A holiday is a period set aside by law or custom, where normal activities, particularly work or school, are halted or limited and generally includes abstaining from all work. In general, most holidays are meant to enable people to celebrate or commemorate a historical or cultural event or tradition of religious or cultural importance. The duration of a holiday also varies between countries. Some countries celebrate their national holidays for longer durations than others.
The majority of employees are entitled to take a federal holiday vacation, as long as they are not employed by the federal government. Federal holiday pay is provided for employees who take off to any state of US that is nearer to their family. Employees who choose to take their holiday on private property must inform their supervisor or the employing agency that they are doing so. Failure to inform the employer can result in a loss of holiday pay.
Overtime Pay is not normally included in a holiday package. In many cases, however, some employers will pay overtime pay for employees who need it. Overtime is time that an employee is worked over an average of 40 hours in a week. Overtime may also apply when employees have worked extra hours for three consecutive weeks. In addition, some states consider only Saturday and Sunday as holidays, while others pay workers for all four days of a week.
Vacation pay is not included in the holiday packages because most employees do not take a vacation during the year. Most employees will continue working throughout the year if they need to earn money. Employers usually offer vacation pay as a part of a package, but the employees have to decide whether the package is good for them. In most cases, the employees will have to accept the terms before they are granted the holiday pay.
If employees are offered vacation pay but do not want to take a pay raise to get that money, overtime pay can help them make up the difference. If the employees cannot qualify for vacation pay, they should be willing to take overtime pay for their services. There are situations where the employer may pay employees an extra dollar or two per hour for extra work during the holiday period.
When the Christmas holidays roll around each year, many businesses offer paid time off for employees. This is not always available, however. Some employers will give vacation time off in addition to the holiday pay. The time off is usually for a longer period than usual, but the employee will have the opportunity to return to work as soon as possible. Some employers will not offer paid time off during the holiday period, but will give incentives for employees who take vacation time off. These employees can take a holiday and return to their jobs as soon as possible.