# Good Friday - Work or take off?



## sluice44 (9 Mar 2005)

Good Friday is coming up and I understand it's not an official public holiday.

Some companies close and the employees get a free holiday.
Some companies close and charge the employees a holiday-day!
Some stay open.

What do you do?

Are there any statistics on what % open/close/close but charge holiday.


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## ClubMan (9 Mar 2005)

*What do you do?*

For what it's worth, as a software engineer for the past 17 years or so, I've never worked for a company that closed for _Good Friday_.


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## rainyday (9 Mar 2005)

We're open, but lots of people tend to dissappear early from lunchtime onwards.


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## ClubMan (9 Mar 2005)

Do they reappear a couple of days later?


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## Ceist Beag (9 Mar 2005)

I find that most American companies stay open (at least that I've worked for) whereas my current (Irish) company closes for the day.


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## elderdog (9 Mar 2005)

FWIW it is a bank holiday


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## jem (9 Mar 2005)

I have never worked a Good friday, since I started working.
I give my staff a day off with pay.


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## ajapale (9 Mar 2005)

Some companies close and employees have to take a compulosory days leave. I dont know how common this is thought.


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## ClubMan (9 Mar 2005)

* FWIW it is a bank holiday*

But  and a bank holiday is not the same thing. This comes up every year!  

*I find that most American companies stay open (at least that I've worked for) whereas my current (Irish) company closes for the day.*

I've worked for a number of indigenous _Irish_ and _US_ headquartered companies and none of them ever gave _Good Friday_ off.


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## purple (9 Mar 2005)

We close Good Friday and everyone gets a days pay- happy days!
It's counted as a days annual leave - not so happy days...


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## my2leftfeet (9 Mar 2005)

We close - and pay everyone. But we do state in staff handbook that it is "An extra day - given at companys discretion".  the employees see it as a perk.


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## elderdog (9 Mar 2005)

Yes,

Thats right Clubie, its not a public holiday !

Are church holidays followed any more ?

Back when I was a pup all the country seemed to take them.

Come to that I'm glad to see some places still taking a half day during the week.

eDog


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## ClubMan (9 Mar 2005)

*Are church holidays followed any more ?*

Not sure what you mean but I'm sure that some people observe them by taking a day out of their annual paid leave where applicable.


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## mo3art (10 Mar 2005)

We actually close on the Wednesday afternoon & reopen the following Wednesday morning.  They are discretionary days given by the company, but we are paid for them.  The same applies at Christmas.  It evens out to approx 30 annual leave days per year.

The bosses thinking being that it makes up for a lack of similarity between our pay and that of our peers.


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## ClubMan (10 Mar 2005)

* We actually close on the Wednesday afternoon & reopen the following Wednesday morning. *

Over _Easter_?! Any vacancies?


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## mo3art (10 Mar 2005)

Well, I am leaving in 3 weeks  

LOL

Trust me, the extra holidays don't make up for the lack of pay.  It really puts the pressure on to take your holidays, I was regularly carrying over as much as 12 days every year.  But it is very handy for childcare reasons


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## Penny Foolish (11 Mar 2005)

*Do they reappear a couple of days later? *


ROFLMAO @ ClubMan
Very good!


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## ClubMan (11 Mar 2005)

Phew! I was afraid nobody got it...


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## JC 2of3 (12 Mar 2005)

Oh, I got it alright!
We are not amused!
>:


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## MugsGame (10 Apr 2006)

*Re: Good Friday - what do you do?*

Just bumping this before the inevitable questions come in!
I'm getting it (Good Friday) as an extra company holiday this year.


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## quinno (10 Apr 2006)

*Re: Good Friday - what do you do?*

If you work in the building industry, it's a builder's holiday (CIF holiday), so all sites are closed.

I think the confusion should be sorted out by making it a public holiday (as well as a bank holiday, as it is already) like the UK.

Then everyones happy...


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## fobs (10 Apr 2006)

*Re: Good Friday - what do you do?*

We are expected to work on this day and have to use a days holiday to take it off. I have nearly always taken this day off over the years as Creche closes this day. Often willbe on call this day which means if I am I don't lose a days holiday!


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## RainyDay (10 Apr 2006)

*Re: Good Friday - what do you do?*

I'll be using my free time on Good Friday to plan what to do with all my free time on Easter Tuesday - The joys of working in the public sector!


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## ClubMan (11 Apr 2006)

So you're in the office both days then?


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## moneypitt (11 Apr 2006)

So its a bank holiday, not a public hoiday and I guess that means streetside parking is not free (like a Sunday) either.


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## sherib (11 Apr 2006)

In case anyone is interested (checked with An Post today) there will be no postal deliveries or collections on Good Friday.

Am I right in supposing that day telephone calls on Friday will be at peak rates but off peak on Easter Monday? I seem to remember that with Eircom, before the flotation, calls on Good Friday were charged at off peak rates; could be wrong about that.


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## ClubMan (11 Apr 2006)

Depends on whether the tariff schedule in question charges off peak rates for bank or public holidays I suppose? The terms & conditions usually clarify.


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## sherib (12 Apr 2006)

Yes CM, one would expect Ts & Cs to explain but having searched _Utv's_ site, can't find any reference to call tariffs on either Bank or Public Holidays. All I could find was evening and weekend rates. http://u.tv/talk/tc.asp?loc=ie

Maybe there's no reduction on Easter Monday either? It looks like it. Can't find that information either in Eircom's Ts & Cs or anywhere on their site. I've sent them an email and the answer should be interesting or at least illuminating.


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## Ron Burgundy (12 Apr 2006)

well i'm in the civil service and we have the day off, but in saying that they do make us come in on Christmas Eve, which i think is stupid, i'd rather it the other way around,

as for the business, its only of the only 2 guranteed days off for a dj, seeing as the venues are shut and in my case there are no weddings.

But i am meeting a couple on friday about their wedding so i suppose i am doing some work.


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## Purple (12 Apr 2006)

*Re: Good Friday - what do you do?*



			
				RainyDay said:
			
		

> I'll be using my free time on Good Friday to plan what to do with all my free time on Easter Tuesday - The joys of working in the public sector!


 You deserve it. After all the downsides of working in the public sector are......
well you reserve it anyway.


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## brian.mobile (12 Apr 2006)

I consider it a perk for the staff. If we get what we need done tomorrow, we'll close on Friday.

Makes it a Great Firday.

BM


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## ClubMan (12 Apr 2006)

And if they don't...?


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## JP1234 (14 Apr 2006)

sherib said:
			
		

> In case anyone is interested (checked with An Post today) there will be no postal deliveries or collections on Good Friday.



We had a post delivery today!  Not sure if the post office was open though


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## sherib (14 Apr 2006)

I had a delivery also today but was definitely told on the phone this week (think I spoke to someone in the GPO) that there would be no deliveries or collections on Good Friday. Maybe it was just post offices that were closed. 

By chance I spoke to a Postman collecting at 5.30pm in south suburbs on Thursday and he told me that there would be a delivery on Friday so he was right. Perhaps today's delivery was overtime. Same postman also told me that there is a collection on Saturday at noon (even though the notice on the box only gives Mon-Fri collection times) which I didn't know existed. But he said they were phasing out Sat collections except at GPO. All very confusing.


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## Megan (15 Apr 2006)

I phoned vhi low call number yesterday(Good Friday) and got an answering machine to say they were closed but would be opened on Saturday. Does that make sence.
I also phoned my insurance company's number to have shop insurance transfered to new premises again to get an answering machine to say the office was closed.
Wouldnt it be better if it was a bank holiday or not at least then we would know.


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## ajapale (15 Apr 2006)

Our post was delivered as normal yesterday Good Friday.

aj


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