Can your employer dictate/force when you take time off?

We're not talking about an excessive backlog of vacation time here -- in my instance, I get a paid day off for my birthday, and I have to take it within a week of my birthday, or else I just get the paid time off.

This is also the rule for federal holidays -- take the day off within a week, or lose it and get paid instead.

Company also forces you to take your two weeks off within the calendar year. There is no carryover of vacation time allowed.

(Mind you, this is a company that wouldn't allow employees to donate vacation time for an employee who had to miss several weeks for a very complicated, serious medical procedure. Yeah, real beauts here.)

Additionally, I know of one instance in which policy was ignored.

Is any/all of this legal? I'm thinking it is ... in the former Soviet Union.

 

They can do whatever they like. You don't like it, then quit. [/Bob Jelenic]

 

what you described traveling is pretty much standard operating procedure at most places, not just in this business.

 

This industry must really be in a shithole, because this is the seventh newspaper I've worked for, and none of the previous six had anything near this draconian of a vacation/timeoff policy.

 

All shops have rules regarding vacations and manpower. Usually, there is a limit on how many people from a given department -- production, Imaging, pressroom, etc. -- can be gone at a given time. So if multiple people make requests for the same time, then someone's going to have to adjust. As spnited said, that's pretty standard for any business.

 

They can pretty much do what they want if you don't have a union.

 

Not to go biblical, but I've always taken the "give unto Caesar what is Caesar's" attitude. They need to put out a newspaper and need a certain amount of people to do so. I've found if you show concern for that and ask them about availability before you request the time, when you absolutely need a day they will give it to you. I know certain months, it ain't gonna happen (or will happen with everyone else having to take on extra work), so I won't even ask.

 

Travelling, I don't think what you're describing is unusual.

Last place I worked I could carry over my vacation until about March of the next year.

This place, if you haven't used them by the end of December, you're out of luck.

All they really have to do is obey any federal or state/provincial laws regarding statutory holidays.

 

We have to use our vacation within the calendar year. No carryover. No pay if we don't However, the good thing about that is we get all our vacation hours starting Jan. 1 and can use them as we want/company policy dictates throughout the year. Not having to accrue time is great, especially if you're new to the company and you need to/want to get away early in the year. If you're accruing time and something comes up in January (or whenever the beginning of your "year" starts), you're not gonna have much time to do anything.

 

What is so draconian abut the policy?

You have to take the day off within a week. Seems fair. Also, if you don't take it you get paid? That's a deal.

I worked at a JRC paper that didn't let you take vacation (staff issues), and then you would lose it at the end of the year. It is pretty funny to be honest.

And yes, I know its lllegal, but the government can't prosecute every violation of labor law.

 

you know, no employer has to even give you paid days off or paid vacations. traveling's place doesn't sound like they're being unreasonable.

 

CNHI, unused vacation days do not roll over to the next year. If don't take them, they simply disappear at year's end. You do not get paid for the vacation days you don't take.