Hello,

I just heard that my company might be closed during the Christmas and New Years. In that case we are forced to take our holiday then, so that would mean 4 days. Is this normal in CH and how can they make people take this as their holiday period if they dont want to? What if i had already booked all my holiday outside of this time period, would i have to take it as unpaid leave then? I am curious to know what is the legal side of this kind of a thing. Thank you.

Unless you work for government type offices or in the hospitality industry, I'd be amazed if your company was NOT closed for Christmas and New Years.

So far as whether you have to take unpaid days off if you've got your vacation / PTO / (whatever it's called here) scheduled for different time depends on your company policies. Many places which are closed for holidays have "paid holiday" days off if the day happens to fall on a day which otherwise would have been a working day for that company.

I do not believe it to be a thing that "legal" gets involved with, as it has to do with religion and company policies, not the law.

Usually this sort of information is included in "orientation" packets when one is newly hired by a company, if you don't have that information, best thing to do is to ask your boss or your HR department for details.

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The Joys of Opticianry

Aren't they "National" holidays, that are not included in normal leave days?

Sorry, there was a typo in my message. I meant the time between X-mas and NYE, not including the public holidays, which of course is paid time off.
And in our company it is not yet clear for this year, if we are closed or not during those 4 days and thus i have not been able to plan my holidays (and in the contract it says holiday cannot be transferred to the next year).

The company can stipulate when you are to take your holiday and may tell you to tke part of it over Christmas or during special weeks in the summer e.g. They should try to take the employees wishes into consideration when planning holidays but ultimately the company decides. The employee has a legal right to have two weeks uninterupted holiday during the year.

OR 329c

I agree with Tilia. HOwever, it seems rather inconsiderate that the company has not yet let you know whether it will be closed on those days.Ask them to clarify.

I agree, I thought the company would mention it in the contract and it would not be different each year...So it came as a surprise to me just when i was booking my flights.

Thanks Tilia, that is what i thought and that's why i am still waiting with my bookings (i have only 5 days of holiday left in total)

This has happened to me a few times, too, but I usually book the time off anyway, if I need it. If it turns out they are closing the company for the period anyway, you can just take another 4 days between now and Christmas.

I have to say, the companies I have worked for have also let me carry a few days through to the next year, even though the contract says no.

Employers are usually reasonable (despite what you might read on this forum ) and it's sometimes just a matter of discussing your options with them.

There are actually a lot of smaller companies that do stay open over the break so that the employees can take time off when everyone else is back at school.

Ask HR and/or your boss. You may also have the option of taking unpaid time off if you don't have enough vacation saved.