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Does Zayn Malik's One Direction desertion call for compassionate leave?

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We all wept into our morning coffee when we heard Zayn Malik confirm that he has quit One Direction — or at least we googled to make sure which member of the planet's biggest boyband Zayn is.

But some heartbroken fans have been hit even harder by the news and have asked their employers for “compassionate leave” to allow them to come to terms with Mr. Malik's departure.

Manchester, England-based law firm Peninsula Business Services Ltd. told the Daily Telegraph that it had been inundated with calls from employers seeking advice after employees had asked for time off to deal with the news.

Peninsula, which offers advice on staff rights in the workplace, said it had received almost 500 calls from concerned employers with staff members that were finding it hard to come to terms with the bombshell that Mr. Malik had left One D to “live the life of a normal 22-year-old.”

Speaking to the Telegraph, Alan Price, a director at Peninsula, took a tough line on Directioners' pleas for compassionate leave.

“I would advise any employer who receives a compassionate leave request to refuse it — unless the employee concerned is directly related to Zayn,” he said.

“Enforce that the employee takes it as holiday leave, if they feel that strongly about the situation. People need to grow a thicker skin — this is not an excuse to take time off work,” he said.

Employers may do well, however, to start contingency planning now for when Justin Bieber decides to hang up his microphone.