Archived calling out christmas eve

[anathema]

It seems like anything short of term is worth it to you, and you wouldn't be termed unless your call-ins are patterned. So, I guess, do it? I don't suggest working retail if you're not fond of working holidays, but you've had 3 years to figure that out and yet you ended up here anyway...

 

[CsideMaster]

Availability does not matter on holidays, period. This is what HR will tell you if you try to claim availability. It's like saying you're unavailable on Fridays so you can't work Black Friday. They will not accept that.

Lol tell that to my other job that expects me there on the specific days I'm supposed to be there, which is the reason my availability is the way it is. It's not my fault that the holiday falls on the particular day that I can't work.

And to all those saying I waited until the last minute. I did not wait until the last minute, schedule came out on Friday, I alerted them on Saturday that I wasn't going to be available. I told my TL and he said he would take me off any other day, but with it being Christmas I needed to talk to the ETL. He was not there Saturday and is not back until tomorrow.

 

[HRZone]

Well they did scheduled you on the day you're not available so wait in the last minute.

This is not good advice.

Regular availabilty is not applicable on thanksgiving, black friday and other big sale days.

If you want holidays off you have to ask back in October. You should always do an unpaid time off in october or a q4 availability sheet when you want specific holidays off.

Waiting until the schedule comes out and hoping you dont get scheduled is silly. Some people think "oh I can just give my shift away" but most team members are already at 40 hours and overtime is rarely approved for swap shift reasons.

Let me make this clear , call outs generally wont cost you your job but if you have aspirations in Target they can be a huge hindurance. We had a girl at my store who wanted to transfer to a bigger store. They asked for her attendance detail and noticed the trend of her calling out on thanksgiving day, christmas eve, new years eve. They turned her transfer down.

Whenever you transfer stores or apply for a leadership position we always ask for attendance reports and saavy HR folks will look for such trends. If you have a history of "calling out" every Christmas or Thanksgiving it could certainly hurt you.

 

[carramrod]

You misread, it was for CVS and Pharmacy

Makes sense, I figured I misread something.

 

[RedMan]

So you call out and the gstl and gsa have to do your job and theirs, also. Sounds fair, right? I mean, everyone wants to work two work centers instead of being home with their families.

Remember what a great time you had on your holiday when you get 12 hours a week in February, March, and April.

 

[RedMan]

Yeah, by all means, call out. No one will mind taking up the slack for your absence. We all love working harder so that you can enjoy your holiday.

Just remember, when you're whining about hours in a month or so, the guys taking up your slack will be getting the hours instead of you.

 

[Kartman]

If you call out you're a BIG FUCKING PUSSY.

 

[NKG]

I get it, it sucks its Christmas eve and you have to work. Your family should be extremely understanding, at least mine always has been. Hopefully, your store asked you what your Q4 availability and you told them if not hopefully you put a time off request. If not, you should have been prepared to work. I would speak with the LOD and see what your options are. Completely calling out, basically screws over your team. Our cart attendant calls out literally every Saturday and we had to start training the cashiers how to pull carts otherwise we completely run out. I think its best to come up with a plan than to completely call out.

 

[Flabbergasted]

I'm only available Saturdays, so I didn't work Black Friday...

Your HR is different then. Maybe a bit more respectful than others. My old store's ETL-HR would have laughed if you expected to have days like Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas off. Most stores will not honor that, because there is always someone out there willing to work when you can't.

@Tgarv90 I know you don't like hearing this, but the fact of the matter is Spot does not care about you. Your availability is disregarded on holidays. I feel like maybe you should have seen this coming and spoken with HR a month or two ago.

 

[Flabbergasted]

This thread pops up every year. I have to concur with the people saying to suck it up. You are no more special than anyone else. You think the GSTL who has to do yours and their job doesn't have a family at home that they'd rather be with? Also, if you have any aspirations of moving up with the company, calling out on a holiday (or holiday eve) does not look good.

 

[CsideMaster]

This is not good advise.

Regular availabilty is not applicable on thanksgiving, black friday and other big sale days.

If you want holidays off you have to ask back in October. You should always do an unpaid time off in october or a q4 availability sheet when you want specific holidays off.

Waiting until the schedule comes out and hoping you dont get scheduled is silly. Some people think "oh I can just give my shift away" but most team members are already at 40 hours and overtime is rarely approved for swap shift reasons.

Let me make this clear , call outs generally wont cost you your job but if you have aspirations in Target they can be a huge hindurance. We had a girl at my store who wanted to transfer to a bigger store. They asked for attendance detail and noticed the trend of her calling out on thanksgiving day, christmas eve, new years eve. They turned her transfer down.

Whenever you transfer stores or apply for a leadership position we always ask for attendance reports and saavy H folks will look for trends. If you have a history of "calling out" every Christmas or Thanksgiving it could certainly hurt you.

Thanks for that and for the advice, while I don't really have plans to advance in Target, I have no problems working holidays at all. I worked last Thanksgiving, last Christmas and this Thanksgiving. I just can't work THIS Christmas because it falls on a Sunday and I can't work on Sundays. And this isn't to you HRzone because you've been nice but I see some people coming back with snarky comments about giving up my hours like @RedMan ...I have no problem working. I have no problem covering shifts or coming in when they call...No one is taking my slack. I just cannot work Sundays and Mondays. That's it. I just ask not to be scheduled on those days, Tues-Sat I'm there. Sorry that I have another job because I live in a place where one income is not enough to live on so I work two jobs, and that other job happens to be on Sundays and Mondays.

 

[RedMan]

Hey, you're the one who asked for advice. I wasn't being snarky, I was being honest. If you were at my store, then you'd be in the "well, he can't work when he's scheduled, so why should I bother scheduling him?" pile when hours are cut.

 

[Tar Ghetto]

What other job do you have that's making you work Christmas?

 

[CsideMaster]

Hey, you're the one who asked for advice. I wasn't being snarky, I was being honest. If you were at my store, then you'd be in the "well, he can't work when he's scheduled, so why should I bother scheduling him?" pile when hours are cut.

But I always work when scheduled...except on Sundays and Mondays, which was approved when I put in for that change five months ago. what's the point of having availability if it isn't honored?

 

[CsideMaster]

What other job do you have that's making you work Christmas?

I do security on an Indian reservation

 

[PassinTime]

Hey, you're the one who asked for advice. I wasn't being snarky, I was being honest. If you were at my store, then you'd be in the "well, he can't work when he's scheduled, so why should I bother scheduling him?" pile when hours are cut.

Not quite! He's been scheduled outside of his availability, PERIOD. Target agreed to the availability, so Target needs to honor it. Between irregular hours, low pay, and lack of benefits, at least retail should honor any scheduling it's authorized.

 

[NeoDarikona]

Oh my god, no one is seriously going to care in two weeks. If it helps you feel less guilty, just tell them that they approved your availability and that they need to call someone else to cover it. Hell, if you want to be super nice then try to ask someone to cover for you. Done.

 

[Deli Ninja]

If they know that your availability is because of a second job, they should not have scheduled you, or they should have asked if you were off your other job on Christmas before making the schedule. Talk to your ETL and ETL-HR and it should get sorted out. If you have to call in, they will just have to deal with it. It sounds like you have no real problems with your attendance besides this one instance. Heck, we have people still working at my store who NCNS'd Thanksgiving night and Black Friday. You'll be fine.

 

[HRZone]

just cannot work Sundays and Mondays.

Yeah, is there a reason you dont want to talk to them and explain your situation rather than wait to call out?

and have the conversation. Your ETLs may even be like "no worries."

Not quite! He's been scheduled outside of his availability, PERIOD. Target agreed to the availability, so Target needs to honor it. Between irregular hours, low pay, and lack of benefits, at least retail should honor any scheduling it's authorized.

I normally agree with you but being q4 they expect you to be flexibile with your availability. Rather than telling them when you can work, you have to tell them when you cannot.

Heck, we have people still working at my store who NCNS'd Thanksgiving night and Black Friday. You'll be fine.

This is tricky, some stores have low standards but we had a TM we termed after just one NCNS (granted he was seasonal)

 

[shady16]

i have family that i only get to see during christmas eve that i wont get to see this year, and i have said that i was under the impression that you could not ask for christmas eve off at my store as it was a black out day. if i knew you could have asked for it off i would have way in advanced

 

[HRZone]

i have family that i only get to see during christmas eve that i wont get to see this year, and i have said that i was under the impression that you could not ask for christmas eve off at my store as it was a black out day. if i knew you could have asked for it off i would have way in advanced

So then your plan was to call out?

See the thing is the whole "You can never ask for this day off is hyperbole" I am at a pretty big store and on Thanksgiving and Black Friday about 48 of our 160 team members were off each day. There were about 15 people who had both days off. So dont ever assume you cant ask for a day off.

People love to say that "Good luck getting such and such day off" its bs. Someone is going to get it off, if you ask early enough it could be you.

I wasnt on this site last year but this coming year when people fill out their q4 availability we should sticky a thread in Late September. If you want days off, ask now or your effed LOL

 

[shady16]

and at my store there is literally only two cart attendants that are trained to close, and thats how i found out you could ask for christmas eve off as the only other one got it off, so there is literally no other one trained that can take a closing cart shift at my store, and i might add if everything goes good this next year i wont even be around for next xmas eve

 

[CsideMaster]

Yeah, is there a reason you dont want to talk to them and explain your situation rather than wait to call out?

and have the conversation. Your ETLs may even be like "no worries."

Well I did speak to one of my TL's, who could've taken me off but said since it was Christmas he wouldn't feel comfortable doing it so to talk to the ETL. But the ETL isn't in until Tuesday or Wednesday, now I will talk to him but more than half the time, his exact words are "just call out." And that's what I'm anticipating and was just wondering if the fact that it's against my availability covers me if I encounter any problems. I'm not someone who's trying to get out of working, I like working at Target, I like my co-workers a lot and have become friends with a lot of them and I respect my superiors and I really don't want to screw anyone, I'm not calling out because I want to spend Christmas with my family. That would be nice of course but I just have another job. Like I said, I worked Christmas at Target last year, but this year it just happens to fall on a Sunday :/

 

[Logo]

It's against your availability they can not nor should they hold it against you. Speak to HR or even better leave a note stating the facts.

 

[Flabbergasted]

Few in this thread seem to be getting that Spot HR typically does not care about your availability on holidays. They will openly admit to you that holidays are the exception to all availabilities. Your only option at this point is to plead with HR and hope they give you the day off, but as far as they're concerned this is the policy, and they could just as well tell you to take a hike.

It sucks but this is what it's come to for retailers like Spot. You work holidays so the executives don't have to. I work at Lowe's and was scheduled 4th of July even though the particular day it fell on was against my availability. I'm not unsympathetic here -- I know exactly what this is like. But I'm also giving you the facts, which is what you asked for. I guess you're gonna have to call out if HR refuses you, but that means your co-workers will pick up the slack.

Also, your ETL shouldn't be telling you to call out. If you try to use him/her as a cover when you're questioned on the call-out, expect them not to back you up on that.