Boss' new vacation policy

[Unclebean]

Every year I save vacation time to take off the week of Thanksgiving and the week of Christmas. I was just informed today my boss is implementing a new policy which restricts salary employees to only use 5 vacation days the last quarter of the year. Does this seem fair? Anyone else have the same issue where they work? It is my understanding this is not company policy just my boss' policy.

 

[drdoolittle]

I don't know about it being "fair", but your boss probably did that because too many people were taking the same time off. You'll still get the same amount of vacation days anually, right? It's just that instead of taking 2 weeks the last part of the year, you can only take 5 of your vacation days then? I'd probably be a little upset too, but happy I still had some vacation time.

 

[chickened]

That is one reason I went self-employed. It does not seem fair but he/she is the boss. If it violates company policy you may have a leg to stand on with the board. Can you take off more time unpaid?

 

[welsummerchicks]

Many companies have that policy for specific types of jobs.

If not having the policy means the work doesn't get done, then that's where that policy comes in.

It just depends on the type of work it is.

For example, in one place I worked, people had to be available to answer the phones from 8 am to 5 pm. Everyone wanted to take vacation the whole week of Thanksgiving and Christmas - there was no one there to answer the phones. The boss had to limit how many days each person could take during those times.

PLUS - he had to coordinate which days each person took off. So for example, in a team of 3, if John and Bill got the first 2 days of the week off, Mary couldn't have the first two days of the week off. The manager had to maintain coverage of the job function.

it doesn't have to be answering phones. It can be packing orders, turning in receipts, all sorts of things can be negatively effected. Companies face fines and managers face demotions, if they can't get the work done on schedule.

Holidays don't matter. Work has to get done.

Further, most companies are now international. In the USA it might be Thanksgiving, in Canada, it isn't. In Mexico, it isn't. Canadian and Mexican customers are going to be telephoning. Got a website that handles orders? FINE. They'll be calling because they have a problem with the website!!

Deliveries still have to go to Canada. Invoices still have to go to Mexico.

At another job, the way funding worked, a lot of projects were due at the end of the year. For several years, basically the whole department saved up time to take off during Thanksgiving and Christmas. Several major projects wound up late. The manager was fired and the new manager came in and said he was very sorry, but he had to put in new rules that people could not take large blocks of time off at the holidays.

Further, at another job, we could not take more than TWO days off at a time, without scheduling it 6 months ahead, and we had to not take those days during the last 2/3 of a project. Any time we took off had to be approved. Once I told the boss my alternator on my car needed repair and I had to take half a day off to take it to the dealer for repair.

His answer? 'Toyotas don't have problems with their alternators'. I was not allowed to take the 1/2 day off.

In another job, we were told that because a project was late, we couldn't take ANY days off. That included Saturday and Sunday. And we would be working evenings.

Don't like it? Fine. Get another job.

I worked one place for 12 weeks without a single day off. Then I'd get maybe a day off, then work for a couple more months without a day off. We worked about 16 hours a day, Saturday and Sunday, evenings. If there was an emergency and we had to work all night, we were expected to show up, neat and clean, at 8 AM...yup. After working all night.

At another place, I put in 500 hours of overtime in 3 or 4 months. I got some time off after that, but then back to the same sort of schedule. There are places were I worked over 80 hours a week - for months and months.

One place, I wasn't able to take any time off for two years. Yup. I saw the manager in an uncompromising position, did not report her, but she must have assumed I did, so she didn't approve any of my vacation requests for two years. Yup.

And it did not 'roll over'. I lost all that time - 8 weeks of vacation. Gone.

Part of it is that people are begging for jobs now, and companies are very limited in how much they can hire. Managers are being pressured incredibly, to get more production out of an ever-dwindling number of people. It's either that or get fired. They don't really have a choice.

But even without the sour economy, this trend toward squeezing more 'productivity' out of everyone has been going on for a long, long time. And it means everyone makes a lot of sacrifices. Or doesn't have a job. THAT part of it is usually made very, very clear.

 

[Glenmar]

My work has restrictions for popular vacation/ holiday weeks too.
I don't mind because I don't have kids. I will work all holidays.

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Pity you don't work in Australia...they pay double and triple time for any holidays! I was always happy to work holidays

 

[debilorrah]

Vacation is a BENEFIT and your company can set rules for this benefits as they see fit. Life isn't fair. One week during the holidays would be a blessing!!!!

 

[ChooksinChoppers]

Quote:
Yep...it's true! working in a restaurant for many years...I learned NOT to expect time off on holidays. Missed many a Christmas and Thanksgiving with my kids.

 

[6chix]

"One place, I wasn't able to take any time off for two years. Yup. I saw the manager in an uncompromising position, did not report her, but she must have assumed I did, so she didn't approve any of my vacation requests for two years. Yup.

And it did not 'roll over'. I lost all that time - 8 weeks of vacation. Gone."


This is illegal, if you had taken this to a lawyer you would have gotten triple damages.

I have to deal with this vacation thing all the time being the boss. I tell all my employees that they should schedule 2 weeks vaction with me early in the year and let the other 5 days float for sick/emergency time. The first ones to schedule get priority for those days off.

 

[SarahFair]

My dad takes a month off at a time.. usually december.
His employer made a new rule that if you are off on vacation you can not work during that vacation period..
What he would do is hed come into work thanksgiving and xmaseve while off because it paid double time and a half.
Now he just plans them around these holidays