PTO, CSW for Time Off

Taking Personal Time Off is not a right; it is a privilege. The company has no legal requirement to grant paid time off. I am in favor of rewarding a job well done and granting paid time off to all of our employees, but it cannot be to the detriment of our continued success.

Our system allows employees to request time off and gives their supervisors and HR a chance to determine if there will be any detriment to the company before the time off is approved. There may be times when your request for time off will not be approved. It is in your best interests to not make any travel plans before your properly written CSW has been approved by your supervisor AND the Executive over the department AND scheduled on the calendar by the Director of HR, AND you have confirmation of all three. We cannot be responsible for the cost of non-refundable tickets or deposits if you make your plans before getting approval and your CSW is disapproved.

ALLOW SUFFICIENT TIME

Please allow enough time for approval to go through regular channels rather than ask for a minimum of 1 week of lead-time to get your request approved. making a last-minute request and demanding that everyone attend to it immediately.

If you are taking an extended leave of absence (more than 2 weeks) or taking leave under CFRA, please get your CSW in at least 30 days ahead of time. The company needs time to get your job covered before you leave.

ALL JOBS MUST BE COVERED AT ALL TIMES

Every employee’s job must be at least minimally covered at all times. No matter who is out on vacation, deposits need to be make, customers helped, repairs delivered, stamps purchased, letters written, packages shipped, etc. These and other duties are all vital to the continued delivery of our products, which in turn produces income for us.

PROCEDURE

In order to ensure that we are not left floundering during vacation times, the following procedure is required for all PTO requests:

Use the form located at K:\FORMS\CSW for PTO Form Template.doc. Your written request is to contain proposed date of departure and return, how much accrued PTO you have available, who is going to cover your duties while you are gone, and have that person sign on your CSW form that they agree to cover these duties.

All salespeople and sales assistants must include in their CSW for time off whether or not there is a show, sale, or any other promotional event occurring during the time that they are requesting to be absent.

This written request (CSW) is submitted to directly to HR (not your supervisor). HR verifies that you have sufficient PTO accrued to take time off. HR also verifies that we don’t have too many other employees scheduled to be off at that same time, or more than one from the same department. HR also looks for events scheduled that will require all employees to be on hand, such as the Half Off Sale.

HR has final veto power on all time off approvals. If there are no scheduling or policy conflicts, HR forwards the CSW to your supervisor so that she can verify that you have your duties covered during your absence and there is no other reason that you should not be absent on those days.

If the supervisor approves your time off, he will sign the CSW and return it to HR. HR will give final approval, schedule the time off on the public calendar, put the original CSW in the employee’s file, and give an approved copy back the employee. Estate Buyers will get an email confirmation.

Your time off is not approved until you get the approved copy back from HR.

Your supervisor will then ask you about any cycles that you have pending, and ensure that your hat folder contains a full write up of instructions necessary for the person who is covering your post in your absence. You must go over duties with the person(s) you have designated to cover for you so they understand enough to function reasonably well in your absence. CSWs for PTO are not submitted via email, they are always printed and signed. For Estate Buyers in remote offices only, the CSW may be emailed to HR.

MAKE-UP TIME

If you don’t have sufficient PTO to cover your time off, you may request to do make-up time during the same workweek as your proposed absence (see PTO policy for details). If make-up time is not possible, you can only use the PTO that you have available. You cannot take unpaid time off and just “take the incident.”

DISAPPROVED REQUESTS

If your time off is not approved, you cannot take the time off anyway and just “take the incident.” Incidents are not exchangeable for time off. Anyone taking time off that was disapproved is insubordinate and subject to disciplinary actions ranging from earning additional incidents to suspension without pay and up to and including termination.

RETURNING LATE

An employee who does not report to work on his or her scheduled day back from PTO leave automatically earns 1 incident per the Tardiness and Absenteeism policy, even if the employee calls to tell someone that he or she is not coming back on time. It is not permitted to call in on your last day of time off and announce that you are not coming back as scheduled. Doing so may result in disciplinary actions ranging from earning additional incidents to suspension without pay and up to and including termination. However if during your time off you want to request additional time off through the procedure above (by submitting a complete CSW and waiting for approval before changing your travel plans), as long as you have sufficient accrued PTO to cover the additional time off, that is permitted. Your CSW to extend your time off may still be disapproved if there is a business reason for doing so.

SUMMARY

The health and continued growth of this company depends on all of us. If we fail to handle absences with forethought, and just drop all the balls, we all pay the price in lowered income and contraction. I am concerned for your welfare; I want you all to survive well in life and achieve your goals. One important aspect of your well-being is the sustained strength of the company for which you work. So please follow this policy and all will run smoothly and we will continue to expand.

EXAMPLE CSW FORM

CSW for PTO

DATE: 05/06/2009

1. To: Department Supervisor

2. To: HR

From: Dweeb (Employee Requesting Time Off)

A. I request to take ___40____ hours of PTO on these days: First day of PTO ___9-16-12_____ Last day of PTO ___9-20-12_____

B. Total number of hours of PTO that I currently (or will) have accrued ___58_______

C. Other people who are out on PTO on those day(s): ___Dufus is out on 9-16-12_____

D. Make-up time requested: _______ hours to be done on these dates _________

E. The following listed employee(s) will cover these specific duties for me while I am out: Person: Dorkus Duties: mashing potatoes and cutting up beans

Covering Employee’s Acknowledgement and Agreement to Perform Above Listed Duties: _______Dorkus Dragonmaster_______

F. Other Data: A copy of my hat including instructions on how to mash and strain is available and will be reviewed with Dufus before I leave. There are no large culinary events occurring during this period of time.

______Dweeb_Dungeonmaster__________ Your signature

1.________________________________ _______________________________ Supervisor Approved Disapproved

2.________________________________ _______________________________ HR Approved Disapproved