Have you ever needed to deviate from HR policy? How did you approach the dilemma?

"My current company's vacation policy is that vacation is not paid out at termination. This also means an employee cannot put in their 2-weeks notice and use vacation time between the time of notice and their last day. It is a black and white rule. That rule was tested last year when an employee who had been with us for fifteen years put in her notice due to a cancer diagnosis (we are too small for FMLA). She never called off sick or used her vacation time, so she had built up a bank of five weeks of vacation. When she put her notice in, her manager reached out to me to see if there was any way we could make an exception. I knew company policy was very clear on the issue, but I felt this was a unique case that deserved additional consideration. I presented the information to my manager, and he agreed that this was an exceptional circumstance and that we should pay out all five weeks of vacation to the employee."

Talk about a time you had to deviate from or bend an HR policy. Discuss why it was necessary and how you ensured it was not detrimental to the company.