[smcphile]

> For the context it is a small business of 6 people.

I think the size of the company explains why you were asked to take emails while on vacation. In a bigger organization, with more redundancy, handling vacations would be less of a problem.

I’ve never been told take emails while on vacation, but I’ve volunteered to do so when there was nobody available with the skills and/or specific knowledge to replace me.

Since you’re asking for advice, I’d advise you to accept taking emails and just try to ensure it doesn’t take you to much time. Avoid doing too much hand holding in your messages and just answer the critical stuff. Before you leave, explain to the two programmers what they can decide on their own and what they can’t.