SHRM Poll Finds Paid Holiday Totals Same for 2011

A news release from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) said 97% of organizations offer one or more paid holidays per year.

Thanksgiving Day (97%), New Year’s Day and Independence Day (both 96%), Labor Day (95%), Memorial Day (95%), and Christmas Day (94%) are the holidays that organizations overwhelmingly plan to observe in 2011. Of those, New Year’s Day and Christmas Day fall on the weekend during 2011. Nearly all organizations (96%) will be closed on New Year’s Day, a Saturday, in 2011.

Only 1% plan to close their offices for the Jewish religious holiday of Hanukkah (December 21, 2011), the Islamic observance of the end of Ramadan (August 31), or the Christian observance of Ash Wednesday (March 9) as paid time off.

None planned to treat the Jewish holiday of Passover (April 19), the beginning of Ramadan (August 1), the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah (September 29), the Hindu observance of Diwali  (October 26) as paid days off in 2011, according to 472 HR professionals surveyed during September and October 2010.

Days Off Schedule for 2011  

Other findings for 2011:

• January 3, Monday after New Year’s Day—19% will close offices.
• Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, January 17—38% will close; none will close early. In 2010, 34% closed.
• Presidents Day, February 21—34% will close; none will close early. In 2010, 35% closed.
• Good Friday, April 22—26% will close; 6% will close early. In 2010, 30% closed early.
• Easter Monday, April 25—6% to close; 1% to close early. In 2010, 5% closed.
• Yom Kippur, October 8—7% will close offices.
• Columbus Day, October 10—16% will close; none will close early. In 2010, 13% closed.
• Veterans Day, November 11—21% will close. In 2010, 16% plan to close.
• Day before Thanksgiving, November 23—8% will close; 17% will close early. In 2010, 3% plan to close.
• Day after Thanksgiving, November 25—69% will close; 2% will close early. In 2010, 75% plan to close.
• Day before Christmas Eve, December 23—33% plan to close offices in 2011, 15% will close early and 53% will remain open. This is a Friday.
• Christmas Eve, December 24—78% will close offices; 10% will close early. This is a Saturday. In 2010, 79% plan to close; 10% plan to close early.
• Monday after Christmas, December 26—64% will close; 1% will close early. In 2010, 40% plan to close.
• Day before New Year’s Eve, December 30—25% will close; 10% will close early. This is a Friday.
• New Year’s Eve, December 31—71% will close offices on this Saturday, and 9% will close early.

In 2010, most federal employees will receive December 31 as a paid holiday because New Year’s Day—a legal public holiday—falls on a Saturday in 2011. Additionally, most federal employees will have December 26, 2011 as paid time off because Christmas—another legal public holiday—falls on a Sunday.

Just 12% indicated that their offices will be closed during the week between Christmas 2011 and New Year’s Day 2012, the SHRM poll found.