10 Better Ways To Say “Grandfathered” In Business

The term “grandfathered” in business is outdated and has incredibly offensive origins. That’s why it’s time to look into better alternatives. This article will explore some of the best alternatives out there and which ones are the best for you to use in place of “grandfathered.”

What Can I Say Instead Of “Grandfathered” In Business?

There are a few great words we can use in this case. Some of the ones we want to go through include:

• Legacied
• Heritaged
• Tradition
• Special case
• Preauthorized
• Preapproved
• Excused
• Exempted
• Retained
• Allowed

The preferred version is “legacied.” We can use it to refer to anything that has been given a special exemption from new rules. Typically, this happens when something has special historical importance or when it’s too difficult to implement new rules.

Legacied

“Legacied” is the best alternative for this situation. We can use it to show that rules have become part of a business’s “legacy.” This works well to show that you stand firm on the old rules, and new updates will not be able to change them.

Check out these examples to see how it works:

• I’ve made sure to get these rules legacied by head office, so we don’t have to worry about changing them.
• These changes do not affect us. Remember, we have legacied our main rules and operations.
• These are legacied now, and I will make sure to keep them that way for the foreseeable future.

Heritaged

“Heritaged” works well when we want to show that we will not change our rules. If we have chosen to “heritage” our own rules (or someone has done it for us), it means they cannot be touched because they are of some importance to the company.

This works well when you want to protect the way you used to run your business. It’s helpful to keep rules “heritage” when you don’t see the point in changing them to update them.

Here are some useful ways we can work it into our writing:

• Three different rules have been heritaged by the union, and we’ll keep it that way.
• These rules are now part of the heritage of this business, and I will not be asked why.
• These are both heritaged, and I do not need to say more about it.

Tradition

“Tradition” is a great way to show that old rules will not be changing. If the old rules are part of a company’s “tradition,” it means they rarely will change them, even if the new rules are inherently better than the old ones.

Even if it turns out that new rules will help the workforce or aid workflow, “tradition” will prohibit any change. This is most common for older companies that often don’t like to see too many changes in their ranks.

Here are some great ways for us to use it:

• I’m sorry, but it’s a tradition that we do things this way.
• I’m keeping the tradition as it is because I like the way things are.
• This is our tradition, and we will not be told my corporate that we have to change anything around here!

Special Case

“Special case” is a good phrase we can use to replace “grandfathered.” We can use a “special case” whenever we have received an exception for something. It means that a case has been given special permissions to stay the same even with new proposals.

Here are some great ways for us to use the phrase:

• Don’t worry; I’ve made sure to put a special case forward for these rules. They won’t change anytime soon.
• There is a special case in place for anyone who needs it. We’ll make sure to keep the transition as smooth as possible.
• I’ve enabled a special case for the proposals on the system. We will not be upgrading until they fix their issues.

Preauthorized

“Preauthorized” works when we’ve received special permission from someone higher up to keep our rules the same. When something is “authorized,” it means we have been given access to keep them the same. The “pre” prefix shows that it happened in the past.

We could always ask head office (or whoever ranks above us) for authorization in certain things. If they grant us this request, it gives us access to change things however we choose. This could sometimes apply to old rules.

These examples will help you to make a little more sense of it:

• I have been preauthorized to keep these rules the same. No one will question my judgment on this matter.
• Yes, all of these things are preauthorized now, which will be great for us when the next step occurs.
• Don’t worry; I’ve made sure to preauthorize all the old rules we are used to working with.

Preapproved

“Preapproved” works when you want to show that old rules have been “approved” previously. We use the “pre” prefix to show that something has happened before. It means somebody has given us special exceptions from new rules put in place.

If a CEO or corporation puts new rules in place for all branches, it’s not uncommon for a branch manager to ask for preapproval on old rules. If they do not think the new ones will benefit them, the CEOs might try to give them some exceptions.

Here are some helpful ways to see it work:

• We’ve received word that these rules are preapproved, and there’s no reason to change them again.
• Don’t worry; I made sure to get all of this preapproved, and everyone will work as normal.
• This is preapproved now. Don’t bother arguing with the rules anymore.

Excused

“Excused” works when we want to show that new rules have not impacted old ones. If old rules are “excused,” it means they are not affected by whatever the new ones were supposed to bring, which helps us in many cases.

We can use “excused” as follows:

• I have made sure that our rules are excused from this new idea because I do not see it helping us.
• Yes, these rules are excused, and you’ll be thankful they are once you realize how confusing the new ones can be.
• We have excused the rules listed below, so you can keep working in the same way you usually would.

Exempted

“Exempted” is another great verb we can use. When rules are “exempted,” it means they’re given a special reason to avoid the new and updated rules. Even if they might seem like they go against the new rules, an “exemption” is a great loophole to use.

Here are some examples that might help you:

• We have received word from the CEO that the new rules have exempted them from our company.
• We’ve made sure that our old rules are exempted, meaning you will not have to change anything you do on your normal day.
• We have exempted this company from outside interference. Unless we say so, there will be no more rule changes.

Retained

“Retained” is another verb we can use when rules have been kept the same. We can “retain” them when it is beneficial for us or the company to keep them the same as they previously were. This is ideal when we simply do not have the patience to learn new things.

Here are some examples of how you could use it:

• We have made sure these rules are retained until further notice.
• No more questions about the retained rules now, guys. I think it’s time we move past them.
• Yes, these have been retained, and I thank you for not asking me any more irrelevant questions about it.

Allowed

“Allowed” isn’t one of the best choices, but we can use it to show that a previous rule was “allowed” to be accepted. While it might not follow the rules as intended, we can use “allowed” rules from before if they worked well for the company.

Here are some examples of how it might work:

• They’ve allowed us to keep the same rules that apply in this method.
• I have allowed these rules to stay unchanged because I believe the new ideas are too crude to get right.
• Since we do not have the manpower, I have allowed the same rules to stay in place until I can justify the training costs.

What Does “Grandfathered” Mean In Business?

We’ve checked what all the best alternatives are. However, we thought we would quickly check out what the original meaning of the phrase is. After all, it’s not immediately obvious to non-natives or those not in the business world.

“Grandfathered” means that old rules are allowed to stay in place, even when new rules should come about that typically make those rules obsolete. This applies when someone grants an exception for old rules that otherwise would not have been found.

The main reason why anyone would “grandfather” rules in business is that they don’t like to change. If something new has been presented in their industry, they might have a slight aversion to trying to fit it in themselves.

Alternatively, the cost of trying to educate the workforce on a new system might be too much. That’s why we sometimes have “grandfathered” rules in business. It helps with the overall workings and operations.