It’s not “beginning to look a lot like Christmas” quite yet, as the old song goes, and that’s a good thing, but I know Christmas already is on a lot of people’s minds.
And thus is it my pleasure to announce, even though the calendar still says September, how many extra days off St. Thomas employees will receive over the Christmas holidays.
Christmas is a special time to celebrate our faith with family and friends, and I am delighted that St. Thomas again will provide extended time for everyone to share the joy of the holidays.
Christmas falls on a Thursday this year, meaning that our paid holidays are Wednesday (Christmas Eve) and Thursday, followed by two more paid holidays on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day (also Wednesday and Thursday).
Consequently, St. Thomas will provide four additional paid holidays: Friday, Dec. 26; Monday, Dec. 29; Tuesday, Dec. 30; and Friday, Jan. 2.
Add them up and we will be off for 12 days in a row – from Wednesday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 4 – before returning to work on Monday, Jan. 5, the first day of January Term classes.
Some employees, including certain Public Safety officers, Physical Plant workers, IRT server administrators, Food Service workers, Development staff members and athletic coaches, may need to work over the holidays because their services are necessary. If you are uncertain whether your services are required during this period, please contact your supervisor.
Regular full-time, part-time and temporary employees who would have been scheduled to work between Dec. 24 and Jan. 4, if these were not university holidays, will be paid for that time period in accordance with our holiday pay policy. Employees who are required to work during the Christmas holidays will be compensated as follows:
- Employees who are represented by a union will be paid according to the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.
- Non-exempt (hourly) employees who are not represented by a union will receive pay for hours actually worked on the holiday in addition to their regular pay for all scheduled work hours that day.
- Exempt (salaried) employees will receive a floating holiday for each holiday worked as arranged with their manager. The floating holidays must be used by the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2015).
Department heads must notify Human Resources by Dec. 8 if they have employees who must work during the Christmas holidays. Questions about the holiday pay policy should be address to Human Resources.
Please cherish the blessings of faith, family and friends during this extended holiday period!
