Holiday Pay, Holiday Headaches

Bright Smiles Dentistry: Episode 10

Dana set her coffee on the desk and looked at the calendar tacked to the wall of her office. November was already halfway gone, and the blocky letters on the 28th and 29th stared back at her: Thanksgiving – OFFICE CLOSED.

For most families, the holiday meant turkey, football, and avoiding politics at the dinner table. For Dana, it meant a new round of questions she could already hear forming in her team’s minds: Do we get paid for the day? What about the Friday after? What if I take off Wednesday too?

Holiday pay. It seemed so simple… until you were the one managing it.

The Holiday Pay Confusion Begins

It started on a Tuesday morning, in the break room, as Dana poured herself another coffee. She caught the tail end of a conversation between Nina and Carlos.

“So if we’re off on Thursday,” Carlos was saying, “does that mean we’re getting paid for both Thursday and Friday? I mean, we’ve always been closed that Friday, right?”

Nina frowned. “I think it depends. Didn’t Dana say something last year about how it only counts if you’re scheduled to work? And you don’t even work on Fridays.”

Carlos shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m counting on that extra day of pay.”

Dana smiled politely as she passed them, but her stomach tightened. She knew that half the team probably had their own interpretations of what “holiday pay” meant, and if she didn’t clarify it now, she’d have a mess on her hands.

Clarifying the Rules

Back in her office, she pulled up the Bright Smiles Dentistry handbook, CEDR’s custom version they had rolled out at the beginning of the year, that has saved her multiple times. Sure enough, the policy was right there:

“Holidays are only paid when the holiday or day it is observed falls on a day the employee is normally scheduled to work. Taking an unexcused absence the day before or day after a holiday may result in loss of eligibility for holiday pay.”

Dana logged into backstageHR and sent a quick email to CEDR. She’d learned by now that anticipating the team’s questions before they snowballed was worth its weight in gold.

When the advisor called, Dana wasted no time. “I’ve got holiday pay questions bubbling up already. Can we walk through the rules so I can explain this clearly to my team?”

“Absolutely,” the advisor said. “First, let’s look at what your Employee Handbook says. You’ve listed Thanksgiving and the day after as being eligible for paid holidays. And holiday pay is available to full-time employees who otherwise would’ve been working on the day of the holiday.”

“Got it,” Dana said, jotting down notes. “So holiday pay isn’t automatically given to everyone, it’s based on their schedule?”

“That’s right. You’re not required by law to give holiday pay at all, so how to handle it is up to you. By giving holiday pay to someone who is missing a scheduled day of work, you’re helping ensure they don’t miss out on pay as a result of the holiday. But at the same time you’re not providing extra pay to someone by giving them holiday pay when they’re not missing any work to begin with.”

“OK,” Dana said. “So I simply look at the work schedule and add in holiday hours for employees who normally would’ve worked Thursday or Friday. Pretty easy.”

The advisor responds, “It is until something happens to make it more complicated! Keep two scenarios in mind. First, you’re a small team so you are likely the only person who might be paid an exempt salary. The salary shouldn’t be adjusted for holidays. Meaning, an exempt salaried employee gets their regular salary for the week even if there’s a holiday closure.”

“Oh perfect, that makes things easy.”

“The other scenario is if someone calls out unexpectedly that Wednesday, or the Monday after the holiday. Your handbook says that holiday pay can be forfeited if they have an unexcused absence the day before or after the holiday. That’s in your handbook to help avoid someone trying to extend their holiday weekend without planning for it in advance.”

Dana smiled grimly. “That clause might come in handy. Sally already hinted she might need Wednesday off for travel, but she hasn’t submitted a request yet.”

“Then you’ll want to be clear with her. Planned absences need approval ahead of time. If she no-calls or no-shows, she risks losing eligibility. That’s exactly why the policy exists. Of course, if someone is calling out because they’re really sick or something really unexpected happened, it may not make sense to use that clause. Just send us an email and we’ll help you with it.”

Dana exhaled, relief settling in. “Thank you. This will make it so much easier to frame it as fairness, not favoritism.”

Putting the Policy into Practice with the Team

That afternoon, Dana gathered the team briefly before patients started arriving. She kept it simple, policy-focused, and fair.

“With Thanksgiving coming up, I want to remind everyone of how holiday pay works here. If you’re normally scheduled on Thursdays, you’ll be paid for Thanksgiving Day. If you’re normally scheduled on Fridays, you’ll get paid for that Friday when we’re closed. If you’re not normally scheduled, holiday pay doesn’t apply. And as always, unexcused absences the day before or after the holiday may affect your eligibility for holiday pay.”

She paused, making eye contact with each of them.

Carlos raised his hand. “So…no automatic pay for Friday?”

Dana shook her head gently. “Holiday pay is to make up for lost work time when we’re closed. If you don’t typically work Fridays, you’re not losing out on pay so you aren’t getting holiday pay for a day you wouldn’t be working anyway.”

Carlos nodded.

Of course, it couldn’t end that easily. Later that afternoon, Sally stopped by Dana’s office.

“Hey, Dana…my husband booked us flights for Wednesday morning. They were nonrefundable, and he didn’t realize I hadn’t asked for the day off yet. So I won’t be here on Wednesday. But I’ll still get holiday pay for Thursday, right?”

Dana resisted the urge to sigh. Here we go…

“Sally, I understand this wasn’t your decision, but our policy is clear: taking an unexcused absence the day before a holiday can affect your eligibility for holiday pay. You’ll need to submit the time-off request formally. We’ll review it, but I can’t guarantee the holiday pay will apply.”

Sally frowned. “That feels unfair. It’s not like I planned this.”

Dana’s voice stayed calm. “I hear you, but the policy is designed to keep things fair for everyone. If we made exceptions, it would quickly become unmanageable. Please submit the request in writing, and I’ll review it with Dr. Chang.”

Sally left looking frustrated, but Dana felt steadied by the clarity of having CEDR’s policy and guidance behind her.

Clear Policies Bring Calm Before the Holiday

That evening, Dana updated Dr. Chang.

“I spoke with CEDR today. They reminded me on how to handle time off for the Thanksgiving holiday.”

Dr. Chang nodded approvingly. “Good. I know holiday pay always stirs things up, but I trust your judgment here.”

Dana smiled. “I trust CEDR’s judgment. Having their language in the handbook takes the guesswork out of it.”

For once, she didn’t dread the upcoming holiday week. The policies were clear. The team understood them. And Dana knew she had backup if questions or complaints came her way.

Thanksgiving might still bring family drama, but at Bright Smiles Dentistry, the holiday pay drama was off the table.