Paid holidays are holidays chosen to give employees along with pay associated with federal observed or religious holidays. According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), an employer is not required to provide compensation for the holidays.
Moreover, the act also does not include payment for the time not worked, such as vacations but the benefits of paid holidays are usually a matter of agreement.
According to FLSA, a business does not need to give payment for days off, and employees are not entitled to any such payments from a legal standpoint. The decision entirely falls on whether the employer wants to give paid or no paid holiday on a day off.
There is no difference between a salaried and hourly employee, as there is no law. The employer has the power to decide if the hourly employee will get compensated for the day off or will work on the holiday.
Although employers sometimes pay hourly employees overtime salary for the day off, this doesn’t make them automatically qualify for overtime pay in the future. Moreover, salaried employees don’t qualify for overtime pay and don’t always get paid holidays.
An employee receives a day off with pay on recognized federal holidays if an employer chooses to give one. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, 79% of U.S. civilian workers and 81% of private industry workers had the opportunity to get paid holidays. Moreover, employees in private organizations have access to eight paid holidays per year.
More or less, employees expect paid vacations and paid holidays from their employers, which can fall under employment benefits. Although there isn’t exact data for the popularity of paid holidays, paid time off, and vacations, it benefits both parties— the employees and the employers.
According to Glassdoor’s Employment Confidence Survey, 80% of people chose extra benefits and work-hour flexibility over a salary increment. Moreover, 60% of people said that perks and benefits play a significant factor when accepting a job offer.
According to a Fractl survey where 2,000 U.S. workers were asked to vote for the most important benefits of a job. Benefits such as flexible hours, paid vacation time, and work-from-home options came second right after health insurance.
Even employers and businesses understand the importance of paid holidays in the workplace. For example, big companies like “Google” offer employees paid vacation time, flexible hours, meal preps by professional chefs, weekly massages, etc., as additional benefits.
As a result, Google benefits from its employees through their work over time. So, usually, employers list employee paid leave as the most crucial benefit to the workforce.
Employer-paid holidays have become an essential additional benefit to attract skilled and experienced employees who are crucial for the organization. The benefits also help to boost loyalty and keep employees engaged in the company for an extended period.
Studies usually focus on paid time off in general, but the benefits of it can be associated with paid holidays. According to Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the paid time off (PTO) benefits correlate with:
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most common paid holidays are as follows: