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VACATION - THE APPLICATION & PROCESSING PROCEDURE

What is Vacation?

Vacation is a period away from the job, for which an employee is paid, in order for the employee to rest and re-energize.

Persons Entitled to vacation and Conditions

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Every employee who has successfully passed his probationary period shall be entitled to vacation leave without loss of least the basic wage he would have received had he not taken the leave.

Vacation leave shall not include any public holiday, sick leave or weekly non-work periods

Vacation leave is earned at a rate of at least one day’s pay for each month of service.

The dates of taking earned leave shall be by agreement between the employer and employee. In as much as you choose our dates for your vacation leave, approval of such dates is subject to the needs of the company at that specific time.

Every employee who is terminated for whatever reason, shall be entitled to any outstanding vacation pay.

As a unionized company we are governed by a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Antigua and Barbuda Workers’ Union which outlines the process for dealing with vacation for employees;

  1. Vacation must be applied for not later than the 31st January of each year. Applications are now done on line. Any vacation which is applied for outside of this period must be accompanied by a letter stating the specific reason for the late application.

  2. No vacation shall be granted to any employee who has not completed twelve (12) months of employment

  3. No employee shall be allowed to proceed on vacation that has not yet been earned.

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Block-out Period

A vacation block-out period is a period of time during which vacation is not likely to be granted.

There are two (2) vacation block-out periods in the company

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  1. The carnival season, starting two (2) weeks before Carnival Tuesday, which is normally the first Tuesday in August, and ending at the conclusion of carnival.

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   2. The Christmas season, starting one week before Christmas day, and ending on January 7.

The Process

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  • All applications for vacation must first be received by the Human Resources Agent responsible for processing such documents.

  • Receipt of the form must be acknowledged within seven (7) days.

  • The form will then be examined for correctness and completeness, and calculations done to ensure that all the dates correspond.

  • Once everything is deemed to be in order, the form is then passed on to the Head of Department for the identification of a replacement, if necessary, and for initial approval.

  • Information pertaining to approval or denial of vacation will then be sent to HR where appropriate letters will be prepared.

  • It shall be the duty of the HR Agent responsible for vacation to inform employees of the status of their vacation application and provide letters accordingly.

Please be informed that in accordance with the Union Agreement, each employee will receive his/her vacation pay during the month following his/her employment anniversary; therefore, unless you have applied to take your vacation at that time, you will not receive any pay when you proceed on vacation.

Vacation is earned on the following basis in accordance with your years of service;

  • 1 - 3 years’ service             = 12 working days

  • 4 - 6 years’ service              = 15 working days

  • 7 – 9 years’ service             = 18 working days

  • 10 years and over               = 21 working days

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Accumulation of vacation

Any employee who receives vacation pay in lieu, shall only be permitted, at Management’s sole discretion, to accumulate up to three (3) years of vacation entitlement, upon special written request.

This means that the accumulation of vacation from year to year is a privilege and not a right.

If after you would have applied for vacation and no response is received in a timely manner, feel free to reach out to the Managing Director, the General Manager or the Office Manager for assistance.

In order to facilitate a smooth and easy flow of communication, be sure to provide the Human Resources Department with an email address, as well as your WhatsApp and straight call numbers.

Please contact the Human Resources Department if clarity is needed on any section of this document.

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