I co-own a very small company (less than 20 employees, most of whom are on commission). For the salaried employees, we give 2 weeks paid vacation and recently instituted a formal “PTO” policy of an additional 5 days (personal days, sick days, extra vacation days – whatever). We did so because one employee took a total of 17 sick days one year (she has since resigned).
Question re: snow days (like with the upcoming blizzard). I think the right thing to do is pay people if they physically can’t get in or it would be unsafe to travel, but some people manage to make it in and others don’t (and they’re on the same commuting lines) so it doesn’t feel fair to the person who slogged in. Plus the one who stays home – I feel like they should at least be available by phone or email if work issues come up. On another recent storm, one employee didn’t come in, didn’t tell us he wasn’t coming in, and was not available by phone or email. I was about to call the local police.
Appreciate any tips or ideas from other small business owners. Thanks in advance.
My husband’s office is larger…but for a major snow event like this week…no one will be expected to show up…and everyone will be paid. The reality is it’s safer for everyone to keep people off the roads. Easier for,the road crews to,clear the roads, easier for first responders to get where they need to be, less likelihood of more unnecessary accidents.
Can’t your employees do any work remotely?
ETA…for regular snowstorms…folks come to work…if it is safe to do so. But this one…my guess is the governor of this state will ask non-essential workers to stay off the roads.
Not a small business owner, but I work for a small law firm. Employees have sick days and vacation days. Our policy - if a decision is made to formally close the firm due to the conditions, everyone is paid with no charge to leave time. If the office is open but you can’t make it in - you can use sick time to cover the missed hours. We rarely close and some employees do opt to use sick time. A far greater number choose to work remotely. Everyone is expected to report their status by phone to the main number or by phone/email to their supervisor. If you’re using sick time, you are not available for work questions. Working remotely, yes, of course you’re available.
Our small office is similar: if things are so bad nobody can get in or governor closes the roads, people get paid. No public transit, everyone drives. If the office is open, anyone who doesn’t make it in has to take leave. Often, the office will close early on a snowy day and those that came in will get paid for the rest of the day; those that did not come in get nothing even if they work from home for part of the day. Not everyone has a job for which work from home is possible.
I live pretty far from the office and having driven thru some truly bad situations will now tend to work from home.
Thanks all. With other storms, I have asked all salaried employees for their cell phone and I said I would text them by 7:30 am to let them know if the office was open or not. I think I’ll do that for this storm.
I would like to set everyone up so they could work remotely; concerned about safety of our consumer’s information on people’s individual laptop. We deal with highly sensitive and confidential financial data. Only reason I would hesitate in setting them up to work from home.
The thing with these storms – they can change course and the “big storm” is suddenly just rain.
I’ve worked mostly in organizations where if the announcements are made to stay off the roads, you stay home and it’s paid. I’ve also worked at a heathcare organization where there were two days of something called UTO (unearned time off) that were used for non-sick, non-vacation call-ins. Obviously in a hospital/health care setting most people are “essential” and for the vast majority of staff it doesn’t matter if they are telling you to stay off the roads, you have patients that need care. But most places I’ve worked you have to call it either a sick day or a vacation day unless you can work remotely and you are logged in an obviously working in which case it’s just another work day. Most organizations have had their share of “kids” hanging out when schools close but parents are able to get to work.Those days are often a breath of fresh air to be honest and just about everyplace has a conference room, dry erase boards and markers and a TV set-up where the kids can hang out. Not coming in and not being available by Skye, or remote or cell obviously is “not working” and frankly some companies would qualify that as MIA and grounds for dismissal.
Alas, no remote work for an ER nurse.
I have done the stay over thing many times in the past, including when the plane landed on the 14th street bridge, but I’m just feeling too old for sleeping on the floor at a work related pajama party.
Last year I had 3 days off and watched the big one from my condo with my car safely parked under the building.
This time, I’m due in at 0700 on Tuesday
Last year the town my D lives in got 30 inches of snow. Her office was closed but she had to use her PTO for that day.
She gets 15 days PTO and they are for everything, including snow emergencies. She will have to use her PTO if her office is closed. She feels she has to have days left at the end of the year if a weather emergency comes up. I think it stinks. Terrible policy.
She’s not in the health care industry or anything essential. She also can not work from home.
@mominva, I too was an ER nurse. We lived in CT and had a number of ice, and/or snow days where the Governor closed the highways. I have stayed overnight a few times and other times the hospital sent the security guards to pick up ER/ICU nursing staff first. I even rode in an Army reserve vehicle when they were mobilized! Stay safe!
I own a small business. Half are office workers, half are account managers visiting hospitals. And hospitals never close. When we have a heads up the people in the field load up before the storm so missing a day is not a big deal. Most times though my people driving will go out, yet the office people - in an area with less snow - will stay home.
What I instituted - if I close the office, I pay the employees. If I open, they can use their vacation/sick time or if they’re out take it unpaid. I do tell everyone during the interview process - we do not follow the public school system, so if you have children, be prepared with backup plans. I don’t expect people to go out in horrible weather, but I won’t close over an inch either.
@doschicos yes that includes vacation. Her brother got 15 days vacation plus 5 days sick leave.
The thing is that I do think 15 days is good. But the policy stinks because she feels she can’t use up all of her days until the last week of the year. Because she feels she needs to hold back days in case there would be a big snowstorm in December. She flys home for Christmas. If she used all of her PTO plus has a scheduled vacation with airfare at the end of the year. If the office is closed, what would she do?
I think that if the office is closed due to weather that the company should not force their employees to take their vacation all purpose time off. It’s a big company, not a small business. But that is their policy.
Wow that’s interesting, deb922 – we are already offering 15 days (2 weeks vacation; 5 PTO days). So far, we have never docked anyone’s pay if they couldn’t make it in because of bad weather, but I am now rethinking that. It wouldn’t be an issue except we have a big transaction scheduled to close Tuesday (down South – so not affected by weather) and I really need all hands on deck.
“we have a big transaction scheduled to close Tuesday (down South – so not affected by weather) and I really need all hands on deck.”
I think as an employer, you just need to communicate that. It’s a busy time and an important time for the company, and you want everyone to step up for that occasion and pull their weight. Take notice of who does and who doesn’t. That’t the sort of thing that should be addressed at review time, definitely, as well as acknowledgement immediately after in some way. In my years as an employee, I always appreciated employers and bosses who provided clear expectations and gave feedback. Most of us work for more than a paycheck.
^^thanks – that is good advice. Yes this is a make or break closing (it funds the annual payroll of 1.5 of these salaried employees). I think the best thing is to make expectations clear. Appreciate it, doschicos.
I own a small dental practice–7 employees. All are hourly. I recently switched vacation/personal days to all PTO hours. My former situation was unfair to those who worked more hours per week as I paid them on days rather than hours.
Years ago, I got rid of the sick days because people tended to be sure they used them whether or not they were sick. Health improved after that ended. I have always allowed vacation to be used for anything, because if you are too sick to work, I don’t want you here.
My current employees have worked for me from 13-32 years so they are at the top of the time off totals. Everyone has 3 weeks PTO, but now the totals are based on how many hours they work per 4 day work-week. I also pay the 6 holidays.
We are in a snow belt. I can always get into the office if I can get out of my driveway. We also do not close if the schools are closed. If an employee feels it is unsafe to drive, she must call me. No texts. I usually see who is coming (most of them) or find a sub. Unless the state roads are officially closed, I expect them to try to get in. I do not pay for snow days, but PTO can be used. I also allow employees to take time off without pay for any reason as long as I have enough advance notice and we have someone to fill in to work. Too much, though, and the sub may be getting that job.
We are used to winter weather and we follow it as our day progresses. We call patients to be sure they are coming or ask them to fill earlier cancellations if possible. If it gets very bad and dangerous as the storm continues, we may close early.
My SisIL just got an email from the bus company telling her NO buses (that she and my brother were booked on) for Tuesday or Wednesday, so they are figuring out their options around those dates. They are in NYC and going to DC as well. Brother says they are “storm chasers.” They’ll meet up with our S in DC.
If it is urgent that all hands be on deck for important time-sensitive work, it would be best if a few hotel rooms walking distance of your office could be rented so that they can get back and forth between work and the hotel. When our office was working on a trial and we had to work crazy hours, our firm would take everyone working on the case and significant others to dinner (walking distance) and then we’d head back to work until everyone couldn’t do it any more, go home and get some sleep and then back to work bright and early.
I will preface this by saying that I hate snow and am terrified of it especially since many of the cases I handle are “snow-ice” in nature so I have seen the injuries a fall can cause. At my old job, my H would drive me to the office if it snowed and pick me up at night. It was a 20 minute drive each way but if I had to drive in the snow, I would go 5 mph with my blinkers on in the right lane. If I had to go to court, he would either drive me to the office where I would hitch a ride with a co-worker, drive me to court and wait for me or take me to court and I would go back to the office with a co-worker if one was available. My boss usually tried not to schedule me for court if snow was predicted but it can’t always be avoided.
Now, I work in the city and take the LIRR. When I first started here, they would pay you if you stayed home on a snow day and give those who made it in an extra comp day as a reward. Now, we have new HR person who is more punitive. We have a PTO system and, this year, a work from home initiative was begun but my boss is reluctant to use it in our department. In the mega storm last year, the office closed and all were paid. In the storm last month, I was allowed to work from home on the Thursday but my boss was reluctant to allow work from home 2 days in a row, so I opted to use a PTO rather than go outside in the ice. For this week, I am trying to get a case I have on Tuesday postponed and am going to ask to work from home again. Wednesday, I may do another PTO if I have to. I am so terrified of snow and ice that I always make sure to carry 5 days over into the New Year to make sure that I have the ability to stay home if I want to. Of course, there is always the situation when the LIRR is shut down and that’s sort of my concern about Tuesday - even if I do make it to the office, will I be able to get home? I can’t afford to rent a hotel and going to Brooklyn to crash with DD doesn’t seem like a good option.
I try not to take advantage and when I work from home, I am constantly on my computer, remoted in, and am available by cell phone, email and home phone.
