https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 12 Apr 2026 23:15:39 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811398 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 22:23:59 +0000 Amorini 2811398@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I’m with @MrsSCB. Could you just use vacation time for the 3 hours that you left early? Or do you have to take the time in whole or half-day segments? I would talk to HR about it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811276 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:49:48 +0000 Mrsbells 2811276@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ajsmommy: my old job would do somthing similar. It is frustrating and probably ethically wrong but there is nothing legally to obligate them to give you back some hours. Even though they closed after you left </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811275 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:49:48 +0000 MrsSCB 2811275@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Could you take just the time between when you left and when he closed off? I've had situations when an employee I manage plans to take half or even a full day off before a holiday. If we end up getting out early, which is often the case, I'll email them to say, "Hey, we all left at two today, so you should only take x hours off rather than the whole day or half day." </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811254 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 12:02:33 +0000 Becky 2811254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This has happened to my staff. If they felt uncomfortable traveling but we had not closed the office, they would use personal time. Using your situation as an example, we would have had them use their personal time up until 2pm and they would then get PTO for the emergency closure for the remainder of the day. I can’t imagine your boss or HR department would make you use your entire vacation day. Coming from the supervisor end, if he hasn’t mentioned it it’s completely possible he forgot one of his employees chose to use some vacation time and will need to be credited back the portion of the day the office closed. </p> <p>This has been a significant issue where I live because while our main office and my staff’s satellite office are only 12 miles apart, the amount of snow we get is usually vastly different (one gets a foot while it’s sunny at the other). We also have a lot of staff who travel all over the county every day. My boss changed the policy this year so we can close one office and not the other. I had to make a real case for this several times, and it finally worked! It’s really impractical to apply a blanket rule in places where the weather can differ so using the practical approach might help. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811213 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 10:41:04 +0000 smuckers 2811213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At my office, if you leave early you do NOT get the emergency closure pay. BUT, the biggest difference seems to be that they communicate a LOT about what the plans are. Like, the day before the storm we have a big meeting about any plans, and if they are closing early, we get told usually about 2 hours beforehand (choice is offered at that point if you want to go home now because you feel that's safest, you totally can, but you're not getting the admin pay). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811200 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:55:42 +0000 snowjewelz 2811200@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That is really annoying... Similar thing happened the last snow storm where schools closed my office didn't. I had no choice but to call out. But then office closed at 2. If I had known they were gonna close, I would have made DH watch the 2 of them knowing I'd be back. Can you just talk to your boss and make up 3 hours?? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811196 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:51:31 +0000 Mama Bird 2811196@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That's so frustrating! It sounds like your boss did finally figure out it really is bad enough to close down, so I hope he's going to let people who left early only take part of the day off. Would he rather have someone crash on the way home because they stayed put? Where I live, things got much much worse during the evening commute. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811194 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 09:46:57 +0000 BadgerMom 2811194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think I'd shoot your boss a friendly email, and just say, "Hey, since the office closed at 2pm yesterday and I left at 11am to get home safely, so I still need to take vacation time?" And go from there. I wouldn't be surprised if you have to take the three hours, but would still be disappointed. I'd be PISSED if you had to take the whole afternoon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811174 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 07:50:26 +0000 Ajsmommy 2811174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Ms.Mermaid: crazy that isn't illegal what they do at your husbands work... I guess I just put too much faith in these big companies and "think" they care about their employees, but in instances like this their true colors show.... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811169 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 07:30:12 +0000 Ms.Mermaid 2811169@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would say that you take from 11am - 2pm off and then get admin time for the rest of the day - that is what has always happened with my office. My current office sometimes you don't get credit for an office closure if you leave early, but I think that only applies to being released early for holidays. My husband's office closes and they make them take vacation time for the day if the office closes, which I think is some serious BS but is apparently not illegal. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811167 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 06:51:52 +0000 MrsBucky 2811167@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I would be frustrated too. But I’d try to clam down so I could speak with the appropriate folks about it. I’d start with either my boss or HR. Inquire whether the time off will still apply, or if it will be nullified since the office was closed. Then I’d explain either to HR or your boss why you are concerned- ultimately the boss made the wrong call, and potentially put people in a bad situation because he wasn’t thinking about everyone’s experience, just his and he didn’t think about how it would be later in the day, only whether he could get in. Hopefully the boss or HR will make it right, and if not, I’d be pretty frustrated. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/time-offclosing-office-question#post-2811166 Thu, 22 Mar 2018 06:39:53 +0000 Ajsmommy 2811166@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So yesterday we were hit with the big snow storm and practically everything closed for the entire day. I'm talking the malls, fast food joints... pretty much everything. Well, that is except my office. We opened and I managed to get in however it was still snowing and getting worse and worse. It was very obvious that we were the only ones here. We work in a cluster of three 7 floor buildings and there were 6, SIX!!! cars in the parking lot. </p> <p>The problem was that our boss lives south so where he was wasn't as bad, he literally came in and said "this storm was a bust, I drove through 2 puddles on my way here".. mind you some of us drove through 6-8 inches of snow. </p> <p>As it kept getting worse my husband called and told me to get home asap that it was already up 3 more inches and if I waited much longer it would be worse. I (along with quite a few other co workers) decided to take time, like use a vacation or sick day to leave in order to get home safely. I left at 11 taking a half day off.</p> <p>Lo and behold the boss closed the office at 2. </p> <p>I am feeling angry.. upset.. not sure what the right word is.. But I don't feel like I should have had to take time off now, especially seeing how he ended up closing the office. Am I wrong? What would you feel like in this situation? </p>