Is My Company Right to Count My Vacation Days This Way? Let's Discuss the Prefix-Suffix Rule

Hi there, I work for a software firm and I am leaving for a vacation on 2nd October 2011. We follow a 5-day workweek and federal US holidays. I am leaving on 2nd October 2011, which falls on a Sunday, and will be back in the office on Tuesday, 11th October 2011. My working days during this period are only from 3rd October to 7th October, followed by a weekend on 8th and 9th. Additionally, 10th October is a US federal holiday for Columbus Day. According to my HR, she says that based on the rule of Prefix and Suffix, all days from 1st October to 10th October will count as leaves, even if I report to the office on the 11th. However, I believe that only 5 days of leave should be counted.

Please share your thoughts on whether the management's approach is correct or not.

Regards,
Venkat

If the company has declared a holiday on that day, can the management call you for duty without overtime pay? If yes, then it is against the law. If no, then it cannot be added to leave. The holidays falling before the commencement of leave can be prefixed, and the holidays falling after the completion of leave can be suffixed along with the leave. Whatever your HR department is telling you is entirely wrong practice. Sometimes, they may insist on it as per the advice from top management.

Regards

Thanks for your reply, but I am quite confused with your response. My concern was about the prefix-suffix rule. To be very clear, I am going on vacation from the 1st to the 9th of October. During this time, I have four days off as weekends, which are the 1st & 2nd of October, and the 8th and 9th of October 2011. I am ready to return to work on the 10th of October, but that day is a declared US federal holiday.

Prefix-Suffix Rule Clarification

So, according to the prefix and suffix rule, how many days of leave should be counted? Please specify a number.

Thanks in advance

It's a rule in many companies that if you are taking leaves and your week off is also included in the leave, your HR is right according to your company rules.

Regards,