It’s the most wonderful time of the year….to take off work.
For many businesses, the end of the year marks a very busy and stressful time, and often personally for employees, it is the same. While the motivating reasons vary, most employees want to take off time at the end of the year. But wait, what about the work that needs to be done?
What does your policy say?
Hopefully, you are not one of the many employers that does not have a written time off policy in place! A well-written time off policy should cover the following:
How to request time off. Whether your company has an HRIS with time tracking capability, or time is requested by sending an email to a supervisor, details must be provided on how to request. Even better if your policy states how far in advance time should be requested – especially during those high demand times.
How is time accrued? Traditional methods are the accrual, or a beginning of year front load. Your policy should also state if negative balances can be accumulated or if all accrued time must be taken before taking any unpaid days off.
What happens if multiple employees request the same days off? A good solid approach here is to give the approval to first to request. In a case of two employees request the time simultaneously, the request will typically go to the one with more seniority. Without a consistent approach here, the requests can be disproportionately distributed to those that a manager thinks has a “better reason” to take the time off. A best practice here is for a manager to hold a team meeting and have the employees agree among themselves who will take which days, who will be the backup, etc.
How is time handled at year end? Here in Texas, it is allowable under state law to have a “use it or lose it” policy. If this is your policy, it MUST clearly state in writing that any accrued and unused days will be forfeited. If you are without a written policy, or if your policy is silent on this topic – then the days are considered to belong to the employees at termination and/or year end.
What about the holidays? You probably have already listed out the holidays that your business will be closed and what employee classifications are eligible to receive holiday pay for those days. Be prepared for time off stacking along with these days and have a plan in place for managing business operations. This is also a great time of year to sit down and finalize next year’s holiday closure schedule, if you haven’t already done so.
What are the other considerations?
Having a solid policy is great, but there are other considerations that come up that you will need to be prepared for.
Are you ready for unplanned absences? This time of year also brings unplanned absences. It may be anything from employee illness, family member illness, or inclement weather that prevents employees from coming in to work. Make sure you have contingent back up plans ready to go because you may end up with fewer employees than anticipated.
Are there any religious considerations? Absolutely! Keeping in mind that people may observe different religious holidays (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, etc), you should accommodate employee’s requests as much as possible. The EEOC has a great article on religious accommodations for more guidance.
Is it okay to say no? Of course. As a business owner, you have the ability to restrict when employees can take time off. Keep in mind that paid time off is a benefit, and there can be some morale issues when employees are not able to take their accrued time when needed.
BCI is here to help you navigate this! If you need a paid time off sample policy, or have questions about how you administer your current policy, please contact us at HR Link!
Emily Dusablon