The holidays are coming, and so are the time-off requests. Half the team wants the same week off, some of the busiest sales days are approaching, work needs to be finalized before next year, and you're left figuring out who gets to spend the holidays at home and who has to work.
Managing time off requests is a hard task. For small business owners, that task gets even harder with limited staff and a busy time of year. As a business owner, you want the business to keep running smoothly, but you also want to let employees enjoy time off with their families and recharge. When requests overlap, disappointing an employee can be unavoidable.
Rocket Lawyer looks at how a written time-off policy can help you prepare for these situations before they happen. By setting clear guidelines, you can avoid making difficult decisions on the spot and give employees a better idea of what to expect.
Before You Approve or Deny a Request, Know the Rules
Although you have final say over holiday schedules, you must consider legal requirements before approving or denying time-off requests.
Under federal law, private employers generally aren't required to provide paid holidays. However, state and local laws, employment contracts, and existing company policies may affect what you're required to offer.
For example, if your employee handbook promises certain paid holidays or explains how time-off requests are approved, review those terms before making any decisions. Deviating from your written policy without a valid reason could lead to disputes over how you treat employees.
Scheduling decisions can also raise discrimination concerns. Giving one employee Christmas off while denying another employee's similar request isn't automatically unlawful; however, decisions based on protected characteristics (such as race, religion, sex, age, or disability) may violate employment discrimination laws.
Religious observances work a little differently. Under federal law, covered employers generally must reasonably accommodate employees' sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship (meaning the accommodation would create substantially increased costs for the business). That usually means considering a schedule adjustment even when an employee has missed the usual request deadline.
Employees covering extra shifts during the holidays must still be paid according to applicable wage and hour laws. Under federal law, covered nonexempt employees generally earn overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a workweek, even if they volunteered for the additional hours. Working on a holiday alone doesn't automatically qualify an employee for overtime pay, although state laws or company policies may provide additional benefits.
Make Sure Your Time-Off Policy Covers Holiday Scheduling
A PTO policy may explain how employees earn vacation days or submit requests. However, holiday requests are usually a little more difficult. Does your current policy address what happens when several employees want the same day off?
Even one line can settle most arguments before they start, like: “Holiday requests for Dec. 20 through Jan. 2 are due by Nov. 1, and ties go to whoever worked that holiday last year.”
Other things worth spelling out:
- Request deadlines. Explain how far in advance employees should submit requests and when they can expect a response.
- Approval priorities. Decide whether requests will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis, through a rotating holiday schedule, or according to another established process.
- Staffing requirements. Identify any dates when employees may face additional restrictions on taking time off because of business needs.
- Holiday pay. Specify which holidays your business observes and whether employees receive paid time off or additional compensation for working those days.
The policy should also explain how employees can request legally protected leave or religious accommodations, which may need to be evaluated separately from ordinary vacation requests.
Once you've updated the policy, share it with employees and review it with managers. Employees should receive the same information about how requests are evaluated, regardless of who manages their schedule.
Handling Competing Holiday Requests
Say three of your four employees ask for Black Friday off, but you can approve only one. How do you choose?
Start by reviewing the approval criteria in your policy. You can use a rotating schedule by making sure the same employee doesn't get the same preferential treatment every year. Or you can use a first-come, first-served system; check when each request was submitted. Remember that legally protected leave and accommodation requests may require a different approach.
Before denying time-off requests, consider whether you can adjust the schedule to accommodate more employees.
If staffing becomes a real issue, consider incentives for holiday coverage. Some employees may be willing to work less popular shifts for extra pay or future time off. Review applicable wage and leave requirements before offering these arrangements.
And sometimes you just have to ask. Someone who can't get Christmas Eve might be fine with New Year's Eve instead.
If you ultimately have to deny a request, explain the reason, and keep a record of your decision. This is especially important when exceptions are made, or an employee raises concerns about inconsistent treatment.
What to Do Next
To keep your business running smoothly through the holidays:
- Review and update your holiday policy to include how requests are prioritized and how much notice is required.
- Put it in writing early, ideally before November, so nobody's scrambling in December.
- Track hours and pay carefully, especially for hourly or part-time workers who may hit overtime thresholds.
Figure out your time-off rules now, and December gets a lot easier.
This story was produced by Rocket Lawyer and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
