- Employees are hired with the understanding that they are flexible in the hours and days that they are willing to work. If you have any time commitments or preferences that may interfere with scheduling, it is your responsibility to notify HR Management up front (prior to beginning employment and/or posting of the schedule).
- In some cases employees may be hired with pre-approved time commitments that their schedule will be worked around. These conditions must be outlined and agreed upon up front as part of the employee’s individual work agreement. The employee is expected to always maintain proper communication regarding their schedule, and if at any time these commitments change, it is the employee’s responsibility to immediately notify HR Management. Flexibility and willingness is likewise expected for any time outside of the employee’s pre-approved schedule constraints.
- Once the work schedule has been posted, you must immediately review it and confirm your scheduled shifts. Your work schedule will often vary from one week to the next, so make sure to review it thoroughly.
- Any issues with the schedule must be immediately addressed with HR Management within 48 hours of the schedule being posted. Keep in mind that you were hired with the understanding that you are flexible. Therefore, issued raised should be of a serious nature and represent unforeseen extenuating circumstances (Example: funeral or wedding). If you have a preexisting verbal schedule agreement, and the posted schedule does not match this arrangement, it is also your responsibility to notify HR Management for clarification and/or correction as needed.
- The hours noted in the schedule are the minimum hours you are expected to work. Due to the seasonal traffic and varied workload of our industry, staff should expect that at times they will be required to stay up to 45 minutes past their scheduled shift and should plan accordingly.
- At times you may be called in to cover a shift due to a co-worker’s sickness or emergency. Willingness and flexibility to assist in covering the open shift is expected.
Category: 05. Attendance & Scheduling
05.2 Punctuality & Schedule Adherence
- Once the schedule is posted and confirmed, it must be adhered to by all employees. There are no exceptions. If you are on the schedule, you must be present.
- When you clock in, you are expected to be ready to immediately commence work and demonstrate a positive, upbeat attitude. If you first require morning coffee, snacks, visits to the restroom, etc, before you are able to perform work functions, you are expected to address these needs prior to starting your scheduled shift.
- You must clock in and out for all meal periods and rest breaks. For floor staff, breaks will be scheduled. Adherence to state regulations governing breaks & meal periods is required of all employees.
- Any unscheduled shifts (including making up “missed hours”) must be approved in advance by HR Management.
- Leaving early is not permitted, unless initiated and directed by HR Management.
Example: Management may contact you to evaluate store traffic, etc, and may make the decision to close the store early. However, you are not permitted to initiate contact and request closing early, unless you are notifying management of a serious issue that interferes with normal business operation or the continuation of your shift (such as a family emergency, or a confirmed, extended outage of power or internet). - You are allowed to clock in early, but not late.
- Punctuality will be a key factor in determining your quarterly performance bonus.
- As a courtesy, and to ensure late clock ins do not occur, store & inventory staff are allowed to clock in up to 10 minutes early for their scheduled shift.
- Remember, you have already been asked to notify HR Management up front of any time commitments & schedule preferences, so once the schedule is set and confirmed, you are expected to follow it. No exceptions.
- STORE OPENERS: Allowed to clock in up to 10 minutes before their scheduled shift start time. Late clock-ins are not permitted. (Note: The opener’s shift is scheduled 15 minutes before the store must be open and completely ready for business. Early clock-ins are permitted, thus allowing up to 25 minutes to prepare the store for opening, however the minimum of 15 minutes, as accounted for in the schedule, is required to prepare the store for opening).
- SWING SHIFT: Allowed to clock in up to 10 minutes before their scheduled shift. Late clock-ins are not permitted. Swing shift is scheduled to cover the breaks of other shifts, therefore strict adherence and punctuality is critical.
- STORE CLOSERS: Allowed to clock in up to 10 minutes before their scheduled shift. Late clock-ins are not permitted. Store closing is scheduled 15 minutes prior to the closer's scheduled end of shift to ensure adequate time to complete closing checklist and ready the store for the following day.
- PRODUCTION STAFF: Schedule regularity and adherence is essential in production staff to ensure adequate coverage & availability for client order pickups, as well as facilitate scheduling of tasks, projects and deadlines. Therefore, production staff schedules reflect the mandatory hours their presence is required. In some cases, production staff may be allowed to clock in early or stay later, however the minimum/mandatory hours as reflected in the scheduling app are non-negotiable, and late clock-ins are not permitted.
- All employees are expected to make a concerted effort to maintain the accuracy of their time punches. It is recommended that any employee with difficulty remembering to clock in or out schedule an alarm or reminder notification on their phone ahead of time. Time Punch Correction Cards are provided for employees to submit corrections, however excessive use is not acceptable. If you are regularly missing time punches, please see HR Management for assistance in correcting this issue.
IN THE EVENT THAT A TIME PUNCH IS MISSED, FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW:
- If you are going on break and discover you forgot to clock in: Take your break first, then clock in when you return from break (note: the system will not allow you to clock in and then immediately clock out). Fill out & submit a Time Punch Correction Card.
- If you realize you forgot to clock in, but are NOT currently leaving for break: Immediately clock in. Fill out & submit a Time Punch Correction Card.
- If you are returning from break and discover you forgot to clock out: Remain clocked in. Fill out & submit a Time Punch Correction Card.
- If you realize you forgot to clock out, but are NOT currently returning from break: Immediately clock out, and fill out & submit a Time Punch Correction Card. If you have already returned home or are no longer at the location, your time sheet will be automatically closed after 24 hours, but you will still need to submit a Time Punch Correction Card within 48 hours* of your missed time punch.
*NOTE: All Time Punch Correction Cards must be submitted by the final day of the current pay period.
Contact HR Management if you are unable to submit the Correction Card by this date.
Time Punch Correction Cards are available by the iPad Clock In/Out Kiosk, and must be submitted at the designated drop box/envelope located in the Art Dept in Freedom.
05.3 Unscheduled Absences
4. Unscheduled Absence (Notification Provided)
- Any deviation from the approved/confirmed schedule for reasons other than Sick Leave will be documented as an Unscheduled Absence. There are 3 types of Unscheduled Absences – with notification, without notification (“no call no show”), and excused emergency/closure. All Unscheduled Absences are unpaid leave types, and may or may not be excused.
- In order for your absence to not get logged as a “no call no show,” you must contact HR Management as soon as humanly possible to provide notification of the issue preventing you from working your scheduled shift (preferably at least 24 hours notice).
5. Unscheduled Absence (No Call No Show)
- “No call no shows,” (i.e. Unscheduled Absences without proper notification and/or for non-emergency reasons) are a serious offense and are likely to result in disciplinary action and/or voluntary termination.
- In order to be considered an excused absence (i.e. Personal Leave, Sick Leave, etc), you must contact HR Management and follow proper procedures and have your absence confirmed/excused (Sick Leave, etc) or approved in advance (Personal Leave, etc).
6. Unscheduled Absence (Excused Emergency/Closure)
- When emergency (extreme weather, accident or other “Acts of God” ) or company closure (due to power outage or other extreme circumstance) prevents you from working your scheduled shift, the absence will be logged as “excused emergency/closure,” assuming proper notification protocols are followed.
05.4 Swapping Shifts
- Swapping of shifts with a co-worker is not permitted.
- In the event that unforeseen, extenuating circumstances prevent you from fulfilling your schedule obligations, contact HR Management immediately.
05.5 Vacation
- State law does not require employers to provide employees with vacation benefits (paid or unpaid). However, paid vacation leave may be allotted as a bonus to full time, year-round staff fulfilling certain obligations & criteria for performance, punctuality & hours worked. If you are unsure of whether you qualify, or your current allotment status, please contact HR management.
- Vacation leave is classified as a type of “Personal Leave” and must be requested through a Leave Request. Proper procedures must be followed (see instructions below), and the vacation time must be requested a minimum of 30 days in advance.
- Due to the seasonal nature of our business, you can expect that any vacation requests that occur during the summer months will be declined.
- All vacation leave must be confirmed/approved within the scheduling app prior to buying tickets, making personal plans & other arrangements. Failure to submit your request properly and obtain scheduling confirmation may result in an Unscheduled Absence.
05.6 Sick Days
1. Sick Leave (paid)
- In accordance with State law, full time employees are allotted 1 hour of paid, protected sick time for every 30 hours worked, with a limit of 40 hours per calendar year. Seasonal employees are allotted a prorated amount of sick time based on hours worked. Once an employee has used this allotted amount, sick time is unpaid and not protected (unless covered under OFLA or other applicable laws).
- To facilitate tracking of paid sick time, the full 40 hours (or a prorated amount as applicable) will be frontloaded to each employee’s profile in the scheduling app. This amount will reset each calendar year.
- Reasons for using sick time include caring for yourself or a family member in times of physical illness, injury, and the need for diagnosis, care or treatment. For a full list of reasons, visit https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/Pages/sick-time.aspx
- Employees are expected to contact HR Management as soon as possible to notify them of their inability to make their scheduled shift and have their absence excused.
- Please remember that when you call in sick, you place other staff members under a great deal of stress to make necessary accommodations and find a substitute. You can help minimize this stress by calling HR Management as far in advance as possible, contacting other staff members to assist in finding a shift replacement, and demonstrating willingness and flexibility when it comes to be your turn to cover a co-worker’s unexpected illness.
2. Sick Leave (unpaid)
- Employees satisfying the minimum requirements for hours worked qualify for paid, protected sick time. However, for new employees (who have not yet satisfied the minimum requirements for hours worked), and for employees that have used all of their allotted paid time, sick time will be classified as unpaid, and is also unprotected (i.e. employment could be terminated as a result, in accordance with applicable laws).
- For more information please see https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/Pages/sick-time.aspx
05.7 Holidays & Local Events
- From Memorial Day through Labor Day, all employees are expected to be ready and willing to work. Non-essential leave requests that occur between these dates are frowned upon and likely to be declined.
- As a seasonal business, the summer months (particularly holidays and local event dates) are prime retail traffic days, and it is critical for our business to maximize that potential. Understanding, teamwork and participation from all employees during these times is expected.
- During the off-season, the holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are optional for work.
- Note: Oregon law does not require private employers to provide employees with holiday leave (paid or unpaid), nor is a private employer obligated to pay “time and a half” for working on holidays (unless such time worked qualifies the employee for overtime under standard overtime laws).
05.8 Leave Requests
- Requests for Personal Leave must be submitted as soon as the details of the event are known, and in accordance with the following minimum requirements: 2 weeks advance notice for leave of 1 day or less; 30 days advance notice for any leave of 2 days or more within a 2 week period.
- Notify HR Management of any essential medical appointments as soon as they are scheduled (preferably at least 2 weeks in advance).
- Requests made without proper notice and/or do not follow the procedure outlined below will likely be declined.
- Leave requests should be submitted for any event that is essential and/or there is potential schedule conflict (remember there are no “usual” or guaranteed days off).
- If the time off is only a preference, or if life events have resulted in changes to your preexisting time commitments, contact HR Management to discuss these circumstances in advance of the schedule being posted. Remember that for most positions, scheduling variations are always a possibility, therefore if the time off is important (i.e. not just a preference), you should always submit and obtain an approved Leave Request in order to prevent potential schedule conflicts.
- Leave requests must be submitted regardless of the duration of the leave, whether it be just a partial day or a 2 week vacation.
How to submit a Leave Request
To properly submit a Leave Request, you must follow the procedure below. All leave requests should be submitted on the employee’s own time (or when they are clocked off for break).
STEP #1: Create a new request – From within the scheduling app, tap “Me” in the bottom right corner and under “Time Off” select “Leave.” Tap the “+” icon on the upper right corner to add a new leave request.
STEP #2: Enter dates – Select the start and end dates of the leave you are requesting. If you are requesting a partial day, deselect the “All day” toggle, and add the hour/time details.
STEP #3: Enter leave type – Tap “Leave Type” and select the type of leave you are intending to take (note: this may later be adjusted by HR Management as needed).
STEP #4: Provide details of leave request – Under “Comment” enter a general description of the reason for leave.
STEP #5: Notify managers – Tap “Notify managers” and select a member of HR Management to be notified of your leave request.
STEP #6: Monitor for confirmation (IMPORTANT!) – Leave requests may be approved or declined. Although your leave request may be within the proper timeframe and guidelines, it may be declined due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts. Do not assume that you will be granted leave until you receive explicit approval through the scheduling app. If within 2 days you still have not received a response, re-submit the leave request and/or contact HR Management.