Holiday and Vacation Time
Are You Being Denied Earned Time Off ?

The Committee has recently become concerned that members of the bargaining unit are not getting the holiday and vacation time that they deserve. We have been hearing from nurses that requests to use their earned benefit time have been denied because the maximum number of nonproductive hours has already been allotted. If this has happened to you, or if it is occurring on your unit, please contact your MNA representative.

It would be helpful if a volunteer or two on each unit sat down with the time book to calculate the actual number of vacation and holiday hours that are needed to give everyone their full amount of benefit time. This will involve a little bit of effort and a calculator, but having the results will enable us to make our argument for more non-productive time.

Each nurse earns 11 holidays each year, and the amount of vacation time depends upon length of employment: up to three years = three weeks. After three years, four weeks, and after 10 years at BWH, nurses earn five weeks vacation. Both holiday and vacation time is pro-rated if the nurse works part time. Most seniority lists contain the date of hire for each nurse, this can be used to determine vacation earnings. (Per-diem nurses should not be included in these calculations.)

We are advising all nurses to pay attention to their accumulated vacation time as noted on your pay stub. The maximum accrual allowed is also noted on the stub. If you “max out” you are in danger of losing additional vacation time. Prior to reaching this point, you should contact your nurse manager to ask for time off. Except during the summer vacation period, you should reasonably expect to be given time off to prevent the further loss of your earned vacation time. Unless it is to your advantage, you should not take pay in lieu of time off.