Is this common? Org. closes due to weather & requires all employees to take a vacation day.

[salin]

So the org says: don't come into work - and, btw, this counts as one of your sick or vacation days.

In past years - a day considered to dangerous to go to work - was just that. Now - it is a forced "vacation day."

Just wondering how common this is? For professional jobs this used to be very uncommon.

[underthematrix]

1. well for the safety of employees, it makes sense. It simply

means the employee will be paid for time off. Usually if the employee does not have time, I think they're paid anyway. It seems more an act of compassion and kindness.

[salin]

5. the closure yes. In past times it was paid leave

not take one of the few days off allowable leave.

[Yavin4]

2. Without a union, anything goes in the workplace

People formed unions to stop arbitrary bullshit like that.

[salin]

6. point taken.

I am one who never takes all of my allowed leave. But every several years I try to take a vacation. We have so few day off - that to take said vacation I work when sick, when weather is bad, etc.

This is a new policy. No warning.

But perhaps it isn't indicative of the organization - but indicative of the current times and how far the scale has tipped to employees' disadvantage.

[mythology]

3. At my job it's work at home if you can if the building is closed.

But since I don't take my work computer home very often, I tend to just call into my meetings and call that good.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

4. My company always advised us to leave early or not come in and make it up on our own time.

Basically, if workers were sent home for 4-5 hours because a storm rolled in, they instructed us to make it up throughout the week to get our 40hrs.

[salin]

7. My org sent this to the level of workers that tend to work 50-60

hours regularly, with no extra pay - because folks are in management.

I appreciate your response, because that used to be how my org. responded.

[exboyfil]

12. I got to think that is counterproductive at that level

You treat professionals like that, and you get what you deserve (same for all folks but professionals have more options than lower income workers - which is unfortunate for the lower income workers). I think employment at will works well at the professional level, but at some point, especially with our politicians working towards more competition from foreign countries in professional ranks, the situation is going to continue to deteriorate for them as well. I don't think collective bargaining would be a solution for professionals in general.

[salin]

13. I agree it is deteriorating...

also new - no half days off. If you have to be out for an hour or two - take the whole day as a vacation day. This seems counterproductive. Unless one is in a race for the bottom (stating the obvious.)

[valerief]

8. Most places in America would make you take the day without pay. nt

[Hekate]

9. Doesn't sound like it's "cruel and unusual." We had Xmas to New Yr's off...

At one of my former jobs the college was closed from Christmas to New Year's because nearly all the students and faculty were gone. Closure meant they saved money on lights and heat and a lot of other things. So support staff employees were told we had the non-holiday time (3 days) off, but we had to make it up out of vacation or comp time. Some of my cohorts griped, but it worked well for me, because I would have had to hire a baby sitter for those three days for my two kids. This way I had the entire week off that the kids had off from school, and I used it to take the kids to visit family.

Inconsistency reigns though: years later we had some heavy rain, flooding, and mudslides that cut the freeway off to commuters, and employees were still expected to try to make it to work, which was nuts. My home was surrounded by water for several days and I had the flu, and the professor I worked for was having hissy fits.

Having your employer have the good sense to tell employees to stay home is actually a good thing, imo.

[doc03]

10. I worked in a steel mill almost 40 years, the mill doesn't shut down

for anything. That is a problem for today's gerneration, every time there is a snow flurry they cancel school. That's what we got with the new hires the last few years if it snows or even gets cold they reported off.

[kentuck]

11. I think it is more common to offer the day off without pay...

But, if one prefers, they can use a vacation day so as not to have a short payday.