Kind of worried my husband lost his job yesterday.

[Trek Girl]

It's really not about attitude. My company starts out paying 50k to college graduates, we are one of the few that still offers pensions, we match dollar for dollar up to 6%, my employees have Unlimited sick days and we are consistently voted one of the top companies to work for by working moms magazine. So yeah, I'd be worried about someone who would give up an EXCELLENT job because they wanted to play. Only on the dis would this happen.

It's great that your company offers wonderful benefits like that, and I would surmise that most people would not give up that kind of opportunity just so that they can go on vacation. But the reality, is that most companies do not offer an exceptional benefits package like this anymore. If a company chose to allow a new employee to take a pre-planned vacation in lieu of an outstanding benefits package like the one at your company, that seems fair to me.

BTW, I don't think people here are saying that if it came down to it, choose the vacation over the job offer, though I admit I didn't read every single post thoroughly. It sounded to me like they were just giving their own experiences when they were in a similar situation, and in those situations, the employers allowed them to take the vacations.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

It's really not about attitude. My company starts out paying 50k to college graduates, we are one of the few that still offers pensions, we match dollar for dollar up to 6%, my employees have Unlimited sick days and we are consistently voted one of the top companies to work for by working moms magazine. So yeah, I'd be worried about someone who would give up an EXCELLENT job because they wanted to play. Only on the dis would this happen.

I agree. I have been able to grant some requests for vacations in this circumstance, but not all. Sometimes I simply do not have the flexibility at that moment in time for the position available.

To the OP - if he gets a job offer he should feel free to ask for the time off, but be prepared to cancel if it is required. He should not bring it up until/unless he gets an actual offer of employment. It is not something that you discuss in the interview phase unless asked directly about any planned vacation time. Disney will give you a full refund, even within the 45 day window, for this type of hardship. A great job is far more valuable than an immediate vacation.

 

[ssatterly]

I agree. I have been able to grant some requests for vacations in this circumstance, but not all. Sometimes I simply do not have the flexibility at that moment in time for the position available.

To the OP - if he gets a job offer he should feel free to ask for the time off, but be prepared to cancel if it is required. Disney will give you a full refund, even within the 45 day window, for this type of hardship. A great job is far more valuable than an immediate vacation.

I didn't book thru Disney I booked thru a travel agent

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I didn't book thru Disney I booked thru a travel agent

Then rebook through Disney directly to give yourself the flexibility. Free dining does not require a travel agent.

 

[ssatterly]

Then rebook through Disney directly to give yourself the flexibility. Free dining does not require a travel agent.

Why this makes no since to me to cxl then rebook.

 

[GagesMama]

I'm so sorry to hear about this, OP. A similar situation happened to me. My husband and I both lost our jobs (on the same day!) just 3 days before our wedding. Thank goodness he was able to line up some great leads before the wedding so we went ahead on the honeymoon (to Disney) and enjoyed the down time before heading back to reality and serious job hunting. I hope it all works out for you. I would take PP's advice. As long as you can manage your bills and your husband has a good outlook for jobs in your area, I'd go.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Why this makes no since to me to cxl then rebook.

Sorry - just providing options. If you are not able to cancel without penalty from your travel agent within 45 days, but you are able to do so directly with Disney, you should consider it. I have cancelled a package vacation less than 1 week before a trip and got a full refund for less than a lost job.

I do not know how restrictive your travel agent's agreement is, but you need flexibility right now. If the TA policy is restrictive, rebooking through Disney provides that flexibility. This way you don't risk losing thousands of dollars on a vacation that you cannot take because of a job offer that will not allow for the vacation.

 

[Alesia]

Only on the disboards would people tell you to go anyway. Unless your job pays enough that you will be able to completely support your family by yourself, you need to cancel your trip and get your money back. You can always book another vacation when your husband finds another job.

I know it disappointing (I've been there) but you need to focus on necessities right now, and contrary to popular belief around here, a trip to WDW isn't one of them. Trust me, It's very possible that your husband's job search could take much longer than you think it will and you need to be prepared.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Only on the disboards would people tell you to go anyway. Unless your job pays enough that you will be able to completely support your family by yourself, you need to cancel your trip and get your money back. You can always book another vacation when your husband finds another job.

I know it disappointing (I've been there) but you need to focus on necessities right now, and contrary to popular belief around here, a trip to WDW isn't one of them. Trust me, It's very possible that your husband's job search could take much longer than you think it will and you need to be prepared.

Many people have really ramped up their savings in recent years and can handle the expense of a prolonged job search. Only the OP knows her financial situation well enough to make this call. And canceling today when her husband could get another job next week is crazy. She just needs flexibility around her vacation plans.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

If you've paid for it and you have free dining, then I would go and enjoy. But try to stay away from extras like souvenirs. if you have to cancel closer to the date because your husband gets another job, then do that, but wait until you get closer to your 45 day mark.

Good luck and try not to worry!

It's funny you mention this; when I was hired at my current job as well as my previous one, both times I had Disney trips planned that interfered with my proposed start date. This was never a deal breaker. If he gets an offer, a week delay is not likely to keep him from getting the job. Plus you'll have something to celebrate!

 

[LikeSeriously]

I've never in my life had a job that would not allow me to take a pre-planned trip simply because it was close to my starting date

Actually, now that I think about it, I've had a pre-planned trip within the first month of each job I started, and none of them penalized me for having a life before working for their company. And two of them gave me the paid time off, and not just unpaid out of office days.

Sounds like you have maybe typically had salary-based office jobs. That's a world of difference from many other jobs in this economy. I don't know where this family falls on the job chain but for most of us, what you are saying is simply not an option, and we certainly would never get paid time off a month into our new jobs.

Hopefully he can find the right balance for interviews between asking for the time off up front and not scaring away a potential employer by asking for time off right away. If it is a job where others can pick up while he is gone, the company will hopefully not mind.

Just depends on his line of work. Good luck to y'all!

Personally, we would cancel our vacation at the 45 day mark if 1) He had not found a new job by then or 2) He does and they do not give him time off.

If we did not know where the next paycheck was coming from or when, I could not justify spending a couple thousand dollars that we may need down the road.

 

[WDW in Pearls]

Sounds like you have maybe typically had salary-based office jobs. That's a world of difference from many other jobs in this economy. I don't know where this family falls on the job chain but for most of us, what you are saying is simply not an option, and we certainly would never get paid time off a month into our new jobs.

Hopefully he can find the right balance for interviews between asking for the time off up front and not scaring away a potential employer by asking for time off right away. If it is a job where others can pick up while he is gone, the company will hopefully not mind.

Just depends on his line of work. Good luck to y'all!

Personally, we would cancel our vacation at the 45 day mark if 1) He had not found a new job by then or 2) He does and they do not give him time off.

If we did not know where the next paycheck was coming from or when, I could not justify spending a couple thousand dollars that we may need down the road.

Who said the time off has to be paid?

For me, I just started a week later. Someone else just joined my department and had a 2 week long DL trip already planned. He was given the two weeks off unpaid because he didn't qualify for vacation days yet. It takes a lot for an employer to rescind an offer. My guess is the people who think an employer is just going to say "lol never mind!!" over a simple request are the same people who complain about how little they're paid but were too afraid to negotiate their starting salary. Don't let the crappy economy thing fool you. Just because there are a lot of candidates out there doesn't mean they're qualified. I know in my department we sometimes interview for MONTHS before we can fill a position.

 

[TammyC]

Sorry to hear about the job loss.

So, I am going to throw out a (maybe) crazy idea. Does your DH love Disney as much as you? Mine went along for many trips because he knew how much DS and I enjoy it. When DS got older, he and I started going by ourselves when DH was on his golf trip and everyone is happy. If DH gets a job that would interfere with the trip, maybe he could skip this one. If not, go as planned. You just have to do what works out at the time.

Best of luck with the job hunt.

T

 

[BuckeyeBama]

...My guess is the people who think an employer is just going to say "lol never mind!!" over a simple request are the same people who complain about how little they're paid but were too afraid to negotiate their starting salary...

No reason to start getting ugly with people who have had different experiences than yours.

 

[penel3]

Our Disney trip is 100% paid off to include mnsshp tickets. Our trip is in 98 days and not sure what to do I am worried.

I am so, so sorry for you and your family.....I'm sending thoughts and prayers!! Prior to your 45 day mark, have a sit down with your family to discuss. I know that if my husband lost his job (thank fully has never happened) he would not want to go no matter what....he would stress the entire time about how we could have used that money, etc. I really think it is such a personal family decision. Some of us would go anyway, some of us would not. You are going to get the rational for both sides of the argument from these boards. I am hoping for lots of Pixie Dust to you and your family throughout this time.....Take care

too many WDW trips to mention, 2007 Wonder Concierge, January 2013 Wonder Concierge, WDW AKL Concierge Nov 2013, March 2014 Walter E. Disney Suite (finally!!!!)

 

[WDW in Pearls]

No reason to start getting ugly with people who have had different experiences than yours.

Actually, this was in response to some others that got VERY ugly, essentially insulting others who felt she was ok to keep the vacation. But you're free to your opinion.

 

[eliza61]

Many people have really ramped up their savings in recent years and can handle the expense of a prolonged job search. Only the OP knows her financial situation well enough to make this call. And canceling today when her husband could get another job next week is crazy. She just needs flexibility around her vacation plans.

let's do some reality statistics.

Long term unemployed are finding it ridiculously hard to find jobs.
Op, has said she is "worried". That in itself is enough.

Now she did not say what her husbands job is but the reality is with this sluggish economy and unemployment refusing to budge below 7.4%, I'm could probably safely bet that unless he's in a specific field like nursing. He is NOT going to get a job in a week.

Many states like mine (nj) the unemployment rate is over the national average.

The average length of time unemployed in the US is 40 weeks. that's 10 months.

If she cancels the Disney part and he does she can safely call back up and re book.

LOL nothing like burning up your emergency fund to go on a Disney vacation. yet you guys are the very same people who will call some one irresponsible because they haven't saved for retirement.

You are correct, I can only speak of my experience. Now I'm very lucky in that I'm in a career that is high paying so we tend to have 75 applicants for every entry level position. When my husband started his own energy company, they made it a point to offer very good wages in order to attraction quality applicants. Once again I had first hand knowledge of how they went about job searching. So the person would have to be exceptional for us to say "hey no problem, go on vacation next month".

My questions is simply if you want to go that bad, simple don't start looking for a job until after vacation. If like you said they can get one in a week why not simply wait?

I'm like the other posters, if I got laid off, in fact in 2008 when the entire economy was tanking we decided to scale back our vacations, just on the thought of the possibility of being unemployed.
That's just me, I would stress the entire time we spent any money so it would be moot.

I do wish the op and her family much luck.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Actually, this was in response to some others that got VERY ugly, essentially insulting others who felt she was ok to keep the vacation. But you're free to your opinion.

Cool

 

[WDW in Pearls]

...and I'M the one getting ugly?? (EDIT: in reference to post 2 above me!)

Anyway, I do think its important to know the whole picture: savings, potential income, type of education and career, etc. Only OP knows that. Best advice I can give is for OP and her spouse to sit down and crunch some numbers.

 

[rt2dz]

OP, I am very sorry. You have a lot of decisions to make.

You have up to 45 days to cancel your Disney trip. Does not matter if you booked through a TA, unless you used a group discount deal the TA offered. Even then, you could talk to them. These are certainly extenuating circumstances.

I'm sure there are other things that you need to decide on too. I don't know what your savings are, other income sources, etc, but you also don't know how long your DH could be out of work. My DH lost his job once, but had another job 2 days later. My father lost his job once and was out of work 4 months. A friend of mine lost his job and was out of work over a year (he was victim of the housing market crash). You just never know and sometimes it's wise to prepare for the worst.

His "new" job should be to find a job. I wouldn't hold off until after vacation. No need to mention the vacation if you decide to go, while interviewing. An interview process can take months. I would only mention it when given the offer. Don't cut yourself out of a job. Sorry, but I agree that many employers won't go further with someone already asking for time off *before even offered the job*. It makes you look unprofessional and unreliable. It looks like a piece of life until you wait until after. And it doesn't mean you'll get the time off because sometimes needs/projects can't afford it, but it would never hurt to ask. I think if you already have the offer, most employers would be willing to give it to you if they can.

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