Holiday Vacation Policies

2chatter · November 2014

What are yours?

I ask because...I was just told, today, that the new policy is that me or someone from my team must be in so that they can cover any issues that arise. I just promoted one person, leaving me with a team of two additional people. I am so counting the guy that just moved up. In any case, I was slated to be off for six days (plus Christmas) and have taken the same basic schedule for seven years. So far, I am OK to be off Christmas Eve, but no one will be in the 26-31. So I will have to be. No rollover ability, and had I known this, I would have planned to take time off with my family some other time, and because DH might have to duck out for work, I now have to find part time child care over the Christmas holiday. And pay for it. DH travels until we planned to start holiday vaca together. I only take one day at Thanksgiving and am prohibited from taking more.

I am....pissed.

PSU_Texan · November 2014

I've been in assignments where someone had to cover but we could do it remotely from home. Is that an option for you?

2chatter · November 2014

I work full time remotely from home - they want me in for 8 hours in the middle of the business day. Which makes sense if they are moving the coverage model to each small team instead of the bigger team. But it means I don't get a week off and lose vacation days.

WBMom · November 2014

I have worked in departments where we had to have someone in the office also. It was a known policy though so out of fairness we rotated the coverage or worked together to split the week so one person did not have to be in the whole time. If it is a new policy I would hope they would grant an exception to the ability to carryover vacation time - maybe have a caveat that carryover time must be used by Feb 1. Can you guys split the week? or can you work from home so you can still be available but not in the office? Just some ways we have dealt with it. It stinks they told you about the policy this late in the game.

shakinros · November 2014

Yeah that's a load of BS that they changed it so late. I'd push back on this too. Definitely find a way to take some vacation days before the end of the year.

At my last job, there were specific roles that had to be in every day between Christmas and New Years. The rest of us had off. Those folks got comp time before Christmas or after the new year.

MommyAtty · November 2014

What do they mean by cover issues? Our policy is that all issues that arise must be handled, and we are a 24/7, 365 operation. But in our case "covered" means monitor email on the smart phone and answer it if it rings. We don't have to have someone physically sitting at a computer somewhere.

2chatter · November 2014

The reason this is so insane to me is that my team is four people. The wider team is much larger. Historically we have had one to two managers in and a couple of developers and that was "coverage". Never an issue. I am tied to my BB even when I am off, and respond to issues. I managed to juggle my team so one of us is in every day. But I am still just so frustrated - I am in the same role post re-org, but it's not the same. In my previous role I was part of calling these shots. Now I am just told, 11th hour. And had I not asked about coverage, because I was concerned, no one would have told me at this late date!

I am glad I wasn't crazy - I really could not tell if I was having an emotional reaction or if it was nuts yesterday.

VitaLuna · November 2014

It isn't right for them to bring this up right now , this close to the holiday. I'd be pissed, too.

I'm a nurse, so no true "holidays" here, but we have to submit holiday PTO requests by September, and once they're approved, they honor them. We then list holidays in order of preference, and it's a crapshoot who gets what. I have to work Thanksgiving and Christmas this year

Beevol · November 2014

When I worked in a hospital, we didn't have holidays and instead at the beginning of the year, our department met as a team to determine coverage as we needed between 1 and 5 people, depending on the holiday, in the building for every Federal Holiday (plus the day after Thanksgiving).

We would just hash it out and compromise together. I'm Jewish, so I would volunteer to take Christmas and Christmas Eve as long as I got Thanksgiving and the day after, and everyone was happy.

Unless you work in an industry that never closes, I can't imagine needing a person in the office (as opposed to remote coverage) every day of the year. Even in healthcare it's impossible to get anything done on holidays - where I worked, they just kept people alive but almost all therapies, DME, and discharge planning were put on hold because the insurance companies are closed.

MickeyM04 · November 2014

Agree with PP. I would say that it's unfortunate that they did not notify you of this policy prior to the week before Thanksgiving, because you have travel plans for Christmas this year and you cannot cancel. (I would honestly say that whether it was true or not, because there is no way if I planned to have the time off that I would change my plans 6 weeks out because of a new policy, but I also am not ballsy enough to say, Yeah, I'm going to be in town, but I refuse to come in.) Just say that now that you have been made aware, you will be sure to make sure someone from your team is there next year.

Also, this sounds like some bullshit. If your team is that small, what, like every holiday season you guys have to coordinate who gets what day off?

mcgeeva · November 2014

My company since there are only two of us Nationwide that do our job one of us always have to be here. So we take turns on holidays. If I took Christmas this year I wouldn't even ask for next year. It doesn't bother me currently. I'm sure it will become an issue when my kids are in grade school.

BabyNewbury2012 · November 2014

At my company nothing is ever due at Christmas. Usually that week the office is empty.

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