Law Firm Holiday Policies
Law firm holidays tend to align with standard business holidays; firms recognize major holidays, such as New Year’s Day (observed), Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Feb. 15, and Presidents’ Day, Feb. 22. However, some firms take an additional day off the following Monday after Thanksgiving in lieu of giving the four-day weekend in which they are closed from Thursday through Sunday. On the days that the firm is closed , each department decides when employees will take their vacation day, i.e. by department or by individual. Because of this flexibility, some departments carry vacation days while other departments require employees to take them on specific days. The PTO accrued per department also varies and can include paid holidays and personal days, which can be given at the discretion of managers. Lastly, some firms require vacation for Jewish holidays, while others do not.
Legal Issues Relating to Holidays
The legal requirements around scheduling holidays in law firms are primarily governed by two areas of law: labor standards and anti-discrimination legislation.
Under the Ontario Employment Standards Act, 2000, workers are entitled to a minimum of two weeks’ vacation each year (after one year of employment). Workers are also entitled to take seven paid holidays each year: New Year’s Day, Family Day, Good Friday, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, and Christmas Day. While employers cannot require employees to work on these holidays, it is permissible for employees to work if they agree in writing.
Along with legislated holidays, some employers extend additional holidays as part of their internal policies. For example, many law firms in Ontario will close for a week or so over the Christmas holidays to allow their employees to spend time with family.
Work-life balance is also tied to scheduling law firm holidays, as some research shows that a good work-life balance can have a positive impact on employee health. One study demonstrated that workers with very high job demands were 87% more likely to struggle with mental health problems than other workers (58%).
This is not to say that a long vacation will solve the work-life balance issue. Work-life balance requires an equal amount of attention from both employee and employer. As an example, even if an employer has paid holidays per the ESA, some employees may be hesitant to book those paid holidays for fear of being looked down upon or penalized for taking them.
For this reason, employers should establish an internal policy on paid holidays, such as a vacation entitlement and return back to work, and have reasonable policies in place around leave options, such as personal leave, sick leave, and bereavement leave. Employers should also discuss vacation entitlements with employees on a regular basis to build a culture in which employees feel comfortable taking their holidays.
Employers also need to be mindful of human rights issues relating to scheduling law firm holidays. For example, the law requires employers to accommodate an employee’s needs due to family status, including daycare and childcare. This is significant for law firms closing for a week or more over Christmas holidays, as employees with school-age children may not have anyone to look after their children during the holidays.
Employers must balance the organization’s goals with the reasonable accommodation needs of employees, and this can sometimes create conflicts for employees. There are cases where employees have asked for and been accommodated with substitutes so that they can take vacations to celebrate a religious holiday. An employer must consider the operational requirements of the business and the availability of qualified temporary employees, but if the employer is capable of accommodating the request, one would expect a law firm to do so.
Another legal requirement around scheduling law firm holidays is the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Code requires employers to accommodate the religious beliefs of employees if it is "on the cost of reasonable accommodation" of the employer. "Religion" (a ground of discrimination) is defined very broadly under the Code.
There are many examples of this, such as requiring a Muslim attorney to work late into the night after Friday prayers, or requiring a Jewish employee to be in the office on Yom Kippur. Although managers of law firms may have a great deal of pressure to meet client demands, a building will collapse if there is no one to work at the top. As such, it may be easier for a manager to deal with a few exceptions around Christmas holidays than to face the consequences of not.
Any successful law firm should be able to balance the demands of clients with the needs of employees through effective management. More employers are bowling to employees’ needs for holidays and vacation by adopting internal policies such as flexible hours, paid leave, and work-at-home options. As the world of work changes, how law firms manage their employees will need to change as well.
How to Manage Client Assumptions about Holidays
With the holidays upon us, there is some questions about whether law firms will be open, to what extent services will be offered and how clients should expect to be able to reach a firm.
Holiday hours—strategies: These vary by firm but typically, law firms operate with at least some reduced hours during the holidays. Some may close completely for a few days; others may stay open but with a minimal crew. Plans for holiday staffing also vary by firm with some suited in advance, while others may wait until the last minute to figure out who will be available—and where. All of these staffing plans should have a clear communications plan in place as most clients expect some level of accessibility.
Managing Client Expectations: With some staff out for the holidays lawyers should anticipate that their clients will still call. And even though you may have minimal staff present in your office or firm, clients may still want access to their attorney. While less than helpful, clients will accept that certain holidays are holidays but being overly accessible during a holiday is a recipe for disaster. The best approach is to let your client know in advance what to expect. Setting up a system for paging attorneys, directing calls to another lawyer in the same office, or to the answering service or reception desk can be very effective. If you plan to have limited staff during the holidays coordinate this with your answering service, receptionists and assistants. Send out an email, or call your biggest clients in advance to let them know that you will be out and how they can best reach you should they need information, guidance or to contact you about an upcoming hearing or deadline.
Best Practices in Scheduling Firm Holidays
Planning a law firm closure, whether for a holiday or other occasion, is not as simple as picking a date on the calendar. There are a myriad of factors that must be considered, from potential conflicts to client service, and your plans will probably not be perfect no matter how long you take to make them. The following approaches can help you plan a holiday shutdown for your firm to maximize client service and minimize stress.
Because even the smallest firms take on a number of cases or matters, it’s important to have an understanding of every attorney’s active docket. The easiest way to do this is with a case management system that provides email notifications on court dates and deadlines. Setting up notifications well in advance of holidays allows you to focus on active cases and, if possible, avoid scheduling hearings, conferences, or other events on those days. For more complicated matters, like depositions, in-person hearings or trials, consider the deadlines for and availability of all involved parties when planning for the firm’s time off.
Once your firm has a good understanding of its active matters, communicating the plan to staff and clients is the next vital step in planning a firm closure . At least two weeks prior, each attorney should make a list of everyone involved in their active matters. The easiest way to start is with the parties on the other side of each case, but it may also include jurors, judges, agency representatives and support staff. While attorneys and their administrative assistants work to plan the firm’s time off, it’s ideal to set aside time during a staff meeting to go over the holiday closure and how matters will be handled.
Finally, it’s essential to notify clients about the firm’s plans well in advance. The best time frame is typically 30 to 60 days in advance, but this is not always possible. Every firm has a different client base, and larger firms may be able to better absorb the impact of a mass communication. However, every client should receive a letter informing them of the firm’s closure and how it will impact their active matters. If a matter requires immediate attention, direct contact is recommended. Be sure to include contact information so they can reach a firm member should the need arise.
Utilizing Cyber Solutions in Holidays
Holidays create challenges and opportunities for any organization, and law firms are no exception. However, technology has created a number of opportunities for firms to maintain operations at a high level while limiting disruptions during the holidays. Let’s look at some of these.
Use of automated systems is widespread in law firms but mostly behind the scenes. Take a look at your processes related to matters and time entry. Are there any manual processes that can be streamlined through technology? For many mid-size and larger firms, only a fraction of firm personnel process court filings when a new matter is opened or when litigation activity takes place. As a legal assistant, I saw a consistent amount of matters being opened during the holidays. An automated system can handle the filing of those matters in the jurisdictional e-filing systems and a good records management system can process those files through to the records department.
When attorneys and staff are out of the office, calendaring nightmares happen if there are not processes in place. Use of calendaring systems help mitigate those problems but additional tools within those calendaring systems can also help. For example, MS Outlook facilitates establishing "groups" that can streamline distribution lists for meetings or emails. User-defined scripts can be created to send emails or schedule in specific time frames to reduce distribution lists or common calendar conflict issues.
Educational/training webinars are enormously beneficial to firms because they allow attorneys to get trained in the use of new applications without having to take time out of their busy schedules to attend a live, on-site training event. They can learn quickly about a new application or practice/subject area making them better prepared to handle a situation quickly and effectively rather than fumbling around because they are not aware of options available to assist them. Legal professionals can also get exposure to new functionality within an application that they currently use by attending these short webinars. The holidays can be a great time to hold such webinars because, first of all, people tend to have a little more time during the holidays to participate and, second, they are looking for ways to carve out time during the holidays to attend to their professional education requirements. Third, the holidays offer specialized training days that are dedicated to specific groups or teams within a firm, which give those individuals a time to ask questions, seek clarification, and perform the kind of informal "hands on" training that is so important to their success.
How Do Holidays Affect Your Firm Culture?
Holidays are a great opportunity to foster closer bonds among members of your firm. Has anyone ever complained about a successful outing that featured pizza and bowling, or a weekend ski or camping trip? Don’t worry that these group events will be taken for granted. The more you feature fun events, the more they will be appreciated and anticipated.
By the way, be sure to make a distinction between a holiday event and a celebration of some kind that is simply "coincidentally" scheduled in conjunction with a holiday. For example, a firm I once knew about had a great idea. They sponsored a huge firm party on the eve of New Years Day, even though it was not technically a holiday. Of course, many associates were obliged to work New Year’s Eve, as did more than a few underlying staff. New Year’s Day was effectively just another workday, so it didn’t seem quite right to have a holiday party on that date while they would have to come back to work the next day. The firm carried on with the New Year’s event anyway, but it really wasn’t a holiday party in spirit. And, as it turned out, it just diminished enthusiasm for what became an obligatory event that no one could plan around anymore.
If you do want to have a holiday party in an office context, be generous enough to give people at least a half day off so they can do their last-minute shopping and make that appointment to get their hair done. And don’t punish them if they have to take time off to make a family visit or if they want a long weekend . The more generous you are in this regard, the more support you will have for future activities.
Departmental holiday dues, or any other official or unofficial fees associated with your events, also need to be well thought out. Keeping this voluntary and small may bring greater benefits. Taking up the collection every year from the summer intern class is not the right thing to do. Whenever possible, provide everything – since these events are for the benefit of you, not them. Besides, it will just build resentment when someone sees they are being bilked for another pizza and beer event. And don’t worry too much if you have to ask for contributions now and then; they will spring for a one-off event if it seems right under the circumstances. But don’t rip people off, because they won’t return next time.
And of course, always remember that you are dealing with people at a law firm, that they do have lives outside of work, and that they should be treated better than they have been during the last few years. If you are recognizing their personal needs and aspirations and accommodating them to the best of your ability, you can probably ride a smooth wave of acceptance and support from your most productive people. In other words, the more you treat them like royalty, the better—at least it will give them less cause to think poorly of you. And if you value their celebration of their lives, then they will usually respond in kind.