I recently started working for a company full time. Today I found out they close the week of christmas each year. For emloyees that have been there 6 months it is paid as a one week vacation. Not having been there that long I’m simply not getting paid for a week this is in Massachsetts. It kinda sucks losing out on the oportinity to earn a paycheck for that week. I plan to address my concern with them.
Legaly anything wrong with the companies actions. Are there any schedule requirements companies must offer?
Rather than going through the hassle of firing people could a company just schedule a person off till they quit do to needing a paying job?
The Burger King I used to work at would do that regularly. However, they didn’t count on people being too stoned/stubborn or just plain useless to get another job, so eventually they would let them come back (it worked occasionally, mayby 20% of the time.)
I don’t claim to know employment law (especially in Massachusetts), but as far as I know, employers can do this, just like they can give you more vacation time the longer you work there.
For those with enough time in the company, they probably just put it down in the books as a week of paid vacation. I believe an employer can give you as much vacation time as they want as long as they give you a minimum amount required by law (provided you’re a full-time employee).
If you want my advice: You just started working there. Try not to ruffle any feathers if you plan to be there for a while. Bringing it up won’t get you a free week’s pay and you’ll gain a reputation as a problem employee.
Many companies do the “week closed at Christmas.” Typically, they DON’T give you an extra week of vacation for it, but rather require you to use accrued vacation for that time. If you don’t have it, you have to take unpaid leave.
So it sounds to me like your company is actually better than most of them (assuming you understand correctly and this is just an “extra” week of vacation paid to the old-timers). I agree with the John Carter of Mars, just let it pass and take advantage of it next year.
Quit without telling them. They haven’t earned your loyalty. Sight unseen, I guarantee you can get a better job than that one. Screw 'em. Unserious employers deserve nothing.
On what clairvoyant basis do you make that claim, Krokodil, given that we don’t know his job, what industry he’s working in, or what employable skills he might have?
I took this job as full time employment. If they continue to fail to offer me full time employment, I’ll be looking to find employment elsewhere.
For Thanksgiving week they asked for a list of volunteers for working Friday. I not having Thanksgiving as a paid holiday yet wanting hours volunteered. Wednesday me and the other newer guy were told thanks for volunteering but we will not be needed so don’t come in for till Monday, Giving me a 27 hour week.
I’ve taken this job after voluntarily leaving my old job, to learn a new trade. The Job is making very expensive custom furniture. I’m making 60 percent of my previous paycheck. If they can’t afford/aren’t willing to give me 40 hour weeks consistently they aren’t a company I plan to stick around with
No reason from what you’ve said to think you won’t be working consistently full-time. Lots of companies shut down for one or two specified weeks each year for different reasons- some small businesses shut down when the owner goes on vacation, other businesses find it easier to shut down for a week than to run short-staffed all summer because a couple of people are on vacation each week. The day after Thanksgiving or the day before election day are popular days to close. Doesn’t mena there will be a problem with working full time the rest of the year.
It is all very nice that you are looking for a new trade and made your own decision to take a pay cut, but a word of advice:
the time to discuss vacations, layoffs, down time, etc. is at the point where they are thinking of making you an offer and you are deciding whether to accept.
Unless they actually lied to you about the situation when you did ask, then you are not really being very reasonable to be upset about existing policies. They actually sound like a decent place to work. I don’t know any place that pays vacation time as you walk in the door. (Did you ask about seasonal down times?) They were willing to pay more money to people who have given time to the company on the day after Thanksgiving rather than going with “least payroll expense” scenario.
If you are this upset that you forgot to ask the right questions before you accepted the job, you might want to do yourself and them the favor of finding work elsewhere. If you can look beyond the next couple of weeks, you might want to ask (belatedly) about all their pay policies and downtime and decide whether it might be in your interests to stick it out.
Could you claim unemployment that week?
I have a family member who drives a school bus, and during unpaid vacation periods, even though she still has a job, she is able to claim unemployment.
Of course, her forced unpaid vacations are 3-12 weeks, not your 1 week, but it’s something that crossed my mind.
An UnemploymentInsuranceDoperExperts in the room?
This happened to me a couple of jobs ago (in Massachusetts no less!) They gave us several days off between Christmas ansd New Years, but not the whole week – the remainder had to be made up with vacation days. Only I didn’t have any, being new. And I could come in to work – there wouldn’t be anyone else there, and the heat was off.
They solved this by letting me work at home. Which i did – got a lot of good theory done that I incorporated into the product.
Talk to your supervisor – maybe you can work something like this out.
Sorry, I can’t recall specific names of companies, but this is actually very common, especially in the manufacturing sector.
I have talked to several relatives and acquaintances who work or have worked for employers who shut down between Christmas and New Years. Employees must either use part of their vacation time or take unpaid days off. In this regard the OP’s employer is better than most of the ones I have known about, since they give the entire time as paid vacation to anyone who has been there 6 months or more.
Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler. If you don’t have vacation time or you foolishly watsted it and aren’t needed during a scheduled shutdown, well then tough cookies to you. Yeah, even for the union guy.
… which would be a win-win solution for both parties. As **tomndebb ** has pointed out, you really need to check out all the facts about a new job before accepting it.
Paid Time off is a BENEFIT. Benefits are often witheld from new employees, for anywhere up to a year.
It is so common that it doesn’t warrant anyone coming in here and naming three companies.
Lose the attitude. As an employee, you are free to shop elsewhere for employment. When a companies polices result in increased turnover (high costs) they can react if they want to, but witholding paid time off (something that is EARNED) is completely and utterly NORMAL.
All major publishers are closed the week between Christmas and New Years. Places like Random House, HarperCollins and Chronicle Books. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?
Why don’t you tell your boss you need a paycheck and ask if there’s anything you can do for the company during the shutdown like security gard or deliveries. They may be willing to work with you if they know you’re hurting. Also, I am pretty sure you can collect unemployment for that week but you won’t get it right away and it’s a hassle so it probably won’t help much.