I don't need time off often, but when I do I'm usually informed of it around 3 weeks beforehand or sooner. I try to get this into my workplace as soon as I can to put on the vacation request sheet, trying to stay on the good side of my manager and her fucked scheduling system. (Part time job, she writes the schedule somewheres 3 weeks before the shifts, and then posts them 2 weeks ahead. Unluckily, I usually am informed of my required attendance to something after the 3 week cutoff for booking vacation.)
Is it wrong that I treat the sheet as a notification rather than a request? Like, if I need that day off, I need it off. None of her business what I'm doing, just that I can't work that day. I put it in the book whether the events a month and a half away or two weeks.
Numerous times she has scheduled me in on booked days off (both ones submitted before and after the vacation cutoff dates) only to then get angry when I say I genuinely can't make it in for that day.
This has happened several times over the last year or so of my employment there, and every single time she deflects the issue back onto me as if she didn't write it into the schedule: “You have to fill your shift, check who's available, blah blah blah” (The way she schedules things, coincidence or not, most employees that could fill my position are in that day already so I can't call on them.)
Am I wrong to refuse to do that? My current solution is to just call in sick (Say I've got the shits or ate something bad, they don't ask questions) and then they leave me alone for the day. Is there a better way I should be handling this?