Man says he missed father's passing after being held back at work, hopes employers can be more compassionate

It is unimaginable to have a loved one pass away with no one by their side. Unfortunately for one man, he has to live with the reality that he wasn’t able to be by his father’s side before he passed away — and it was all because of work.

Syed Ahmad Sabar Aljoofri shared his story in a Facebook post on Tuesday (Oct 27) where he recalled the heartbreaking event he experienced last year when he missed his father’s final moments. 

Manager declines emergency leave

Syed was covering another colleague’s shift on Dec 23, 2019 when he received a call from the hospital regarding his father’s unresponsive state. When he was told that it was highly likely his father was “to leave this world at any point of time,” he knew he had to get to the hospital right away. 

Informing his operational manager — whom he referred to as OM — of his emergency, he was told that he was not allowed to leave work before 4pm. It was just 9.30 am at the time. He was told he cannot go before clearing up his backlog. He, however, tried to explain why he needed to rush to the hospital.

After his third attempt at asking to leave work early, the OM finally allowed him to go. While making his way to the hospital, Syed received another call from the doctor at 11.42 am informing him that his father had already passed away. 

Syed: ‘I did not manage to whisper my last words and prayers through his ears and be with him for the very last time…’

Neither he nor his mother was able to be by his father’s side during his passing, he lamented.

But it wasn't the death that Syed found more devastating, but more of the fact that he was not there when his father passed. According to Syed, his father’s “ultimate final wish” was for him to whisper last words and prayers during his final moments.

Termination notice after just a week after dad’s death

About a week after his father passed away, Syed was terminated by the company after his OM allegedly filed a complaint to human resource department over him filing too many leave days — which Syed said he had taken to take care of his ailing dad. 

For the two weeks he was by his father’s side, Syed said he made sure to keep both his OM and the HR updated through letters from a variety of medical specialists who were treating his dad. He had also informed them that he was the only caregiver for his father and that he would return to work once his father was admitted to hospital. 

Although he felt that it was an “unjustified termination,” Syed figured it was for the best since he had already been planning to leave the company after putting up with five years of the toxic office culture. 

Syed ended his post saying, “Until today, I cannot and will never forgive my OM for what he had indirectly done to my father.”

This article was first published in theAsianparent.