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Ixtapa99 · December 2002

Here's the picture...The company has been hanging on by a "financial" thread for a while now. Each Christmas Eve/New Years Eve, the company usually closes the office at 12noon and pays an additional 4 hours of regular pay to all hourly employees regardless of their position (office, whse, local drivers) in order to be fair. The problem this year is that we really can't afford to throw 4 hours to everyone but want to be able to something for those people who are going to lose money/hours due to the office being closed.

Because we are in the trucking/distribution business, we just don't know which customers are going to be open and shipping/receiving on those days so we may have some drivers working all day and others not. Same thing with the warehouse workers. Here's an example of what the company would like to say:

Tuesday, December 24, 2002 (Christmas Eve)
"The office will be open and working on Christmas Eve until 12:00 noon unless you are scheduled otherwise. Because of this office closure, the company will offer ALL hourly employees, who have NOT been scheduled to work the full day, up to 4 hours of regular pay in order to compensate for the remaining hours of their shift. To be eligible for up to 4 hours of additional regular pay, ALL hourly employees must work a minimum of 4 hours on this day and must have worked Monday, December 23, 2002 unless you have previously been scheduled to have this day off and have your supervisor’s approval. These hours will NOT count towards overtime. Office and warehouse personnel are required to punch out at 12:00 noon, unless you are scheduled otherwise. You will be paid for this day regardless of your holiday pay eligibility."

Do you folks think this is a fair way to deal with this situation? I would welcome any comments or suggestions! x:-/

Christel

bamahr · December 2002

Do the Employees scheduled to work get the 4 hours at another time or will it be added to their weekly total? If some employees gets 4 hours paid and others are going to have to work and not get the 4 later my guess you will have a lot of unhappy people. They have to work all day and get shorted the 4 hours.

If it was my employee's I think I would take the day off the memo was posted.

Good Luck!

Ixtapa99 · December 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 12-03-02 AT 01:32PM (CST)[/font][p]Thanks bamahr! I knew this was going to upset somebody the minute the memo was handed out and yes, I wanted to take the day off when the news was delivered. I've been racking my brain trying at the last minute to find a way to save a little money while trying to keep everyone happy. Unfortunately, the powers that be didn't heed my request months earlier to address the upcoming holiday pay situation and the policy written in the handbook. It clearly states that ALL hourly employees will be given 4 hours of regular pay should the company close at noon on the "Eves" without exception. So, this year we will have to do as we have always done and they have finally agreed to get going on changing the handbook for next year.

Does the quote, "A day late and a dollar short" fit here? I think it just might!

Christel

pecohr · December 2002

I agree with bamahr and I think that the employees who work the entire day while others get it off and receive pay are going to see this as a less than equitable situation. I think at the very least they will make your day uncomfortable (I'm being nice here).

Stuart

Cindy Hanna · December 2002

I would offer the employee's who had to stay, a 1/2 day off with pay down the road. That would be a fair solution.

Ixtapa99 · December 2002

I thought that was a great suggestion Cindy! But I was reminded that the biggest issue is the local drivers...if we offer what you suggested, it may eventually cause a problem with being short drivers on the days we need them the most. Our local dispatcher has his hands full just trying to juggle everything around now with all drivers working (these guys have been putting up to 20 hrs OT each week). What a difficult business this is at times; so many variables.

Christel

hrbanker · December 2002

Just another way of handling the situation. We close at noon but give hourly employees the right to work extra hours during the week to make up the time lost. Some are happy to come in 1/2 hour early and work through lunch for a few days. We get a lot of 'odds & ends' cleared off of desks, and the company is not out any additional money.

Don D · December 2002

Great idea hrbanker! And if they choose not to work a few extra hours coming in or staying late or working lunch, they shouldn't object.

LFernandes · December 2002

My hourly employees are not allowed to "work through lunch". In NY it is mandatory that hourly employees be given a break after 6 hours. So just be careful of your state laws requiring meal breaks.

LindaS · December 2002

Here's a thought and this is something that has been done in several companies I have worked with:

Post the notice regarding the half day closure but also note employees not scheduled to work the full day must either take the remaining portion of the day as vacation (PTO) or take it unpaid. Employees choosing to take it unpaid will be eligible for unemployment but they will not receive the same amount as if they used a vacation day. In my experience people appreciate the time off and do not have a problem taking the vacation time as long as they know about it in advance. This would also address some of the hard feelings from those that are scheduled to work and you would not have to offer those individuals additional time off down the road.

If you have a written policy in place regarding these "Eve" days, then it probably would not work but it's a thought.

nsn · December 2002

Don't close early. If the day is slow and a full crew is not necessary give them the option of going home early without pay. They will make their own decision. If they opt to go home early they are willingly giving up the 4 hours of pay and have no reason to complain. If the four hours pay are important to them, they can stay and catch up on the year end work, filing, cleaning, detailing the delivery trucks, straightening the warehouse, etc.

I work in a casino and where I worked before if we closed the dealing area (pit) early, we payed the dealers lost hours. If they asked to go home early, they didn't get paid.

Just an idea.

dlail · December 2002

Is it possible to contact your customers to find out in advance what their shipping/receiving schedule will be that day to better plan your staff? I agree w/ earlier suggestions about the offer to use vacation time or off w/o pay for those who won't be working. Some would be thrilled just to have the time off without penalty. I found that to be true when we had unexpected closing due to bad weather. I expected more people to use vacation time, but they didn't.

LFernandes · December 2002

I agree with use of paid time off. We are having a mandatory shutdown around the holidays and all employees are required to use paid vacation time (this also helps to reduce our liabilities on our balance sheet). We do, however, have a skelton crew working (maintenance and shipping) and will grant the volunteers extra paid personal time equal to the number of hours they worked as compensation.

Good luck!

Ixtapa99 · December 2002

Unfortunately, our shippers often decide at the last minute whether they will be working on those days and there are many variables involved. We have to be available to provide service regardless of our customer's quirks and last minute requests, rush shipments, etc. And with it being the end of the year, many want their product moved out due to their inventory counts.

I do want to thank everyone for their imput. Next year, I'm going to suggest that we do not close the office on the Eve's and those who wish to take off may use their time off benefits if they so desire.

Christel

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