Social Sciences and Humanities Library

Vacation Policy for Information Desk Providers

June 8, 1998

The information desk providers re-affirmed their commitment to year-round vacations, agreed that it should not be first-come, first served, and made the following decisions:

1. A master calendar for vacation requests will be located at the Information Desk. Information desk providers may write in requests there, pending approval. Employees who notice that their requests overlap with other requests shall discuss their plans with fellow requestors to determine flexibility.

2. There will be one gray-out time when vacations may not normally be taken: during Welcome Week (Christmas break and summer is not problematic because of the already-reduced hours.) During "gray-out" time and all times, exceptions will always be considered. Conflicts and other problems will be taken as a start of negotiations, not as a reason to automatically deny a vacation request.

3. Decision for granting vacation approval rests with the Information Desk Manager and is dependent on sufficient desk coverage. For those staff who do not report to the Information Desk Manager approval must first be made with the immediate supervisor before submitting vacation requests to the Information Desk Manager. A minimum information service threshold when school is in session is that no more than 22 assigned desk hours per week are allowed as vacation time. During summer session no more than 50 assigned desk hours and during intersession no more than 66 hours of assigned desk hours per week are allowed as vacation time.

4. When vacation conflicts arise, seniority can be used as an issue to decide a request and long-term equity tracking of vacations can be used as an issue to decide a request. The Information Desk Manager will be responsible for long-term tracking of vacations.

5. The Information Desk Manager will put out a call for vacation requests for the following two quarters at the same time as the call for conflicts is sent for the upcoming quarter. Schedule is as follows:

There will be two calls for submitting vacation requests for a given quarter. If no problems occur with the first call, then vacations will be approved. Some staff may not know their vacation plans that far in advance; therefore a second call will be made. Second calls will include new vacation requests, vacation refinements and cancelled vacations since the first call. Again, if no problems occur then vacations will be approved.

6. The Information Desk Manager will expeditiously check vacation requests (do the math) for problems based on the thresholds, and review any "problem weeks" with the Assistant Head for Research Services, then let the requesters know so that they can negotiate to solve the conflict.

7. There is no maximum length to vacation, subject to supervisor approval and adequate desk coverage.

8. Subject to adequate desk coverage and approval by supervisor and Assistant Head for Research Services, as well as communication with Library Human Resources on specific details, leave without pay may be added on to vacation.

9. In order to retain the minimum threshold level for desk coverage during vacations, the full-time information desk staff have agreed to increase their desk hours during periods of colleague’s vacations.

When no other option is available in order to increase the opportunity for half-time employees to help cover shortages they will be allowed to work three consecutive hours (beyond the current two.) During unforeseen problem times (illness, emergencies when information desk providers are on vacation) reference desk providers will be asked to staff the Information Desk and staffing levels may be dropped to single-staffing during normally double-staffed hours. However, the desire is to maintain quality levels of service.

10. After the schedule has been completed and an information desk provider would like to take vacation, then it is up to that individual to make desk trades, keeping in mind that the threshold must be retained. The information desk provider should speak with the Information Desk Manager regarding the threshold. If difficulties should occur, the information desk provider and Information Desk Manager would speak with the Assistant Head for Research Services.

With only two staff members working in CPNM they will stagger their vacations.