From wedding woes to work chaos: CEO faces backlash after denying employee’s leave request

British CEO Lauren Tickner just kicked off a massive online storm after denying a wedding leave request, and social media is *not* having it. Tickner, who runs the marketing firm Scale Systems, took to Threads to announce that she’d refused an employee two days off to get married because they hadn’t trained a replacement. And if that wasn't enough, her post went viral with over 2.9 million views—and millions of confused readers.

Here’s what went down

Tickner’s original post claimed she had no choice but to reject the wedding leave because the employee hadn’t properly trained anyone to fill in for them. They had also, apparently, already taken a solid 2.5 weeks off, and the team had two major projects on the line. To make things even spicier, she reminded the employee about their company’s *unlimited time off policy*, casually saying, “Don't ask next time!”

Wait, what? Naturally, her followers were scratching their heads at this contradiction. Denying time off but also offering “unlimited leave”? The confusion was real.

So, what's this “unlimited time off” thing??Tickner attempted to explain the company's flexible time-off policy, where employees can supposedly set their own hours, work from anywhere, and take days off whenever they want. The idea, according to her, is to create trust within teams and let “A-players” lead the way. She added that people who take too much time off would "lose status" within the company.

Major backlash ensues

Tickner's post quickly backfired, and the internet exploded with criticism. People called out the glaring contradiction—how can there be an “unlimited” time-off policy if she’s denying wedding leave? Others questioned why it was the employee’s responsibility to “train a replacement” for just two days. One person even said, “If your team can’t function without one person for two days, you’ve got bigger problems.”

Tickner’s attempts to clarify only made things worse. She tried to downplay her earlier statement, saying employees don’t actually need to train someone but should just delegate tasks. However, followers saw through the chaos, calling her out for straight-up contradicting herself.

In the end, many accused the CEO of “rage baiting” for engagement—basically stirring up drama to go viral. Regardless, one thing’s for sure: this whole leave debacle is a lesson in how not to handle work-life balance!