Hard to believe we are already at the end of October and with today being Halloween we know that November, December, and even January brings on the holiday season for 2016 and 2017.
Rather than listing out all the holidays celebrated by different people throughout these two months, we wanted to provide some general reminders to help you plan your staffing and ensure that you are being fair and consistent when granting time off or flexible schedules.
- If you have not done so, prepare and post holiday schedules now indicating what days you will be open for business and which days you will be closed.
- If the holidays fall on weekends, will you close the day before or the day after the holiday? If so, make sure you let people know.
- Some industries, such as medical or retail, may have normal hours and scheduling or even longer hours. Make sure people are aware of this. It’s completely appropriate to state that you have certain ‘blackout’ periods in which no time off may be granted due to business needs.
- Keep in mind that there are a number of religious and other holidays throughout this period, some of which you may be unfamiliar. Make sure you treat people fairly even if it is a holiday that you do not know.
- Does your handbook state who is eligible for holiday time off and holiday pay? Have you explained how holiday pay is calculated? If not, do yourself a favor and get your handbook language updated so that you don’t have to deal with any disputes or misunderstandings.