I take vacation after clearing it well in advance. If the boss later rescinds his permission, I let him know that I'm going on vacation; and whether I come back to work or not is the only thing he has any control over.
I generally book my holidays well in advance.. or always ahead of the minimum notice. at that point am no longer asking permission, am advising them I wont be in. as I have satisfied their criteria. changes to the business in that time or or their lack of organisation to plan around me is their problem. (I also dont seem to overlap with anyone, probably because I dont have kids) spent enough of my life in an industry that tried its best to dictate when i could and couldnt take time off, and let them do it. learnt my lesson after I got nothing to show for my "flexibility". so now its my time is my time end of discussion. they dont like it also their problem, I can go anywhere and they know it. though to be fair, my current employer are verry good at honouring time off.
