A major issue for many of our readers at this time last year was an obligation to take valuable annual leave in the Christmas/New Year period. Miserly corporate partners, hiding beneath the veneer of “a decent break will do you good”, used the traditional utilisation down-time to force unsuspecting juniors to take a break. With barely a month’s notice in some cases, and with some workers being forced into the unenviable situation of having an annual leave deficit, workers were forced to strictly observe an involuntary annual leave period. Annual leave that, had it been at the voluntary whim of the worker, might have been used in the depths of the 2010 winter on a junket to the summer beaches of some far-off European Isle.
But instead winter was spent with cold mornings, trudging into the office.
Today we are asking our readers to take the time to write to us (by emailing us at news@firmspy.com) to tell us the annual leave arrangements for the festive season at their firm. Is your firm forcing you to take leave? Will this force you into a depression-inducing negative annual leave balance? Did you have plans for a holiday that have now been ruined?
Tell us. In detail.
For those who have forgotten, AAR took out the tightwad prize last year for involuntary Christmas leave, with an anonymous AAR spy sending us the following rumour:
Re: your story on involuntary leave- Allens is closing Christmas Eve this year and re-opening on the 11th. All staff forced to take leave unless they have the approval of their section head to work during the office closure. No extra leave is given to compensate for this, so you’ve lost 8 of your 20 annual leave days for the year as the firm shifts the burden of a traditionally quiet period onto its staff (and justifies it by saying “the firm believes it is important for staff to spend this time with their families”). Interestingly, last year we re-opened a week earlier…
Note the classical PR methodology of trying to turn a negative into a positive:
we’re forcing you to take nearly six months of hard-earned annual leave, but we’re really only doing it because we think it is important to get some festive family time.
Gee thanks AAR, but what if a worker on involuntary leave has no family, no friends, and their one biding solace, their singular festive merriment, is crunching the clock for our corporate fat-cat partners?
While you’re telling us about the annual leave arrangements this year, tell us about the firm Christmas party. If you’re having one, that is.
Rumour has it that Minter Ellison is this year is declining to have a firm Christmas party. Instead, the firm is apparently focusing on practice group end-of-year parties, in what we regard as an excuse that is about as believable as the infamous AAR Christmas party cancellation by reason of its alleged concern for clients.
And while you’re telling us about your Christmas party arrangements, make sure you send us any embarrassing Christmas party photos too. We are especially hoping to receive some snaps of partners in an offensive, non-corporate state. Can you assist?
You’ve all got work to do so …
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Who wants a firm xmas party anyway. Too busy, too much time spent with work people. Just want a break from it all.
Anon, the Xmas party is about the only day of the year when there is internal goodwill in law firms – the one time when everyone is in the same boat.
I can’t believe that you would actually want to scrap that!!! Just do everyone else a favour and don’t turn up.
This site used to be informative and worth a read, now all I see is inflammatory rubbish like this soliciting photos and bitching about having a small party instead of a big one. It makes good business sense to shut down over holiday periods and frankly most people want leave at that time
@What?: Maybe because one day doesn’t make up for the other 47 weeks and four days (and 24 weekends for Mallesons’ slaves). I’m with Anon.
but Jaime, if the site is now so uninformative, why do you still visit?
I sure as hell don’t want to take 8 days (nearly HALF of our annual leave allowance) over Christmas! It is incredibly expensive to go anywhere and when you get there, it is overcrowded.
All well and good if you have a family and children who have a whole lot of holiday – but not all of us are in that situation.
Xmas parties are great, especially when there is a theme involved. But it isn’t great when you don’t have time to get the costume you need to be in ‘theme’. It isn’t great when you’ve already spent every night at the office then have to spend yet another Friday night doing yet another work-related thing, except this time instead of deadlines, it’s an xmas party. So still giving up life for work – just a change of scenery. An xmas party would be fun and the goodwill would be better felt if not for the knowledge you’ve slaved away for a measly salary throughout the year gone by.
I thought the FWA could only require you to take a maximum of 7 days annual leave?
I’m with Anon.
Never used to turn up to Friday drinks at firm because I had a young family and was dead by the end of week.
Someone asked me once why I didn’t go, my reply was that I saw enough of you people during the week!
Spare a thought for us staff at PwC – forced to take 12 days of annual leave. With the unavoidable need to take annual leave for study, I haven’t taken holiday time during the year for 5 years.
Dudester, you could stay at work but remember if your utilisation is not above 70% you will be asked to take that unutilised time as leave. What do staff at PwC not have any admin tasks to do?
I feel for the secondee’s who might not want to take 12 days leave cause their families are back in freezing Europe and they would rather use it some other time.