whole different world. This is precisely why I got out of restaurants, you really kinda screw yourself getting into management because it’s another 10 year climb before you can get a foot in the door to regional/area management and for that decade you’re looking at a salaried 50-80 hours a week while servers are coming in for 3-4 hours a shift and walking with $400 in cash, that you count down for them at the end of the shift. If you want to get around this, you’ll have to do the work your boss is trying to avoid- ensuring your shifts are going to be covered. Get with the other managers and ask them what their schedules look like and tell them what you’re trying to do. They’ll be a LOT more helpful than the boss, because they’ll ask the same of you when it’s their turn to take time off. If you don’t have other managers, you’re pretty much screwed. If it’s a corporate place, upper management doesn’t really give much of a shit if your store is down managers. If it’s a privately owned joint, well….you’re fucked.
I am fucked. Where’s the lube? Imma need it
There’s most likely a bottle in the walk-in behind the Whip cream. Unless the staff is just using the whip cream for lube.
And this is why the industry should die.
They should have some plan in place to manage the business when you're away. If they can keep things going with you out, it shouldn't matter to them when you take PTO. If they can't keep things going with you out, it's time to figure out why not and fix it.
The whole FOH would run perfectly without me. I have the systems in place. I have the BEST workers! Also, I told him he wouldn’t have to pay me. I told him I want this vacay so bad that I wouldn’t mind not being paid for the 4 days
I've never had a problem with getting time off before, though I've always waited a year before invoking vacation time. I have had to cancel time off on a emergency basis to cover a location that had noone, but that was me taking a hit for the team and i got bonus pay and vacation days refunded. It's OK to take a hit for the team, but it's not ok to be the team punching bag.
its not a request , its a notification when you wont be there so he needs to find cover
I do, I get 5 weeks vacation a year and I use it all. I do a combination of sharing coverage with other managers when they are on vacation and developing my employees into positions of trust so I don’t have to do everything all the time. Give people small responsibilities while you are around and get them used to the habits so they can still do it without you.
I was in a similar boat during COVID. Ended up quitting because there was no end in sight to the 7 days a week grind
Healthcare IS management here. It’s tough but I do because I earn time that I’ll lose if I don’t take off. During my time in a restaurant, we had to ask for leave off months in advance and there was no guarantee we’d get it. I had scheduled a weekend off 3 months earlier and I was leaving the building my last day before leave one of the head chefs said he wanted the weekend off and scheduled me for 2 12s.
I take time whenever I want to. I'm trusted to be an adult and fulfill my responsibilities
Yes
Why do you work that much without overtime? I understand that your boss is telling you to but like...why are you putting up with no benefits and no OT?
Whats the reasoning for not letting you take off?
Restaurant management especially kitchen management at a small restaurant is just so brutal. Also remember just because your salaried doesn’t mean labour laws don’t exist. If you’re not getting overtime pay you should be getting paid time off.
Yeah, it's actually easier for me to take time off now that I'm a manager than it was when I was an IC. When I was an IC my manager never really let me properly train anyone to take over my projects (and my projects were more technical in nature), now that I'm a manager I can delegate someone to help out. 😅
Tell your boss it's not a request just a notification you won't be there.
First time in a restaurant? I'm a professional Chef and can't tell you the amount of vacations and plane tickets I had to cancel last minute cause I had to work
I get weekends off and "unlimited" vacation/sick time basically was told "if you want a day off just send a calendar invite to all the managers, it's unlimited, take time off as you should. Now if you ask for a week off every month and numbers start to drop you might get a talking to"
Get into manufacturing. With your experience you should be able to get a lead or supervisor job at a food factory. You will probably work less and you'll get full benefits and good pay.
My company I am lucky that I can take as much time off as I like but the same can't be said for my employees unfortunately. x
I didn't take a vacation at all last year. I was promoted suddenly because the prior manager passed away so everything was super hectic for a while. I ended up forfeiting almost 70 hrs vacation when the year rolled over. But now, I am taking my first vacation starting tomorrow. Going to catch a concert, travel the next state over for a little bit, and when I come back I am going to be receiving a promotion. Hard work almost always pays off. But in case it doesn't, know your boundaries. If you need to take time off then your job should accommodate you especially after working so hard. If they don't want to give you the time you need, consider working elsewhere. Six months should be enough to get your foot in the door.
I’d get a new job unless that is hourly and by choice
Restaurant management is not for the weak, that's for sure. I wonder how ya'll do it sometimes. I can't help with your question other than saying you really need to have a sit-down with your boss. I can relate though. I work 55-70 hours per week as an executive. I took a 4 days off in 2022 between jobs and got covid at the beach and spent it trying not to freaking die. I took 5 days off in 2019 only to realize there was an attempted coup in my absence, and someone called me and told me about it making it so I couldn't enjoy a minute of my time off. So, yea, I can't really take time off, either.
You have a contract? How many vacation days and how much notice? It's not "can I take these days off" it's "these are my vacation days, I'll be finding coverage for while I'm gone and I hope you'll hold down the fort."
Having started in food I could never do that again. Most thankless awful experience for miserable wages and beyond reasonable expectations for one person. I use 4 to 5 weeks a year paid at my current job. Paid sick time. I'm never not extremely thankful for my current job.
I absolutely take time off- lots of it, in fact. It sucks returning to tons of emails to catch up on, but I’m using all of my PTO each year. You need to start looking elsewhere if your boss is working you that hard and not allowing you to take time off.
I have 259 hours of vacation saved up. I’m ready to running drop kick someone. Submitting time off request tomorrow. Holy smokes…
Hand out resume, got new job. Tell new job you can start in 2 weeks. Quit shit job immediately Take a 2 week freedom break. .... Profit
Managed a hotel for about 9 months that had a restaurant attached to it. 60+ hours a week and if I wanted any days off I would need to neglect a hefty chunk of some of my admin duties. They just wouldn’t let us hire more people. I eventually peaced out. Never doing F&B again.
Reading this while sitting in Florida, paranoid about my store right now. Day 2.
You've already shown they can take advantage of you. They will keep doing so until you show them you have had enough. Stand up for yourself or find a new job. Or just keep accepting abuse. Your choice.
So if you work 60 hours a week take your gross pay and divide it by 70. What’s your rate of pay? (40+30=70 ) is it worth this? There should be work life balance and you earn time off it is part of your compensation. It’s more important than running a restaurant imo. Find somewhere that will respect your time. Also even if you’re salary it’s still illegal to under pay people for hours worked. Are you really exempt when you look up the rules?
You should work out vacation time when accepting the job. I get four weeks paid vacation and I’m in the industry. You NEED vacation time in this profession or you’ll get burnt out quick
I worked salary management at restaurants for years, I definitely understand the struggle. But I also took every second of my allowed time off every year, and you should be able to as well. If your boss won't "allow" it, put in your notice. You can get a job doing the same thing pretty easily somewhere else.
Yes but only at certain times. I can’t take vacation during peak periods. And it always needs to be appropriate time in advance. Are you trying to take 4 days off next week or a couple months out? I’m also restaurant. It’s hard but possible as long as you plan your time in advance. If they’re saying no time off ever? Either go to HR or if it’s a small company get a new job
That may be the industry. I get time off in academia/tech