Should Salary Paid Employees Get Holiday Pay?

[Joe Marconi]

Here is my pay plan for salaried employed service advisors. Service advisor are required to work 5 days per week and can choose to either have a day off during the week or rotate Saturdays. On weeks where there is a holiday, as in Thanksgiving, the day of the holiday becomes their day off, not the day they originally selected. If the company closes for two days, as in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they would obviously get paid their usual salary and have both those days off.

 

The issue with this plan is that if a service advisor chooses every Monday, for example, he will not have off Monday in a week where the holiday falls on another day, as in Thanksgiving week. And, if the holiday falls on his chosen day, Monday, as in Memorial Day, the service advisor feels that he as somewhat lost out because the shop was closed anyway.

 

I would like your thoughts on my plan, is it fair? Should there be an additional consideration for holidays.

 

All other full time hourly paid employees will get paid for a holiday if the holiday results in the employee not attaining his or her regular 40 hours.

 

I hope I made this clear, and would like to hear from other shop owners.

[Alex]

The issue with this plan is that if a service advisor chooses every Monday, for example, he will not have off Monday in a week where the holiday falls on another day, as in Thanksgiving week. And, if the holiday falls on his chosen day, Monday, as in Memorial Day, the service advisor feels that he as somewhat lost out because the shop was closed anyway.

I gotta agree, they actually get screwed out of a holiday...

 

I think it all boils down to what you offer as part of your company benefits package. There is no actual law requiring you to pay exempt employees time off on holidays, but from what I have seen, honoring the 6 standard US paid holidays for salaried employees is usually fair in most cases as part of the benefits package...as long as it makes sense for your business. The days are..

 

New Years Day

Memorial Day

4th of July

Labor Day

Thanksgiving

Christmas Day

 

If the holiday falls on a weekend day when the shop is closed, there could be an observed day given, like the following Monday.

 

So for salaried employees, a week that includes one of those holidays, they should in actuality have 3 days off.

 

If you close your shop the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas/New Years Eve, that should be one of their days off and not a paid holiday.

 

It really just depends on what your policy is, but I feel that if you pay hourly employees holiday pay, salaried should get some compensation as well in a way of an extra day off or a floating day to be used at a later date in leu of the holiday.

[Joe Marconi]

I gotta agree, they actually get screwed out of a holiday...

 

I think it all boils down to what you offer as part of your company benefits package. There is no actual law requiring you to pay exempt employees time off on holidays, but from what I have seen, honoring the 6 standard US paid holidays for salaried employees is usually fair in most cases as part of the benefits package...as long as it makes sense for your business. The days are..

 

New Years Day

Memorial Day

4th of July

Labor Day

Thanksgiving

Christmas Day

 

If the holiday falls on a weekend day when the shop is closed, there could be an observed day given, like the following Monday.

 

So for salaried employees, a week that includes one of those holidays, they should in actuality have 3 days off.

 

If you close your shop the day after Thanksgiving or Christmas/New Years Eve, that should be one of their days off and not a paid holiday.

 

It really just depends on what your policy is, but I feel that if you pay hourly employees holiday pay, salaried should get some compensation as well in a way of an extra day off or a floating day to be used at a later date in leu of the holiday.

 

Alex, you make great points. So, how would you handle the fact that a salaried employee will either get more time off or more pay than an hourly employee. Remember, holiday pay for a hourly employee makes up the difference to insure that employee gets his or her 40 hours. A salaried employee will always get his usual salary. Now, if a salaried employee has Monday as his normal day off and Memorial day falls on a Monday, the employee will get 2 days off that week. How will this look to the other hourly paid employees?

 

I see your point and I think I need to revise my pay plan, I just want it to be fair to all, including the company.

[Alex]

I'm not sure I see the conflict...let's see...

 

Salaried with normal day off on Monday during Memorial Day week for a shop normally open Monday through Saturday let's say, and the other day off is Sunday. Closing on Memorial Day.

 

Salaried - Days off are Sunday (closed), Monday (usual & holiday closed), and one more day picked or given in leu of holiday. That becomes let's say a 32 (8 hour a day) hour actual work week. Yes salary is not hourly, but to make it a fair time wise comparison, I'm using an 8 hour day. But, because they are salaried, they got their full 40 hour pay that week. So their benefit is the extra day off.

 

Hourly - Days off Thursday (usual), Sunday (closed), & Monday (holiday closed). They worked only 4 days that week, or 32 hours. You paid them 'holiday pay" an extra 8 hours for Monday, which brought them up to 40 hours for their week. Their benefit is also an extra paid day off.

 

Again, this is not for everyone, but if you go to a large chain like Sears Auto or other corporation, more than likely, they follow something like this. In addition, hourly employees could get time in a half if the business is open and they have to work, in addition to 8 hours of holiday pay. Salaried, get no time in a half. It's all part of a benefits package a business offers. A smaller business may have an issue granting the extra day, so maybe they get a little bonus for the holiday or something.

[Joe Marconi]

I'm not sure I see the conflict...let's see...

 

Salaried with normal day off on Monday during Memorial Day week for a shop normally open Monday through Saturday let's say, and the other day off is Sunday. Closing on Memorial Day.

 

Salaried - Days off are Sunday (closed), Monday (usual & holiday closed), and one more day picked or given in leu of holiday. That becomes let's say a 32 (8 hour a day) hour actual work week. Yes salary is not hourly, but to make it a fair time wise comparison, I'm using an 8 hour day. But, because they are salaried, they got their full 40 hour pay that week. So their benefit is the extra day off.

 

Hourly - Days off Thursday (usual), Sunday (closed), & Monday (holiday closed). They worked only 4 days that week, or 32 hours. You paid them 'holiday pay" an extra 8 hours for Monday, which brought them up to 40 hours for their week. Their benefit is also an extra paid day off.

 

Again, this is not for everyone, but if you go to a large chain like Sears Auto or other corporation, more than likely, they follow something like this. In addition, hourly employees could get time in a half if the business is open and they have to work, in addition to 8 hours of holiday pay. Salaried, get no time in a half. It's all part of a benefits package a business offers. A smaller business may have an issue granting the extra day, so maybe they get a little bonus for the holiday or something.

 

I see your point, I want to fair to all, I will have to redo my pay package, thanks for the info!

[DUFRESNES]

Here is my pay plan for salaried employed service advisors. Service advisor are required to work 5 days per week and can choose to either have a day off during the week or rotate Saturdays. On weeks where there is a holiday, as in Thanksgiving, the day of the holiday becomes their day off, not the day they originally selected. If the company closes for two days, as in Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, they would obviously get paid their usual salary and have both those days off.

 

The issue with this plan is that if a service advisor chooses every Monday, for example, he will not have off Monday in a week where the holiday falls on another day, as in Thanksgiving week. And, if the holiday falls on his chosen day, Monday, as in Memorial Day, the service advisor feels that he as somewhat lost out because the shop was closed anyway.

 

I would like your thoughts on my plan, is it fair? Should there be an additional consideration for holidays.

 

All other full time hourly paid employees will get paid for a holiday if the holiday results in the employee not attaining his or her regular 40 hours.

 

I hope I made this clear, and would like to hear from other shop owners.

[DUFRESNES]

This is what we do, whether it is right or wrong. We pay 8 hours for a holiday to everybody (6 of them). The flat rate mechanics are based on their previous year average hour. The service writer is based on his average hourly wage (he is on straight commission). The hourly people get their regular hourly pay. If the holiday falls on their day off, they get the day off and get paid. This Thanksgiving we were off Thursday through Sunday. They don't get paid for the extra days just the regular holiday. Salaried employees get full salary.

 

My question to the group is: If a service writer is off for any reason, say 2 days, how do you handle it? He is on commission only. So when he is off, either myself or someone else has to service write.

[Joe Marconi]

This is what we do, whether it is right or wrong. We pay 8 hours for a holiday to everybody (6 of them). The flat rate mechanics are based on their previous year average hour. The service writer is based on his average hourly wage (he is on straight commission). The hourly people get their regular hourly pay. If the holiday falls on their day off, they get the day off and get paid. This Thanksgiving we were off Thursday through Sunday. They don't get paid for the extra days just the regular holiday. Salaried employees get full salary.

 

My question to the group is: If a service writer is off for any reason, say 2 days, how do you handle it? He is on commission only. So when he is off, either myself or someone else has to service write.

 

My service advisors, who are salaried paid, work 5 days a week and will rotate a Saturday off if they want to. They also have have sick days and vacation days. If they take 2 days off in a week and don't have any sick time or vacaction time, they need to make up the day the following week or lose that day in their pay, even though they are on salary. This is a policy that they are presented at time of employment.

[TheTrustedMechanic]

My service advisors, who are salaried paid, work 5 days a week and will rotate a Saturday off if they want to. They also have have sick days and vacation days. If they take 2 days off in a week and don't have any sick time or vacaction time, they need to make up the day the following week or lose that day in their pay, even though they are on salary. This is a policy that they are presented at time of employment.

 

Joe,

I don't think your plan for when they take an extra day off is legal or fair, regardless of if it's in writing or was presented at time of employment. A salary is a promise of a minimum amount of pay for a job done, regardless of how few hours are worked. If they work an extra hour or two and 12 do they get extra pay? Do you value your service writers? Your pay plan does not show that your salary set up is for anyone's benefit but yours. I cant say it is unlawful, but as I understand wage law as it applies to salary, you can't use it as a maximum, it is the same as long pay regardless of the number of hours, up to the maximum in your agreement as long as they substantially perform the job for which their salary applies.

[Joe Marconi]

Joe,

I don't think your plan for when they take an extra day off is legal or fair, regardless of if it's in writing or was presented at time of employment. A salary is a promise of a minimum amount of pay for a job done, regardless of how few hours are worked. If they work an extra hour or two and 12 do they get extra pay? Do you value your service writers? Your pay plan does not show that your salary set up is for anyone's benefit but yours. I cant say it is unlawful, but as I understand wage law as it applies to salary, you can't use it as a maximum, it is the same as long pay regardless of the number of hours, up to the maximum in your agreement as long as they substantially perform the job for which their salary applies.

 

The plan is legal, I checked with a labor lawyer. I want to know if it's fair. This question was just brought up to me only because recently 2 service advisors now prefer to work Saturdays and have off a day during the week. So in the past there was no issue. A holiday was a holiday and no one thought any different. Let's remember that everyone gets paid for all observed holidays: Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and July 4th. That is not the question. Everyone gets holiday pay.

 

The question is this: If a service advisor normally has off on Mondays, should the service advisor be entitled to another day off in the same week, if a holiday falls on a Monday of a particular week?

 

In other words, the pay is the same. The issue is the service advisor will have two days off during a holiday week because his regular day off fell on a holiday.

 

There is no benefit either way with the company. The benefit will be to the employee. He or she will get paid regular salary and get 2 days off. But, if this is fair in the eyes of the employee, I need to know this.