little bit of basics here

the depot i'm in charge of has 10 full time employee's presently
the rules are that you can't have more than 2 people off on holiday at any one time
there are 2 people off, everyday, for the next 7 weeks
so that means no one else can take holiday
one of our drivers wants to take a few days extra off but there's no slot for him to fill as they are all covered
he has said that if he doesn't get the holday he wants he's handing in his notice

my initial reaction was "well, fill it in then and i'll see you this evening" but i actually said "i can tell you now that they don't want more than 2 people off and every holiday slot is booked, i can ask for you but i can't see head office OK'ing it"

and then he said that he wanted the time off because his daughter was moving house and he wanted to make sure she was alright and help her change the locks and settle in etc, instead of having a week off later he wanted to have a few days the week before as well

i know what head office are going to say and that is "drivers can't hold us to ransom so let him go" or the only other alternative is "he can go and not get paid for it" both of which will probably mean he will quit on the spot

i don't want to let him go as he's a good driver and always does his bit, but do i be the hard boss and tell him to like it or lump it or do i be the caring boss and say it's going to be sad to see you go or do i be the hero of the peice and say he can have his holidays, even though that means i'll get a bollocking from head office (which i shuldn't get as he knows the rules)

argh!