With the increasing popularity of schedule flexibility, some employers are choosing an option that strikes a balance between the regular five-day workweek and the four-day workweek: granting workers every other Friday off. Here are some practical and legal tips on adopting such a schedule.
This schedule—also known as 9/80, or 80 hours of work in nine days—has the advantage of giving employees a Friday off every other week while allowing employees to continue working full time so they have no loss of income or benefits, said Robin Shea, an attorney with Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The typical 9/80 schedule is nine hours a day Monday through Thursday, with four morning hours on the first Friday charged to Week 1, followed by the four afternoon hours on Friday of Week 1 charged to Week 2, plus nine hours a day Monday through Thursday, with the second Friday off, Shea said. "If employees stick to that schedule, their hours will not exceed 40 in either workweek," she explained.
But despite the appeal to many employees of getting every other Friday off, the schedule comes with some practical disadvantages and legal risks, Shea cautioned.
Practical Difficulties
"The downsides are that the longer workdays the rest of the week may make it difficult for employees to handle other personal responsibilities," Shea said.
In addition, there might be a loss of productivity in the last hour of the longer days, simply because employees are in the habit of...
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