Even if your Employee Handbook states which holidays you normally observe and close on, you should send out a memo each year at this time stating specifically which days and dates for the following year.
As we know, holidays that fall on the weekend are typically observed on Friday (for Saturday holidays) or Monday (for Sunday holidays). If you’re one of the many companies that tries to give employees a specific number of holidays each year, it’s even more important for you to publish the upcoming year’s list so your employees can plan accordingly.
There’s really nothing worse than people being told too late about a long weekend. They have no time to plan and, therefore, your great benefit falls flat.
I’ve listed below the dates the more popular holidays will fall on for 2012. Use this moment to create your holiday memo for employees!
- News Year’s Day (Jan 1, a Sunday that may or may not be observed on Monday)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (Jan 16, a Monday that is typically observed on that day, if at all)
- Presidents’ Day (Feb 20, a Monday that is observed on that day and is popular simply because it breaks up the first half of the year)
- Memorial Day (May 28, a Monday when most businesses will close)
- Independence Day (July 4, a Wednesday that will make it hard to turn this into a long weekend)
- Labor Day (Sep 3, a Monday when most businesses will close)
- Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22, a Thursday when most busineses will close)
- Thanksgiving Day After (Nov 23, a Friday when a lot of business close to make it a highly appreciated long weekend)
- Christmas Day (Dec 25, a Tuesday when most business will close)
- New Year’s Eve (Dec 31, a Monday when a few businesses allow employees to leave early without it counting as time off)
As a rule, the priority of holidays given go in this order: the top 5 (Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day), then Thanksgiving Day After (if your business can handle it), and Presidents’ Day. Additional holidays or days around holidays are added at this point based on the business itself.
Not that it’s an observed holiday but keep in mind that next year is a Leap Year and Feb 29th falls on a Wednesday.
