Work Advice: Is it fair to force vacation in winter?
Q: My employer has recently implemented a policy where offices will be closed for the week between Christmas and New Year's. Noncritical employees are required to use a week of their annual leave during those days when the company is closed. After Dec. 31, we can carry up to five days of the previous year's accrued leave over to the new year, but it must be used up by the end of the fiscal year on March 31. This is to reduce the amount of liability kept on the books.
Our employer says many firms are now doing this. I have to assume there is nothing legally inappropriate in this policy, or they wouldn't have implemented it. Can you provide some feedback? I get two weeks' leave and am extremely upset at being told when to use half of my vacation days each year, as I prefer to take my annual leave during the summer.
A: In an annual survey of members, the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the percentage of employers that closed their offices between Christmas and New Year's peaked at about 12 percent during the 2011-2013 holiday seasons. I wouldn't call that "many firms," but it's not illegal and not unheard-of for employers to shutter the office because they want their workers to enjoy a restful holiday season with their families.
Heh, just kidding. They're more likely doing it because of the high cost-benefit ratio of keeping the heat on for the handful of workers who show up to nurse hangovers or flee their out-of-town houseguests. According to Lisa Orndorff, HR manager at SHRM, many companies that closed for the 2008-2009 holidays cited economic pressures from the recession. And, Orndorff confirmed, "use or lose" policies are a way to prevent workers from banking enormous amounts of leave that they can use all at once or cash out when they quit.
I sympathize. Being forced to burn your hard-earned leave at a time not of your choosing is almost as galling as being prohibited from using your hard-earned leave during the holidays.
If your employer is open to suggestions, you might point out that other firms also offer floating holidays, to be used at the employees' discretion, and grant bonus days off when the firm achieves certain goals. If telework is an option, maybe you could ask to take work home to preserve more leave.
If there's one thing most of us need more than money, it's time. But if you're forced to take time off over the holidays, make sure you detach from work as much as is practical. Set your out-of-office message and silence the email chime on your phone, so you can emerge refreshed and ready to tackle a new year - and perhaps a new job search.
• Miller has written for and edited tax publications for 16 years, most recently for the accounting firm KPMG's Washington National Tax office. You can find her on Twitter, @KarlaAtWork.