Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Has this happened to anyone else? This is a first for me. Not only is my employer closed for Christmas week with no pay, I don't even get paid for the Christmas holiday itself. In other places I worked I got paid for Christmas, plus the day before or the day after if it fell on a Tuesday or a Thursday (same for New Year's Day). I worked for a company a few years back where I was lucky enough to get the week off AND get paid for it. However, never in my working life have I been told the company is closed for the week and it's all unpaid. Needless to say, I'm annoyed and won't be at this job for long. How annoyed would you be?
This may come as a shock to you but employers are *NOT* obligated to pay for days not worked. Some places do close for a holiday and give employees a pay, but that is a benefit not enshrined in any law.
Cannot believe you took a position without inquiring about paid holidays. Assuming this or that day would be automatically granted because it was such at previous employers was your first mistake.
For the umpteenth time, I didn't realize small companies companies could get away with not giving their employees benefits. I only worked for large companies until now and I always got benefits. I thought a company - regardless of their size - had to provide benefits to full-time, salaried employees. So, like I said before, I now know better and have learned a valuable lesson. I won't be applying to any small companies going forward.
I knew I wouldn't stay with this job long anyway since it's not what I wanted from the get go. I just took it to get something while I look. However, the lack of benefits plus two unpaid weeks is definitely making me look for something else with even more effort, that's for sure!
Exactly what benefits are you upset about not getting?
401k?
ESPP?
Health insurance?
Life insurance?
Disability?
PTO for community volunteering
Education benefits?
Adoption assistance?
On-site cafeteria?
These were all benefits offered by my husband's employer, and they STILL shut down between Christmas and New Years.
Yep. it happen to the last place i worked at. Not even a notice, just show up and doors locked. How that for ya. They knew they was going out of business and had the balls to string us along till the end with no notice. But as a few "experts" say, this is the season for layoff for tax reasons. They dont want to pay taxes on you, so they lay you off. Just be glad you got pay, as most wont even do that. Lamest excuse for any company to let somebody go during the holidays, is for tax purposes.
I ran a business for 26 years and I have not idea what you are talking about "for tax reasons". "They don't pay taxes on you". The business pays it's half of the Social Security and Medicare based on the salary you are paid. The end of the year makes no difference. On a state level, the business pays unemployment, disability, and depending on the state a few more, again on your salary. Makes not difference the time of year. So there is no "season" for layoffs unless the business happens to be a seasonal business.
So what exactly are you angry about, OP? Is it that your company shuts down for a week at the end of the year or that it does not offer benefits like a 401k, health care coverage, etc? These are separate issues. Large companies can and do shut down and require that employees either use up vacation or take leave without pay, as I've already pointed out. My husband's former employer did it twice a year, over Independence Day and also at Christmas. If you didn't have any vacation or could not borrow any, you took leave without pay, and this was a company that employed 15k people. Even Lockheed Martin shuts down, and it employs nearly 100k people.
I've said multiple times that I'm dissatisfied with both aspects. If this company gave their employees benefits, I could probably deal with an unpaid week or two much better. That would be if I liked the job though. I don't and I knew I wouldn't. I only took it to have something while I look for a better job. It'll serve that purpose so this won't be a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I'm going to get what I need from it and move on as fast as I can.
It was a looooong, drawn out process to get this job. There was no mention of this throughout the entire process. I was told an annual salary at the beginning and that was all. Also, the salary itself is less that what I was told. In addition to Christmas week, the company also shuts down July 4th week with no pay (same deal - no pay for July 4th itself either). So the salary is not only less that what I was told all along, it's actually even less than that by two weeks pay. Like I said, this wasn't mentioned until the very end of a process that was dragged out for months.
If your salary is less than what you were offered and you can prove it then that is a valid issue to confront them over. You really have no grounds over the holiday or vacation though because they never offered it. You just assumed it.
I would not want a job with no holiday and vacation benefits and I think it's the right thing to do for companies that can afford it but there are no laws requiring it and many small companies cannot afford to pay for labor not received.
This may come as a shock to you but employers are *NOT* obligated to pay for days not worked. Some places do close for a holiday and give employees a pay, but that is a benefit not enshrined in any law.
Cannot believe you took a position without inquiring about paid holidays. Assuming this or that day would be automatically granted because it was such at previous employers was your first mistake.
I'm not interested in your links. I've already said multiple times that I was desperate for a job and only took this job to have something while I look for something else. Inquiring about paid holidays isn't a top concern when you're desperate for a job, even a cruddy one. I was just surprised about the unpaid weeks and no benefits combination!
Exactly my point. If I was getting even half of those benefits, an unpaid week or two would bother me much less!
Then I agree with you that it's time to move on, but you're fury over a policy of shutting down over the holidays is unwarranted. It's not uncommon, so be sure to check before you next sign on the dotted line.
That being said, I think you messed up when you assumed that all companies offered benefits. They do not.
And large companies are cutting back on benefits as well.
Good luck on the job search.
I was out of work for awhile so an unpaid week certainly isn't ideal.
The no benefits thing definitely took me by surprise but it ultimately doesn't matter. I have medical coverage through my husband's job and this job is going to be short-lived anyway. The job sucks but it'll serve its purpose of giving me some income while I look for a job I really want.
Thanks for your good wishes on my job search!
Last edited by PJSaturn; 12-29-2016 at 01:45 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
