Sample Holiday Work Policy

The following sample holiday work policy can be modified to fit your company’s unique needs: simply add or remove holidays from the list to match those that your business observes, tweak language where it’s needed, and share with your employees as you wish!

Introduction and Scope

The Company supports our employees taking time away from work to celebrate holidays. This policy defines the Company’s practices surrounding working during the holidays and applies to all employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining agreement, regardless of their role.

The Company will make reasonable efforts to ensure that material changes to the provisions of the holiday work policy are communicated to employees in advance.

Observed Holidays

The company observes the following holidays (“Observed Holidays”).

New Year’s Eve (January 31st)
New Year’s Day (January 1st)
Martin Luther King Day (The Third Monday in January)
Presidents Day (The Third Monday in February)
Good Friday
Memorial Day (The Last Monday in May)
Juneteenth National Independence Day (June 19th)
Independence Day (July 4th)
Labor Day (the First Monday in September)
Columbus Day (The Second Monday in October)
Veterans Day (November 11th)
Thanksgiving Day (The Fourth Thursday in November)
The Friday following Thanksgiving (The Friday Following the Fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Eve (December 24th)
Christmas Day (December 25th)
The Day After Christmas (December 26th)

Full-time employees receive paid time off for the entire day on all Observed Holidays. Paid time off on Observed Holidays will not be extended to employees who are in an out-of-pay status, including those on a leave of absence, affected by a temporary layoff, or receiving short-term disability benefits. If a particular department, branch, or a number of employees will be expected to work on an Observed Holiday, the Company will make reasonable efforts to notify those employees in advance.

If an Observed Holiday falls on a weekend day, the Company maintains a practice of offering a day of paid time off to all employees either on the weekday following or preceding the calendar day of the Observed Holiday. For example, if an Observed Holiday falls on a Saturday, the Company will offer a day of paid time off on the Friday preceding the Observed Holiday; conversely, if the Observed Holiday falls on a Sunday, the Company will offer a day of paid time off on the Monday following the Observed Holiday. The Company will publish the calendar dates of all Observed Holidays annually.

Religious Holidays

The Company supports the observance of religious holidays for employees of all faiths. Employees may request unpaid time off for any religious holidays that they observe. Unpaid time off for religious holidays will be provided as a reasonable accommodation as required by applicable law.

Working on Observed Holidays

If the business needs of the Company require employees to work on an Observed Holiday, the Company will utilize its seniority-based system when determining which employees will be required to work. The most senior employee at the Company will have the choice of working on an Observed Holiday in exchange for time-and-a-half pay (“Holiday Pay.”) After the senior-most employee has made his or her selection, the second most senior employee will have the option to work on the Observed Holiday for Holiday Pay, then the third most senior will have the same option, and so on, until the need for employee presence has been filled. If enough employees have not voluntarily elected to work on an Observed Holiday for Holiday Pay, the need for employee presence will be filled by the least senior employee first; granted, however, that the same employee will not be required to work on the same Observed Holiday for two (2) consecutive years.

Personal Leave Surrounding Observed Holidays

The Company recognizes the importance of adequate time off surrounding Observed Holidays. If an employee makes a request for the days immediately preceding or following an Observed Holiday, the request must be made in writing to the employee’s manager within two (2) months of the Observed Holiday.

Approval of requested time off surrounding Observed Holidays will be made on the basis of seniority; granted, however, that the same employee may not receive approval for a request for time off immediately preceding or following an Observed Holiday for two (2) consecutive years if there is a need for employee presence and other employees have made requests for time off immediately preceding or following the same Observed Holiday for the last consecutive two (2) years.

The same or a similar limited seniority-based approval process will apply to all periods in which the number of employees who have requested time off exceeds the number of employees who may feasibly take time off and still support the business needs of the company. The same or a similar limited seniority-based approval process may apply, for example, surrounding Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or during summer months.