Maternity leave and holiday/bonus pay

[catbus]

I've tried Google to answer my questions, but am only coming up with info for the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, so...

Any U.S. ladies take maternity leave that spanned the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year holiday season and have experience with how holidays are or are not paid during this time?
How about a holiday bonus?

I'm wrapping things up before going on maternity leave, and realized there are a few things I don't know. So I asked our benefits administrator whether I'll be paid for the holidays that fall during my leave (Thanksgiving, day after, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day... it adds up!). The answer was no, because in order to get paid for a holiday the employee needs to be paid for an adjacent day. I'll have exhausted my paid leave by mid-November, and thus won't be eligible for those paid holidays. I found some information indicating this is typical, but would love if others can confirm.

Next, holiday bonus. I just thought of this last night and will ask HR. Every year I've been here we've been paid a holiday bonus at the beginning of December, but technically it's never guaranteed for that year. That said, if it's paid out, everyone hired by a certain date that year (I think Nov. 1?) is paid the bonus. It's a flat $1000 after tax for everyone. Not tied to performance. Assuming it's awarded this year, does it sound like I should expect to also receive the bonus? Or would I somehow be ineligible because I will have been on leave in the time before and following its award?

Anyone have experience with either scenario or something similar?

[af1212]

I don't have any experience with a bonus, but I took a 12 week unpaid maternity leave after the birth of my daughter. This time fell over Christmas break, Martin Luther King Day, President's Day and Easter break (I was a teacher). I was not paid for any of this time, nor was I paid for any snow days that fell while I was on leave (and there were a lot that year!).

[jenjen]

I did not take any unpaid leave. However, my short term disability fell over the 4th of July. I asked if my paid Std would be extended one day or if I received a floating holiday since my std was used on 7/4 and told no. This sounds similar to what your HR said as well. I have no advice for the bonus but I would think you should receive it since you are an employee.

[catbus]

Sept 13, 2012 13:24:12 GMT -5 af1212 said:

I don't have any experience with a bonus, but I took a 12 week unpaid maternity leave after the birth of my daughter. This time fell over Christmas break, Martin Luther King Day, President's Day and Easter break (I was a teacher). I was not paid for any of this time, nor was I paid for any snow days that fell while I was on leave (and there were a lot that year!).

Thanks! It does suck to miss out on all those paid holidays, but I suppose it makes sense. Kind of. Makes me the tiniest bit jealous of those whose leaves fall from, say, late Feb. to late May (we have no paid holidays between President's Day and Memorial Day).

[af1212]

Wait - I realized that I had a sort of bonus that year. The parents of the lower school all put $$ in a pot that year at the holidays. The $$ was divided up between all of the teachers aides, lunch staff, etc. I still got my portion, as did the long term sub who was filling in for me. They asked one of my coworkers to bring it to me when she visited the baby. I'm sure this is not at all the same as your situation though, since mine was not provided by my employer.

[dcrunnergirl]

I took leave over Christmas and New Year's, and my paid leave ended in November. I wasn't paid for any holidays during that time.

I don't get a holiday bonus so I have no info on that.

[af1212]

Sept 13, 2012 13:28:12 GMT -5 catbus said:

Sept 13, 2012 13:24:12 GMT -5 af1212 said:

Thanks! It does suck to miss out on all those paid holidays, but I suppose it makes sense. Kind of. Makes me the tiniest bit jealous of those whose leaves fall from, say, late Feb. to late May (we have no paid holidays between President's Day and Memorial Day).

Yes! I was a little bitter for a while about it. The worst was the snow days, since we had to make up time at the end of each school day for the rest of the year for the missed time. So I had to work extra each day (without additional compensation), but had never gotten the benefit of the extra time off like my co-workers.

[egishere]

I was on unpaid leave by the Christmas holidays but I did get my full annual bonus in March despite only working 8 months in 2011. I would definitely ask HR about the bonus. For the TG holidays I was paid and it didn't count against my STD.

[Deleted]

My leave time had both Memorial Day and the 4th of July. I was paid for Memorial Day but only because I was on STD or it would have been unpaid. The 4th was unpaid.

As far as the bonus, if its for years of service, I think they'd still pay you--but maybe not until you are an active employee again? I'd ask your boss.

[catbus]

Thanks for the feedback! I just went and talked to our benefits administrator again. He's never had to deal with the bonus issue (people around here seem to have spring babies), but he thinks that there's no reason it wouldn't be paid out to me in full since it's not a performance bonus and I would be a current employee in good standing.
He did give me a tempting tip... I had planned to return to work on 1/2/13, immediately after the holidays. If I instead return on Friday, 12/28/12, I'd get paid for the NYE and NYD holidays, plus would have one less pay period in which I'm responsible for my health insurance premium (premiums are usually paid by my company, but are the employee's responsibility while on leave). I may be amending my return date...

[lishie]

I'm a fed, and I took unpaid leave October - December. The only way to get holiday pay for me was to use a day of leave the day before each holiday. Then I got paid for both days, so I did that Columbus day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.

Is there any way for you to modify your paid time off so that you can use a day around those holidays?

[cherry1111]

I will be on STD over our Christmas and New Years holidays and will get STD pay for those days, but if I were on the unpaid portion of my leave they would be unpaid. I don't have an answer about the bonus. Mine is in March, right as I'll be coming back. I expect it to be prorated, but I will be pissed if they consider the weeks of vacation and sick into what is prorated out, since my other coworkers will be taking that time off too, just not as a part of FMLA time.

[dottyblue]

Sept 13, 2012 13:16:05 GMT -5 catbus said:

I've tried Google to answer my questions, but am only coming up with info for the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia, so...

Any U.S. ladies take maternity leave that spanned the Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Year holiday season and have experience with how holidays are or are not paid during this time?
How about a holiday bonus?

I'm wrapping things up before going on maternity leave, and realized there are a few things I don't know. So I asked our benefits administrator whether I'll be paid for the holidays that fall during my leave (Thanksgiving, day after, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day... it adds up!). The answer was no, because in order to get paid for a holiday the employee needs to be paid for an adjacent day. I'll have exhausted my paid leave by mid-November, and thus won't be eligible for those paid holidays. I found some information indicating this is typical, but would love if others can confirm.

Next, holiday bonus. I just thought of this last night and will ask HR. Every year I've been here we've been paid a holiday bonus at the beginning of December, but technically it's never guaranteed for that year. That said, if it's paid out, everyone hired by a certain date that year (I think Nov. 1?) is paid the bonus. It's a flat $1000 after tax for everyone. Not tied to performance. Assuming it's awarded this year, does it sound like I should expect to also receive the bonus? Or would I somehow be ineligible because I will have been on leave in the time before and following its award?

Anyone have experience with either scenario or something similar?

Payroll administrator here.

The non-payment for holidays is determined by company policy. There is no set legislation on it. Sounds like your company requires you to be working/use paid leave on at least one end of the holiday to be paid for it, so you will not be paid. They are totally within their rights to do this.

Bonuses are granted completely at the employer's discretion, so you need to speak with your supervisor and HR. Unless if you have a contract signed that guarantees you payment of that holiday bonus it could be denied, but that doesn't mean it will be.

[Redpoppy]

We only get paid for holidays if they occur in the 6 week paid portion of leave. If it is during the 6 week unpaid portion they aren't. We do get our bonus.

I returned on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I got Thursday and Friday paid. Also, I had DH just take a vacation day that Wednesday so we had to pay for one less week of daycare ($335). I did bring him a few times for an hour or so. It just happened to work out that my leave was up that day. It was nice getting the day in then getting a few days home again.

[biscoffcookies]

Sept 13, 2012 14:07:52 GMT -5 lishie said:

I'm a fed, and I took unpaid leave October - December. The only way to get holiday pay for me was to use a day of leave the day before each holiday. Then I got paid for both days, so I did that Columbus day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day.

Is there any way for you to modify your paid time off so that you can use a day around those holidays?

This. My agency was flexible in how you used your paid time off. We were only allowed 6 weeks of sick leave for a vaginal birth, but we could choose to use it all at once up front or spread it out over the duration of our leave (which a lot of people do so that they get paid every pay period, which means they don't have to write a check for their share of their insurance premiums during those pay periods). What I did was took the bulk of leave up front, but saved a day to take adjacent to MLK Jr. day (so I got paid for 2 days instead of 1).

[karinothing]

I am a fed, you can get paid for holidays if you are in paid leave status during those holidays. If you are in LWOP status, you do not get paid for them.

[mswax]

Sept 13, 2012 13:16:05 GMT -5 catbus said:

I'm wrapping things up before going on maternity leave, and realized there are a few things I don't know. So I asked our benefits administrator whether I'll be paid for the holidays that fall during my leave (Thanksgiving, day after, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day... it adds up!). The answer was no, because in order to get paid for a holiday the employee needs to be paid for an adjacent day. I'll have exhausted my paid leave by mid-November, and thus won't be eligible for those paid holidays. I found some information indicating this is typical, but would love if others can confirm.

This is how it works at our workplace as well.

[crazygame]

I was out over Christmas and got my bonus. It was smaller than normal though.

[starlily]

I still got my paid holidays while on maternity leave. We don't get bonuses ever.

[Deleted]

I was out over the holidays as well, and I still got my bonus (same as the previous year). I still went to the firm holiday party and this is when we got bonuses.

I did not have paid leave from my employer at any point during my maternity leave.

Unless you have a written policy, contract, or a state law I am not aware of (being that I only know my state), your company can do anything it wants regarding bonuses and paid leave.

[mmmomof2]

At my old (very large Fortune 100 type) company you did not get the holiday pay while on leave. Some new moms came back the day before the holiday shutdown to get the extra pay. Bonuses were paid out.

[keh2oblue]

Yeah, you typically do not get paid for holidays that fall during ML.

As for the bonus, it sounds like something you earned prior to your leave and you should be eligible to receive.

[lizrd7579]

I'll be out starting middle of October. STD will run out the day after Thanksgiving (providing I go on my due date..ha!). I won't get an "extra" day because I'm out then. After that, I can either use my PTO or take it unpaid for an additional 6 weeks. If I want paid for any holiday days (and to not use PTO), I have to use PTO the day before and the day after the holiday.

[nabum]

I was on leave all of last fall and did not get paid for any holidays. I considered returning early to get paid for the Christmas and New Year's holidays but decided it wasn't worth it.

[Deleted]

I'm in the same boat, but my organization makes us burn all sick leave simultaneous to FMLA time off. I have 600 hours of sick leave, so my entire leave will be paid, including federal holidays since I won't be out on unpaid leave.

Doesn't help you at all, does it?

[MadamePresident]

I'm going out mid-October. I'm planning to take the full 16 weeks allowed under FMLA. My first week is PTO. The next 6 or 8 weeks are STD. After that I'm using PTO (I've been banking this forever, so I have 275 hours). Even though I'm using PTO before and after all holidays (except possibly Thanksgiving), I won't get paid for them, since I am "on leave". So we basically get less than other employees while out on leave.

Bonuses are paid out in the spring. The amount would be based on your yearly salary and not pro-rated. However, the bonus would not be paid until you returned.

I work at a Fortune 50 company, and you would expect they would have better benefits.

[Deleted]

Sept 13, 2012 16:29:25 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I'm going out mid-October. I'm planning to take the full 16 weeks allowed under FMLA. My first week is PTO. The next 6 or 8 weeks are STD. After that I'm using PTO (I've been banking this forever, so I have 275 hours). Even though I'm using PTO before and after all holidays (except possibly Thanksgiving), I won't get paid for them, since I am "on leave". So we basically get less than other employees while out on leave.

Bonuses are paid out in the spring. The amount would be based on your yearly salary and not pro-rated. However, the bonus would not be paid until you returned.

I work at a Fortune 50 company, and you would expect they would have better benefits.

Point Of clarification: FMLA is 12 weeks

[lmb5109]

I'm due 12/15 and have 9 calendar days of unpaid STD before they start paying me (I'll be using PTO during this time).

If by some chance those 9 days falls during Xmas/New Years then it would just be a paid holiday and not PTO but if I'm on STD then, I'm shit out of luck.

[dottyblue]

Sept 13, 2012 18:40:33 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

Sept 13, 2012 16:29:25 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I'm going out mid-October. I'm planning to take the full 16 weeks allowed under FMLA. My first week is PTO. The next 6 or 8 weeks are STD. After that I'm using PTO (I've been banking this forever, so I have 275 hours). Even though I'm using PTO before and after all holidays (except possibly Thanksgiving), I won't get paid for them, since I am "on leave". So we basically get less than other employees while out on leave.

Bonuses are paid out in the spring. The amount would be based on your yearly salary and not pro-rated. However, the bonus would not be paid until you returned.

I work at a Fortune 50 company, and you would expect they would have better benefits.

Point Of clarification: FMLA is 12 weeks

Actually, in certain states, FMLA has been extended to 16 weeks of job protection. I get 16 weeks, although my employer only pays me for 12. I have to use 4 weeks of my PTO to cover myself up to the 16 weeks, but my job is protected.

[MadamePresident]

Sept 13, 2012 18:40:33 GMT -5 @idaholakelady said:

Sept 13, 2012 16:29:25 GMT -5 MadamePresident said:

I'm going out mid-October. I'm planning to take the full 16 weeks allowed under FMLA. My first week is PTO. The next 6 or 8 weeks are STD. After that I'm using PTO (I've been banking this forever, so I have 275 hours). Even though I'm using PTO before and after all holidays (except possibly Thanksgiving), I won't get paid for them, since I am "on leave". So we basically get less than other employees while out on leave.

Bonuses are paid out in the spring. The amount would be based on your yearly salary and not pro-rated. However, the bonus would not be paid until you returned.

I work at a Fortune 50 company, and you would expect they would have better benefits.

Point Of clarification: FMLA is 12 weeks

Yes, 12 weeks. I don't know why I typed 16. Wishful thinking on my part I guess.