Holiday Practices. BLR 2015 Survey Series OCTOBER. Sponsor 2 Participant summary 3 Executive summary 4 Survey questions/data 11

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1 BLR 2015 Survey Series OCTOBER Holiday Practices Each month BLR conducts a nationwide survey to learn about current HR policies and practices throughout the country. On average, more than 1,800 individuals participate in the surveys. The data from each survey is aggregated and then shared with participants and posted on BLR websites. Sponsor 2 Participant summary 3 Executive summary 4 Survey questions/data 11

2 Survey sponsor This online compensation resource gives you current, reliable information on thousands of job titles and hundreds of industries. You can be confident using this data to benchmark salaries in your organization. Pair the salary information with BLR s rate ranges, and you have a complete compensation system. This easy-to-use online service includes all of these features: Salary data on thousands of jobs for national, state, and metro areas saves you time and money. State and federal compensation laws explained. Plain-English answers to complex wage and hour regulations save time and expense. Your base subscription includes federal and one state. Additional states available for a modest charge. White papers and daily news. Puts best practice guidance and advice at your fingertips. Find out what other organizations are budgeting for merit increases as you develop your budget for the upcoming year. Carefully researched tools save you hours of time, including thousands of job descriptions, compensation forms, policies, and checklists. Breaking news, feature articles, and in-depth guidance to keep you ahead of the curve. Weekly e-zine. Take the Online Tour! See all that the site has to offer anytime it s convenient for you! Want a Personal VIP Tour? Just call or click Take a Product Tour and one of BLR s walkthrough specialists will give you a hands-on, no hassle overview. Take a look! Visit the website to find out more about a subscription to Compensation.BLR.com your online compensation resource!

3 About this survey Survey Participants A total of 1,053 individuals participated in this survey, which was conducted in September Of those who identified themselves, 61.7% represent private, for profit organizations, 20% represent private, nonprofit, 7.5% are public sector, and 10.8% work for government. The majority (61.4%) of our survey respondents provide HR services to a workforce of employees. Another 13.8% provide guidance to employees at their organizations and 8.4% have a workforce of 501-1,000 employees. Companies with 1,001-5,000 employees account for 9.8% of survey participants and organizations with more than 5,000 employees comprise 6.6% of survey participants. Over half (61.3%) of the participants are in service industries; 26.3% are in agriculture, forestry, construction, manufacturing, or mining; 8.4% are in wholesale, retail, transportation, or warehousing; and 4% are in real estate or utilities. Manager level is represented 40.5% of the survey participants, director level is represented by 25.8%, and by VP or higher accounts for 13.4%. Supervisors are represented by 4.2% and staff level account for 16.1% of survey participants who self-identified. 3

4 Which holidays are paid days off for employees? Are they required to work the day before/after to receive holiday pay? 2015 Holiday Season Thanksgiving When asked which days will be paid holidays for their employees at Thanksgiving in 2015, 92.1% of survey participants indicated that Thanksgiving Day will be a paid holiday for their employees. Additionally, 65.1% will provide a paid day off on the day after Thanksgiving and.8% will provide a paid half-day off. A full day off before Thanksgiving is a paid holiday as well for 5.5% and 4.4% provide it as a half day off with pay. Employees are allowed to use the day before or after Thanksgiving as a floating paid holiday for 2.3%. Christmas For the 2015 Christmas season, 92.4% of survey respondents will provide December 25th as a paid holiday for their employees. Christmas Eve will be a paid holiday for employees at 41.5% and it will be a half-day off with pay at 16.1%. Boxing Day, December 26th, will be a paid holiday for 1.6% and a half-day for.4%, which is not surprising since it falls on Saturday this year. Christmas week is a paid vacation for 1.1% of survey participants and from Christmas Eve until New Year s Day is offered as paid time off for 4

5 3.7%. Much like Thanksgiving, the day before or after Christmas may be used as a floating holiday for 3.3%. No paid time off for the holiday will be offered by 1.9% of survey participants this year. 35% offer at least one floating holiday. New Year s In 2014, 87.2% of survey participants offered New Year s Day as a paid holiday and 2015 paints a similar picture with 88.9% offering it to their employees. New Year s Eve will be provided as a paid holiday by 18.7% and 10.3% will provide it as a half-day off with pay. Down slightly from last year (3.5%), 3% will provide New Year s week (Monday, December 28 through Friday, January 8 as paid time off for employees. No paid time off surrounding New Year s will be provided to exempt employees by 3% Holidays How many holidays? When asked if the number of paid holidays being provided in 2016 is the same as in 2015, 96.2% indicated that it is. Here s the rundown on how many paid holidays employees will receive in 2016: 4.3% of survey participants indicated their employees will receive 1-5 days 38.1% will receive 6-8 paid holidays 43.7% will receive 9-11 days 11.6% will receive 12 or more paid holidays.4% will not receive paid holidays in

6 1.8%, however, will allow employees to use PTO to celebrate holidays In addition to paid company-wide holidays, 28.5% provide paid floating holidays to be used at employees discretion. Of those, 35% will provide one floating holiday, 24.7% will provide two, 11.9% will provide three, and 9.2% will provide more than three floating holidays. 96.2% will offer the same number of floating holidays in 2016 as they did in Which holidays? Like last year, six holidays Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year s Day will be offered as paid holidays by at least 93% of survey participants in Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Presidents Day will be paid holidays for 32.6% and 33.9%, respectively. Columbus Day is a paid day off for 14.4% and Good Friday will qualify as a paid holiday for 27.3%. Veteran s Day will be a paid holiday for 21.5% and employees birthdays will be a paid day off for 6.5%. Holiday Practices Unpaid Holidays No unpaid holidays will be allowed in 2016 for 61.9%. Election Day, though will be an unpaid holiday for 27.6% and, for 26.4%, employees can have their birthday off without pay. Employees can, however, use vacation or PTO to cover their pay for 79.8%. Holiday pay Nonexempt employees do not work on holidays for 21.1% of survey participants. The nonexempt employees that do work on holidays, 6

7 however, receive holiday pay plus time and a half for hours worked at 9.8% and 2.9% pay holiday pay plus double time. Only regular pay is received at 20.3% and a different day off with pay is the norm at 4.8%. When it comes to holiday pay for employees that have an unexcused absence on the nearest workday before and/or 21.1% have no hourly employees that work on holidays. after a company paid holiday, 58.2% of survey participants do not provide holiday pay. First dibs When it comes to deciding which employees get priority in deciding their days off during the holidays, 16.8% leave it up to the supervisor and 12.3% go with whoever asks first. It s not a problem and everyone gets what he or she wants for 3.4% and, for 3.4%, employees take turns from year to year. A formal system based on seniority is in place for 6.7% and 7.2% use an informal seniority/ranking system. The business is closed for 32.1%. Unrecognized holidays For 39.7% of survey participants, less than 5% of their employees use paid time off for religious days not recognized by the organization as paid holidays. On the flip side, no employees use such time for 18.8%. Holiday gifts A cash bonus is planned for employees by 20.1%, gifts are planned by 19.4%, and 13.5% plan to offer both to their employees in The gifts include: Holiday meal, provided either at work or at a company hosted party offsite, 32.7% Take home holiday meal, such as a ham or turkey, 8.7% 7

8 Grocery store gift card, 13.4% Other gift card (i.e., gas card, pre-paid debit, retail store), 15% Extra paid time off awarded,.8% Door prize or raffle giveaways, 5.7% Personal gifts, 5.5% 20.1% give employees a holiday or year-end bonus. At 18.3%, the other basket contained many comments, including the following: On-site holiday catered luncheon provided for all; games for raffling of big prizes (two 56 flat screens, 1 each of newest game consoles, high-tech camera, plus a few others of owner s choice; most members of management and senior staff receive small cash bonus of varying amounts on last check of year In lieu of giving gifts to one another, we vote on a needy organization and individuals donate as a staff gift to a needy organization. Gift item with company logo Holiday lunch at work with door prizes, gift cards, free days off We give holiday meal in-house as well as a turkey to take home at Christmas and we give a holiday meal in-house and a pumpkin pie to take home at Thanksgiving Department heads are given a budget of an equal $ amount for each staff member. They may choose to do a team event or give each one a gift card. Bonus amounts are varied with 11% planning 1-5% of base pay and 4.3% plan 6-10% of base pay. A lump sum of up to $250 is planned for 12.5%, a sum of $251 to $500 is planned for 5.3%, and 3.2% plan cash bonuses of $500 to $1,000. Another 3.9% plan bonuses of $1,000 to $5,000. 8

9 Employee gift exchange is allowed at 86.9% of survey 70% participants organizations. Only gifts of nominal value may be accepted by employees from parties outside allow employees to their organization (e.g., vendors, clients, etc.) for 41.9%. decorate for the holidays, within reason. No employee gift policy is the norm for 20.8% and no gifts may be accepted is the rule for 14.2%. For 22.9%, employees may not accept personal gifts from parties outside the organization but may accept gifts that can be shared with other employees. Also, 4.6% allow gifts that can be entered into an employee raffle. All gifts must be reported to the company for 17.1%, though only if valued over a certain dollar amount for 30%. Deck the halls If their holiday decorations are within reason, 69.9% of survey participants allow employees to display them. Another 20.4% allow employees to display whatever they want. Display of non-religious decorations is allowed by 5.7% and 1.9% forbid employees from holiday decorating. Along those same lines, 47.6% provide/display holiday themed decorations in common areas at their facility, 21.9% do so only during Christmas, and 20.1% display only non-religious seasonal decor. No company-sponsored decorations are displayed by 10.3%. At 72.2%, almost three-fourths of survey participants host year-end or holiday parties for their employees, with 56% going off-site and 44% 9

10 keeping the festivities in-house. Though 79.9% indicate they have never encountered issues such as 49% do not allow alcoholic beverages at their company party. employees drunk driving or inappropriate behavior, only 45.5% allow alcoholic beverages at their holiday celebrations. For those who allow alcohol at their holiday or yearend party, 37.5% provide rides home after the party. When it comes to who gets invited to the party, 35.9% invite employees spouses and/or significant others to attend the celebration and 54.6% invite employees only. Sharing Though 10% (same as last year) have yet to decide about this year, charitable activities are sponsored by or participated in for 64.4%. The types of activities are varied, with sponsoring a food drive topping the list and volunteer work or visits by employees during working hours trailing at the end of the list. Food drive, 57.5% Toy drive, 57% Angel tree and/or adopt a family, 49.3% Clothing drive, 32% Monetary donation collected from employees, 31.8% Monetary donation from company, 31% Volunteer work or visits by employees during working hours, 22.2% 10

11 Survey Data Where is the location of the company for which you are reporting? US: Nationwide 14.3% 150 US: Central/Rocky Mountain/Southwest: AZ, CO, ID, KS, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, SD, UT, WY 8.8% 93 US: East Central: IA, IL, IN, MI, MN, MO, OH, WI, WV 21.0% 221 US: Far West: AK, CA, HI, OR, WA 9.9% 104 US: Northeast/Mid-Atlantic: CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, 20.5% 215 NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA, VT US: South: AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, 22.9% 241 TX International 2.6% Number of employees: % % % % , % 88 1,001-5, % 103 Over 5, % Please select the category that best describes your business type. 3 Private, for profit 61.7% 640 Private, not for profit 20.0% 208 Public sector 7.5% 78 Government 10.8%

12 Please select the industry category that best describes the nature of your business: Accommodations, Food Service 0.9% 9 Administrative and Support Services 1.7% 18 Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 1.3% 14 Educational Services 5.9% 62 Finance and Insurance 8.1% 85 Health Care and Social Assistance 15.7% 164 Information (Media, Data, Telecommunication) 3.2% 33 Management of Companies and Enterprises 0.9% 9 Other Services (except Public Administration) 8.2% 86 Professional, Scientific, Technical Services 8.7% 91 Public Administration 6.1% 64 Waste Management/Remediation Services 0.6% 6 Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting 1.0% 10 Construction 3.6% 38 Manufacturing 20.7% 216 Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction 1.0% 10 Retail Trade 3.3% 35 Transportation and Warehousing 3.2% 33 Wholesale Trade 1.9% 20 Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 1.8% 19 Utilities 2.3% Job title or position Staff 16.1% 168 Supervisor 4.2% 44 Manager 40.5% 423 Director 25.8% 270 VP or Higher 13.4%

13 Does your organization offer PAID holidays as a benefit to its employees? Yes 98.2% 1028 No 1.8% For Thanksgiving, which days will be PAID holidays for your employees in 2015? (Check all that apply.) A HALF day before Thanksgiving Day (11/25/15) 4.4% 46 The FULL day before Thanksgiving Day (11/25/15) 5.5% 57 Thanksgiving Day (11/26/15) 92.1% 958 A HALF day after Thanksgiving Day (11/27/15) 0.8% 8 The FULL day after Thanksgiving Day (11/27/15) 65.1% 677 Day before/after can be a floating holiday (at the EE s discretion) 2.3% 24 No holidays surrounding this time period are offered 1.9%

14 For Christmas, which days will be PAID holidays for your employees in 2015? A HALF day of Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24, 2015) The FULL day of Christmas Eve (Thursday, December 24, 2015) 16.1% % 432 Christmas Day (Friday, December 25, 2015) 92.4% 963 A HALF day on Boxing Day (Saturday, December 26, 2015) 0.4% 4 The FULL day of Boxing Day (Saturday, December 26, 2015) The day before/after Christmas Day can be used as a floating holiday (at the employee s discretion) Christmas week (Monday, December 21, 2015 through Friday, December 25, 2015) From Christmas Eve until New Year s Day (Thursday, December 24, 2015, through Friday, January 1, 2016) 1.6% % % % 39 No holidays surrounding this time period are offered 1.9% For New Year s, which days will be PAID holidays for your employees in 2015/2016? A HALF day of New Year's Eve (Thursday, December 31, 2015) The FULL day of New Year's Eve (Thursday, December 31, 2015) 10.3% % 194 New Year's Day (Friday, January 1, 2016) 88.9% 923 New Year's week (Monday, December 28, 2015 through Friday, January 1, 2016) 3.0% 31 No holidays surrounding this time period are offered 3.0%

15 How many PAID holidays will your employees receive in 2016? % % % or more 11.6% 120 No company-wide holidays but employees can use PTO time for personal reasons including the holidays they celebrate 1.8% 19 None 0.4% Do your employees receive a predetermined number of floating holidays to be used at their discretion each year? Yes, in addition to paid company-wide holidays 28.5% 294 Yes, in lieu of paid company-wide holidays 2.6% 27 No 63.7% 656 Not sure 0.3% 3 Other 4.9% If applicable, how many floating holidays will your employees receive in 2016? % % % 53 More than 3 9.2% 41 Other 19.3%

16 Are the number of 2016 holidays and/or floating holidays the same as they were in 2015? Yes 96.2% 920 More than % 22 Less than % Which of the following will be PAID holidays at your organization in 2016? None 1.2% 12 Election Day 1.6% 16 City or state specific holiday 2.9% 30 Boxing Day (Day after Christmas) 5.0% 51 Employee s Birthday 6.5% 66 Easter 8.5% 87 Day before Thanksgiving 8.8% 90 Other (please specify) 11.9% 121 Columbus Day 14.4% 147 New Year's Eve 21.4% 218 Veterans Day 21.5% 219 Floating holiday 23.1% 235 Good Friday 27.3% 278 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 33.6% 342 Presidents' Day 33.9% 345 Christmas Eve 44.9% 457 Day after Thanksgiving 60.6% 617 Christmas Day 93.2% 949 Memorial Day 95.3% 970 Labor Day 95.7% 974 Fourth of July 96.4% 981 New Year s Day 97.0% 987 Thanksgiving 97.9%

17 Which of the following will be UNPAID holidays at your organization in 2016? Thanksgiving 1.2% 10 Fourth of July 1.9% 16 New Year s Day 2.1% 17 Labor Day 2.2% 18 Christmas Day 2.3% 19 Memorial Day 2.4% 20 Other 5.1% 42 Day after Thanksgiving 14.8% 122 Floating holiday 14.9% 123 Christmas Eve 16.1% 133 Presidents' Day 18.9% 156 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 19.2% 158 New Year's Eve 19.9% 164 Good Friday 21.3% 176 Veterans Day 22.9% 189 City or state specific holiday 24.1% 199 Columbus Day 24.4% 201 Easter 24.6% 203 Day before Thanksgiving 25.8% 213 Boxing Day (Day after Christmas) 26.3% 217 Employee s Birthday 26.4% 218 Election Day 27.6% 228 None 61.9% For UNPAID holidays, do employees have the option to take these days off and use vacation or PTO to cover their pay? Yes 79.8% 598 No 15.2% 114 Not sure 4.9%

18 What pay do your non-exempt employees receive when they work on a holiday? (Assume that working on the holiday doesn t push them into overtime for that week.) Regular pay only 20.3% 201 Time and a half 16.3% 161 Double time 14.1% 140 Triple time 0.5% 5 Time and a half plus holiday pay 9.8% 97 Double time plus holiday pay 2.9% 29 Triple time plus holiday pay 0.1% 1 A different day off with pay 4.8% 48 A different day off with pay plus extra pay (e.g., time and a half, double time, or triple time) 1.8% 18 Non-exempt employees do not work on holidays 21.1% 209 Other 8.2% When planning for the holidays, how do you decide which employees get priority in choosing their days off? Employees are chosen via lottery system 0.2% 2 Employees volunteer themselves 1.8% 18 Employees are on a rotation schedule 3.4% 34 Not a problem everyone gets what he or she wants 3.4% 34 Other 5.1% 50 Formal system based on seniority, rank, etc. 6.7% 66 Informal system based on seniority, rank, etc. 7.2% 71 It depends on the employee s workload and/or business needs 11.0% 109 Whoever asks first gets first choice 12.3% 122 It's up to the supervisor s discretion 16.8% 166 The entire office is closed on holidays 32.1%

19 What percentage of your employees use vacation or PTO (paid time off) for religious days that aren't paid holidays at your organization? None 18.8% 187 Less than 5% 39.7% 395 Between 6% and 25% 8.6% 86 Between 26% and 50% 2.4% 24 More than 50% 1.9% 19 Don't know 28.6% 285 Other 0.6% If your employees have an unexcused absence on the nearest workday before and/or after a company paid holiday, do they still receive holiday pay? Yes 34.7% 344 No 58.2% 576 Not sure 7.1% Does your organization plan to give employees holiday gifts or year-end bonuses in 2015? Yes, gifts 19.4% 191 Yes, a cash bonus 20.1% 198 Yes, both 13.5% 133 No 34.5% 341 Not sure 12.6%

20 If you do plan to give holiday gifts, please indicate the nature. Holiday meal, provided either at work or at a company hosted party offsite 32.7% 161 Take home holiday meal, such as a ham or turkey 8.7% 43 Grocery store gift card 13.4% 66 Other gift card (i.e. gas card, pre-paid debit, retail store) 15.0% 74 Extra paid time off awarded 0.8% 4 Door prize or raffle giveaways 5.7% 28 Personal gifts 5.5% 27 Other 18.3% Is gift-giving among employees allowed in your organization? Yes 86.9% 849 No 5.2% 51 I don't know 3.2% 31 Other 4.7%

21 If you do plan to give holiday bonuses, please indicate the value. 1-5% of base pay 11.0% % of base pay 4.3% % of base pay 0.6% % of base pay 0.3% % of base pay 0.0% 0 Over 30% of base pay 0.3% 2 N/A 58.5% 453 Lump sum of $ % 25 Lump sum of $ % 31 Lump sum of $ % 41 Lump sum of $ % 39 Lump sum of $501-1, % 25 Lump sum of $1,001-5, % 30 Lump sum of over $5, % What is your policy on acceptance of gifts to employees from parties outside your organization (e.g., vendors, clients, etc.)? No gifts may be accepted 14.2% 139 No personal gifts may be accepted, only gifts that can be shared by all 22.0% 215 Only gifts of nominal value may be accepted 41.9% 410 Gifts are accepted, then entered into an employee raffle 4.6% 45 We have no policy on employee gifts 20.8% 203 Other 4.0%

22 Do these gifts have to be reported to the company? Yes, all gifts must be claimed 17.1% 142 Yes, if over a certain dollar amount 30.0% 248 No 40.9% 339 Not sure 12.0% Are your employees allowed to display holiday themed decorations in their workspace? No 1.9% 19 Yes, if within reason 69.9% 690 Yes, but they must be non-religious 5.7% 56 Yes, whatever they want to do is fine 20.4% 201 Other 2.1% Does your organization provide/display holiday themed decorations in common areas at your facility? No 10.3% 101 Yes 47.6% 466 Yes, but only non-religious, seasonal décor 20.1% 197 Yes, but only during Christmas season 21.9% 214 Other 1.0%

23 Does your organization sponsor a Christmas or year-end holiday party/celebration for employees? Yes 72.2% 711 No 27.8% If yes, is your Christmas or year-end holiday party held off-site or within your facility? Off-site 56.0% 398 Within facility 44.0% Is alcohol served at your holiday or year-end celebration? No 49.4% 353 Yes, it is provided by or paid for by the company 32.6% 233 Yes, it is either brought by employees or available for purchase 12.9% 92 Other 5.2%

24 Has your organization experienced employee issues at or after holiday parties (e.g., drunk driving, inappropriate behavior, etc.) Yes 10.6% 75 No 79.9% 564 I don't know 7.9% 56 Other 1.6% If alcohol is served or available at your holiday or year-end celebration, dos your organization provide rides home after the party? Yes 37.5% 182 No 29.9% 145 I don't know 9.1% 44 Other 23.5% Are spouses or significant others invited or is your celebration for employees only? Spouses and significant others only 35.9% 255 Spouses, significant others, and immediate family 9.4% 67 Employees only 54.6%

25 Does your organization sponsor or participate in charitable activities during the holiday season? Yes 64.4% 630 No 22.9% 224 Not decided yet 10.0% 98 I don't know 2.8% Which type(s) of charitable activity will your organization sponsor or participate in? Monetary donation from company 31.0% 218 Monetary donation collected from employees 31.8% 224 Volunteer work or visits by employees during working hours 22.2% 156 Food drive 57.5% 405 Clothing drive 32.0% 225 Toy drive 57.0% 401 Angel tree and/or adopt a family 49.3% 347 Other 6.5%