In this scenario, I am a line manager and my boss is a GM. I have a team of staff working under me.

My company recently changed WFH policy from 2 days WFH per week, to 1 day WFH per week.

One of my staff was on MC yesterday due to normal viral fever. Late last night, he asked me if he could WFH today as he wasn't feeling well enough to return to office. Otherwise, he would take MC for today and be home. This staff had already used up the allocated WFH day earlier this week.

I considered his request, and told him that if he really couldn't come to office tomorrow, he can WFH.

Today, I got a proper dressing down from my boss. He formally reprimanded me and gave me a warning.

I reasoned that the reasoned I allowed this was:

1. The alternative is, the staff would take MC again today. This way, they continue getting work done from home.
2. Staff has been with us 2+ years and has no disciplinary issues with leaves / MCs prior to this.
3. As a line manager, I should have some discretion in giving my team members minor allowances within reason.
4. Younger people this days will appreciate a certain amount of flexibility being afforded to them by their superiors.

My boss reasoning:

1. HR Policy is clear WFH is only one day a week and doesn't mention that superiors can offer more on their discretion.
2. How will he manage if staff from other teams who complaint to him about this.

He says this should never happen again and if it does he will escalate to HR.

Can I have thoughts from forumers here? Am I really in the wrong? Can HR take action against me for something like this?

I suspect my boss might have issue with HR that I am not aware of, so he is afraid that HR might take action against him. Neither me nor anyone from my team has any HR issues.

In this scenario, I am a line manager and my boss is a GM. I have a team of staff working under me.

My company recently changed WFH policy from 2 days WFH per week, to 1 day WFH per week.

One of my staff was on MC yesterday due to normal viral fever. Late last night, he asked me if he could WFH today as he wasn't feeling well enough to return to office. Otherwise, he would take MC for today and be home. This staff had already used up the allocated WFH day earlier this week.

I considered his request, and told him that if he really couldn't come to office tomorrow, he can WFH.

Today, I got a proper dressing down from my boss. He formally reprimanded me and gave me a warning.

I reasoned that the reasoned I allowed this was:

1. The alternative is, the staff would take MC again today. This way, they continue getting work done from home.
2. Staff has been with us 2+ years and has no disciplinary issues with leaves / MCs prior to this.
3. As a line manager, I should have some discretion in giving my team members minor allowances within reason.
4. Younger people this days will appreciate a certain amount of flexibility being afforded to them by their superiors.

My boss reasoning:

1. HR Policy is clear WFH is only one day a week and doesn't mention that superiors can offer more on their discretion.
2. How will he manage if staff from other teams who complaint to him about this.

He says this should never happen again and if it does he will escalate to HR.

Can I have thoughts from forumers here? Am I really in the wrong? Can HR take action against me for something like this?

I suspect my boss might have issue with HR that I am not aware of, so he is afraid that HR might take action against him. Neither me nor anyone from my team has any HR issues.

Late to the party, but just a few words from me:

If i see it from the top perspective, your boss is right. Don't start a precedent which will create future problem as other team members/ staff may abuse it, and complain when their request is denied. This would also be seen or criticized as playing "favouritism" if you guys are not careful.

Secondly, it would have indeed better to at least consult your GM before granting the WFH previously because this is making an 'exception' for the staff which deviates from the policy set by HR.

I can see you're just being more 'humane' in managing your team (and I agree to a certain extent we should be flexible), but sometimes corporations just need to manage people in a uniformed manner to ensure harmony among all employees.

I see what you’re saying, but let’s not pretend that flexibility is a bad thing. It’s not just about being “humane”—it’s about making sure the team stays productive without people having to jump through hoops. If someone’s capable of working from home and the alternative is another sick day, it seems like a smart call to me. Policies are there to guide, but managing a team effectively means knowing when to adapt.

Now, about the favoritism—look, good managers can give flexibility without making it seem like anyone's getting special treatment. It’s about consistency and judgment, and believe me, I know how to strike that balance. No complaints will come up if the whole team knows I’m fair.

As for running every little thing by the GM, let’s be honest, it’s part of the job to make decisions on the fly. Micromanaging every detail only slows things down. Autonomy keeps things efficient, and sometimes you’ve just got to trust the instincts of the person on the ground.

But I can tell you're big on sticking to the rulebook. Maybe we’ll find some middle ground on this one, who knows?

just let ur stuff take MC. ur boss/HR rather staff takes MC then breaking wfh policy.

many companies kena this. most mngt prefers staff to take MC, rather than being productive 'at home'.

In this scenario, I am a line manager and my boss is a GM. I have a team of staff working under me.

My company recently changed WFH policy from 2 days WFH per week, to 1 day WFH per week.

One of my staff was on MC yesterday due to normal viral fever. Late last night, he asked me if he could WFH today as he wasn't feeling well enough to return to office. Otherwise, he would take MC for today and be home. This staff had already used up the allocated WFH day earlier this week.

I considered his request, and told him that if he really couldn't come to office tomorrow, he can WFH.

Today, I got a proper dressing down from my boss. He formally reprimanded me and gave me a warning.

I reasoned that the reasoned I allowed this was:

1. The alternative is, the staff would take MC again today. This way, they continue getting work done from home.
2. Staff has been with us 2+ years and has no disciplinary issues with leaves / MCs prior to this.
3. As a line manager, I should have some discretion in giving my team members minor allowances within reason.
4. Younger people this days will appreciate a certain amount of flexibility being afforded to them by their superiors.

My boss reasoning:

1. HR Policy is clear WFH is only one day a week and doesn't mention that superiors can offer more on their discretion.
2. How will he manage if staff from other teams who complaint to him about this.

He says this should never happen again and if it does he will escalate to HR.

Can I have thoughts from forumers here? Am I really in the wrong? Can HR take action against me for something like this?

I suspect my boss might have issue with HR that I am not aware of, so he is afraid that HR might take action against him. Neither me nor anyone from my team has any HR issues.

In this scenario, I am a line manager and my boss is a GM. I have a team of staff working under me.

My company recently changed WFH policy from 2 days WFH per week, to 1 day WFH per week.

One of my staff was on MC yesterday due to normal viral fever. Late last night, he asked me if he could WFH today as he wasn't feeling well enough to return to office. Otherwise, he would take MC for today and be home. This staff had already used up the allocated WFH day earlier this week.

I considered his request, and told him that if he really couldn't come to office tomorrow, he can WFH.

Today, I got a proper dressing down from my boss. He formally reprimanded me and gave me a warning.

I reasoned that the reasoned I allowed this was:

1. The alternative is, the staff would take MC again today. This way, they continue getting work done from home.
2. Staff has been with us 2+ years and has no disciplinary issues with leaves / MCs prior to this.
3. As a line manager, I should have some discretion in giving my team members minor allowances within reason.
4. Younger people this days will appreciate a certain amount of flexibility being afforded to them by their superiors.

My boss reasoning:

1. HR Policy is clear WFH is only one day a week and doesn't mention that superiors can offer more on their discretion.
2. How will he manage if staff from other teams who complaint to him about this.

He says this should never happen again and if it does he will escalate to HR.

Can I have thoughts from forumers here? Am I really in the wrong? Can HR take action against me for something like this?

I suspect my boss might have issue with HR that I am not aware of, so he is afraid that HR might take action against him. Neither me nor anyone from my team has any HR issues.