Canada Day 'Long' Weekend

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Exactly, completely short-sighted to not give a day off in this city right now in my opinion. EnCana is giving the first and third Fridays of every week off now in order to try attract and retain employees.

KG, it costs a lot more to recruit and train new people than it does to give one day off.

Small business will never be able to compete with big downtown firms when it comes to wages and things like days off...so the comparison is somewhat irrelevent.

Small business attracts people that don't want to work for a company with thousands of employees, but would rather be a part of a smaller, more intimate company where they are one of only a few.

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Small business will never be able to compete with big downtown firms when it comes to wages and things like days off...so the comparison is somewhat irrelevent.

Small business attracts people that don't want to work for a company with thousands of employees, but would rather be a part of a smaller, more intimate company where they are one of only a few.

Yeah, it really is apples and oranges.

I'm not going to get into specifics about my company and stuff like profit margins. Like you said earlier, there are other ways to keep people around.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Small business will never be able to compete with big downtown firms when it comes to wages and things like days off...so the comparison is somewhat irrelevent.

Small business attracts people that don't want to work for a company with thousands of employees, but would rather be a part of a smaller, more intimate company where they are one of only a few.

I'm not saying "Do as EnCana does". That would be ridiculous. I'm just saying its an employees market right now, and these things filter down from the big companies. Employers are having to reach into their bag of tricks to keep and attract employees. The same concept filters down to the small companies on a smaller scale. For example, that is 24 days off a year for EnCana. You could do one day off every seven years for Canada day.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

Yeah, it really is apples and oranges.

I'm not going to get into specifics about my company and stuff like profit margins. Like you said earlier, there are other ways to keep people around.

Like I said, your choice dude. Just curious, if you aren't giving them the day off, do you plan on doing anything else for them?

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

For example, that is 24 days off a year for EnCana. You could do one day off every seven years for Canada day.

Are people at Encana working a longer day to make up the time though? Like 8.5 hours or something?

[KevanGuy]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Like I said, your choice dude. Just curious, if you aren't giving them the day off, do you plan on doing anything else for them?

Heh, yeah, I was thinking of paying them for working, hopefully that is enough. I will probably get them pizza or something Friday night.

And fotze, my turnover is actually really low. When I first took over 4 or so years ago the turnover was 70% a month. Now I have had the same core group of people for about 3 years with the occasional person coming in when I am really busy.

[V]

If they don't like it they can start up their own small business and make their own rules.

Cripes, this thread is simply unbelievable. Do people out there actually quit their jobs because they 'get screwed' out of a day off? Good riddance, if that's the case.

Luckily, we get the day off on the Monday, but this is the first year it's happened. The company has grossed an insane amount of money this year, so the boss didn't mind giving the day off.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

Do people out there actually quit their jobs because they 'get screwed' out of a day off? Good riddance, if that's the case.

Well, not like that. They don't hand in their resignation on July 2nd. But their friends invite them to a Monday BBQ. They say "I gotta work." Friend says that sucks, everybody else is coming.

That starts the person thinking, and looking. And with the current job market if somebody starts looking, odds are they will find something.

The point being, happy workers aren't out there looking. And people not looking for another job don't tend to find jobs as often as those actively looking.

[mykalberta]

Dont rag on KG, I can only imagine what running a small magin buisness might be like, I am lucky that when I cost myself out I do it at $85/hour. And I have a steady job in case the weekend jobs run dry.

Depending on your small buisness, I myself run my own little operation with no actual employees but I do have 4 (2 electrician, 2 Jack of all trades people that I use as contract employees, no paid time off, but they get a higher wage - dont have to pay benefits either.

A friend of mine in Edmonton has his own IT consulting firm that is a full time job for him (mine is only on weekends). He has 12 people whom he uses as what he calls "dedicated contractors" he doesnt have to give them holidays or paid vacations or pay for benfits, but he does pay them more than what an employee might make.

They work exclusively for him, they are paid enought that he has them on a kind of rotating schedule where the all get 2 months off a year. He has 4 high school teachers that he uses to cover summers, 2 College/University Professors that dont teach spring semesters, 6 IT professionals that freelance themselves.

It works out really good for him.

MYK

[Vansmack]

If you are a contractor or a consultor, you would only take time off if you really wanted to. When I was younger I would always ask my dad why he was working a lot during his weekends/holidays, his response was that if people are stupid enough to pay him $500, why would he waste time doing nothing? It seems pretty self explainatory, if you want to earn money, you work. If you don't want to earn money, you take a day off.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Vansmack

If you are a contractor or a consultor, you would only take time off if you really wanted to. When I was younger I would always ask my dad why he was working a lot during his weekends/holidays, his response was that if people are stupid enough to pay him $500, why would he waste time doing nothing? It seems pretty self explainatory, if you want to earn money, you work. If you don't want to earn money, you take a day off.

What does that have to do with Holiday pay and whether or not employees should be paid it?

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by ken0042

Are people at Encana working a longer day to make up the time though? Like 8.5 hours or something?

My company does that as well. I work slightly longer hours per day, but the tradeoff is that I get 17 additional days off, 12 of which I can take at any time I wish. Only problem is that I am so busy right now that I *cant* take those days off.

[snappyk]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

What does that have to do with Holiday pay and whether or not employees should be paid it?

If the government has it stated that Kevanguy doens't have to pay them for the day off then he doesn't, plain and simple. A lot of companies can afford to pay thier staff for the stats but believe me man it hurts like hell out of the bottom line. You loose an entire of day of production and profit, for a small business that one day really puts you behind especially when you have to meet payroll, pay remitance and GST on top of all that, then there are all the other bills, so every single day helps.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by snappyk

If the government has it stated that Kevanguy doens't have to pay them for the day off then he doesn't, plain and simple. A lot of companies can afford to pay thier staff for the stats but believe me man it hurts like hell out of the bottom line. You loose an entire of day of production and profit, for a small business that one day really puts you behind especially when you have to meet payroll, pay remitance and GST on top of all that, then there are all the other bills, so every single day helps.

Ya, so why are you quoting me? Please show me where your statement is relevant to mine??

If you actually read what I wrote you would find a couple of times where I said YES YOU ARE THE BOSS DO WHAT YOU WANT.

[BaronInEdmonton]

If I didn't get a paid day off for Canada Day, I'd be cleaning out my office / desk / locker / whatever the next day. Too many jobs in Alberta right now for me to put up with that. I couldn't imagine trying to explain that to my wife.

Your business, your rules I suppose. But the above is this man's opinion.

[Kybosh]

All this talk about getting extra days off and working (god forbid) an extra half hour a day (!) is making me jealous. Damn you grad school, damn you to hell.

[Tron_fdc]

You know, if I was an employer that was having all these problems with labour, and had people threatening to quit because I wouldn't give them a paid holiday I wasn't obligated to give them, I might just look at outsourcing that labour pool somewhere else. Thankfully the employees who work for me realize it's a give and take relationship, and that somewhere down the line I might just repay their loyalty..

I heard the other day migrant workes might start coming into Alberta (legally) to fill shortages (skilled and unskilled). What are all the workaphobes going to say when there are 10 people standing behind them ready to work twice as hard and complain half as much for the same pay?

[Eddie Bronze]

Originally Posted by Tron_fdc

I heard the other day migrant workes might start coming into Alberta (legally) to fill shortages (skilled and unskilled). What are all the workaphobes going to say when there are 10 people standing behind them ready to work twice as hard and complain half as much for the same pay?

They had a report on The National on CBC the other night about this. Showed some guy who brought his family here on a temporary work visa from Mexico.

They talked in depth about how hard it is to find workers and how they're having to look outside the country to find them. Also talked about how, because of the shortage, employees seem to hold the power over the employers.

Kris, don't feel obligated to give them the day off with pay. You go ask some guys who run their own thing in the trades, they're is no such thing as a paid day off, regardless of when the holiday falls. The good employers make up for it in other ways. Throw a bonus on the cheque or take them out for diner. They'll forget about that day quickly.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by BaronInEdmonton

If I didn't get a paid day off for Canada Day, I'd be cleaning out my office / desk / locker / whatever the next day. Too many jobs in Alberta right now for me to put up with that. I couldn't imagine trying to explain that to my wife.

Your business, your rules I suppose. But the above is this man's opinion.

What if
- You were well paid
- Liked your boss
- Liked the work you do
- Liked the people you work with

You would quit over something as small as a single day off?

[V]

People that look for other work because of one day are the same people that will bitch and complain about their job no matter where it is. If it isn't a day off it'll be something else. Everyone's job sucks, some just suck worse than others.