(If you normally work Sundays all the time, or are working a holiday job or something like that, good for you. However, I’m wondering if this is a trend in the Monday-Friday working world.)
We’ve always gotten Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off at my company. This year, those days fall on Wednesday and Thursday. I’m sure that many people have looked at the calendar and decided that they should just put in for vacation on Friday the 26th, thus gaining a five-day weekend. The powers-that-be at my company have decided that since so many people want that Friday off, we will just be closed that day. Great plan, right?
Well, they’re not just willing to just give us an extra paid day off. Instead, we are all supposed to come in on Sunday, Dec. 21 and work a normal shift. This is highly unusual. This company is never open on Sundays. Never. They have also decided to have a catered Christmas luncheon that day for all employees…as a bribe, I think.
I’m not sure how well this is going to work–between the avid churchgoers (not so uncommon here) and people like me who have just seen half of the last weekend to prepare for Christmas go down the drain. Also, I work in a factory, and while I suppose that we can make things on a Sunday as well as on a Friday, we can’t ship them if UPS, etc. aren’t coming around. I don’t think customer service will be taking too many calls, either. Perhaps everyone will be huddled down on the production floor toiling away like Santa’s good little elves.
Is this a common plan to deal with this strange Friday, or is my company just whacko?
I’m assuming the people who are taking that Friday off would be using their saved up vacation / personal leave time to cover it, or doing it without pay, right? and having to work that Sunday beforehand would presumably mean you could take the Friday without having to burn up time off (or eat the day’s pay).
As annoying as it is, I’d actually be happy that the company has enough work, that they don’t jump at the chance to have everyone burn up their vacation time. Annoying that it sounds like that Sunday schedule isn’t really optional though. I guess if you swore you couldn’t go, and you really wanted to work your normal Friday schedule, you’re sorta screwed and would have to burn the vacation time.
I wonder if there are any legal resons why this would not be permissible.
Yes, this does mean that you do not have to use vacation time for Friday. However, if you really can’t work Sunday, you have to put in for vacation time for that day, and it sounds like not everyone who asks for Sunday off will get it.
I cannot tell them I’d rather work Friday instead–the building will be locked.
When I first heard the plan, I thought that the Sunday we would work would be the 28th, and I didn’t think it was too bad of a plan. Four days off, four days on, and then New Year’s. Then I found out that it was the 21st (because it “has to be” in the same week, I guess) and now all I can think about is getting only one day off in the middle of all that Christmas rush.
On January 1, 2008, our company implemented a new ERP software system (very poorly), and we are still working the bugs out ten months later. Our shipments were horrible at the beginning of the year. I assume we are still trying to make up for that.
That is very strange indeed. My company came up with a novel approach to the idea. Since Christmas is on Thursday, and we’re only a Monday-Friday establishment, they’ve given us the choice of having Christmas Eve or the day after as a paid holiday. We certainly don’t need a full call center staff on either day, so that will give enough staffing for both days.
I’m very lucky. I work four 10 hour shifts (Monday-Thursday), so I took Wednesday as my paid holiday. That way, I get five days off in a row.