Canada Day 'Long' Weekend - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

jolinar of malkshor · 06-21-2006, 06:24 PM

I work for the goverment aswell but my job is shift work and is considered essential services so I have to work it. I do get paid 1 3/4 time which is nice.

kootenayguy9 · 06-21-2006, 06:25 PM

I am already mad I don't get a long weekend in November as a teacher because Rememberance falls on a Saturday.

RougeUnderoos · 06-21-2006, 06:34 PM

I saw a news segment(not the whole thing so this might not be entirely accurate but you'll get the gist of it) the other night and it was about the labor shortage in the city/province. They were talking to a manager of a BPs and he told them that one of his cooks had basically phoned in drunk. The employee said "I'm in a bar in Edmonton, I won't be in for my shifts this weekend" and he didn't get fired. The manager had to get senior staff to cover this guy's shift but they can't dump the deadbeat because then they'd be even worse off. The guy isn't "afraid" of anything because even if they do fire him for being drunk in Edmonton, he can get a new gig by 8:15am.

It might not be the law to give a paid holiday, but it's probably not a terrible idea to do it.

EDIT: I don't know anything about running a small business and I'm not trying to tell anyone how to run their small business. I'm just saying that the grunts have a lot of pull right now.

jolinar of malkshor · 06-21-2006, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RougeUnderoos

I saw a news segment(not the whole thing so this might not be entirely accurate but you'll get the gist of it) the other night and it was about the labor shortage in the city/province. They were talking to a manager of a BPs and he told them that one of his cooks had basically phoned in drunk. The employee said "I'm in a bar in Edmonton, I won't be in for my shifts this weekend" and he didn't get fired. The manager had to get senior staff to cover this guy's shift but they can't dump the deadbeat because then they'd be even worse off. The guy isn't "afraid" of anything because even if they do fire him for being drunk in Edmonton, he can get a new gig by 8:15am.

It might not be the law to give a paid holiday, but it's probably not a terrible idea to do it.

I agree. With an expected labour shortage of 300,000 people by 2015 I would be really concerned about keeping my employees. Especially if they are qualified and good employees.

Eddie Bronze · 06-21-2006, 09:13 PM

Do you ever give them bonuses at any point during the year? If so, they should STFU and work.

KevanGuy · 06-21-2006, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Give your employees a break man. They are the ones that keep your business running and making YOU money. Dont be so greedy.

They already get 8 other 'breaks' over the year.

CMPunk · 06-21-2006, 09:30 PM

I get triple time for the friday myself

edn88 · 06-21-2006, 09:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

They already get 8 other 'breaks' over the year.

Attraction and retention man... I presume your workers might be in demand in other sectors of the Calgary economy, so if you don't give them the day off and they are at all dissatisfied, they will find someone that does.

Calgary, if you have not noticed, has a fairly tight labour market.

The oil and gas industry tends to have a lot of days off (for example, EnCana has something like 32 now that they are going to 8.5 hr days, in addition to normal allotment of vacation days)

Tron_fdc · 06-21-2006, 09:53 PM

All my guys are union, so I'm actually kinda surprised I'm not paying time and a half for them to stay home.

BlackArcher101 · 06-21-2006, 10:26 PM

I have Monday off in lieu of the Saturday. My employer recently changed this policy due to a previous "experience" when a holiday fell on a weekend and and we didn't get a day off.

hockeygrl44 · 06-21-2006, 11:08 PM

I don't get any of the days off, but I do get paid double time and a half on Saturday.

Bertuzzied · 06-21-2006, 11:30 PM

Hey is this true? I heard Tim Horton's is paying $14.50 an hour now.

soulchoice · 06-22-2006, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kobatuzzied

Hey is this true? I heard Tim Horton's is paying $14.50 an hour now.

I think that is for the Grande Prairie region. Not sure if it has come that high in Calgary for a job such as that yet.

Frank the Tank · 06-22-2006, 07:17 AM

Just to throw something out there KG, and I know where you are coming from.....everything I have read states that the most profitable companies have the highest morale and the lowest turnover. If you treat the employees well and actually pay them more, your business will be more profitable in the long run. (Not saying you are cheap, just stating what i have read from a few different sources)

North East Goon · 06-22-2006, 07:19 AM

Possibly you could give half your staff the day off on Friday and the other half the day off on Monday. Would this keep production going for you?

ken0042 · 06-22-2006, 07:28 AM

Here's the other thing to consider, KG. Canada Day won't fall on a Saturday again until 2017. Is it worth alienating employees over something that won't happen again for 11 years?

Let's say you have 10 emplyees making $20 per hour. The holiday will cost you $1600. If one of these employees decides to look for another job, what do you estimate the cost of replacing that employee to be?

I suppose it's all in how you look at it. It's not that you are paying people to stay at home. Holidays are part of the cost of doing business. When I used to run a restaurant I had to factor it into my total labour cost.

The Goon · 06-22-2006, 07:41 AM

We get the Friday off, paid.

Isn't it un-Canadian to not give a holiday for Canada Day? Personally, it means more to me than any other holiday over the year (Christmas, etc.)

Log · 06-22-2006, 08:45 AM

I get Friday and Monday paid off. Reason being here we get 1 "floater" holiday a year and this year it was applied to the July long. Otherwise we'd probably get Monday off.

Bobblehead · 06-22-2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Goon

We get the Friday off, paid.

Isn't it un-Canadian to not give a holiday for Canada Day? Personally, it means more to me than any other holiday over the year (Christmas, etc.)

Sounds like they are getting Canada Day off. Canada Day is July 1.

That said, I'm not sure grousing employees are best in the long run, but if other benefits outweigh this, then I'm sure it won't be an issue for too long.

KevanGuy · 06-22-2006, 09:21 AM

I appreciate everyone's advice. My personal views on stats aside, I am following the directions given to me by the government and I think that is fair. If any of my employees want the day off that is fine. I won't make them work but I won't pay them for it either.