Will this madness never end?

A vacant lot

End-of-year bullshit from the mouth-breathers in MegaCorpCH's HR department.

TLDR: we are encouraged to take our well-deserved rest but, at the same time, they're really antsy about carry-over. Only five days can be carried into next year, and they must be used before next years' entitlement. But, if they're not used by the end of April, they then can only be used after next year's entitlement has been completely used.

None of this is made any easier by the time recording system that the mouth-breathers have foisted upon us. It gives us several different numbers for available days remaining, with no clear indication as to what they mean. The previous system gave just one number, where the number was the number.

I understand why they don't want people taking over excessive leave allowances, but how typical of them to find a way to over-complicate things. And they make no allowance for the fact that holiday travel's been totally blown out by the pandemic.

I bloody hate HR. Their only value would be as a diversionary sacrifice, while the rest of us make good our escape from a velociraptor attack. Except payroll, that is. I freakin' (heart) payroll.

Dear colleagues This is a reminder of the amendment to the Employee Regulations Art. 7 which was implemented as of 1 January 2020. Included are guidelines on the use of vacation entitlements, vacation carry-over of previous years and a five-year time limit for past vacation entitlements. Annual leave serves the purpose of physical and mental recovery. It should enable us to relax from work and to recharge our batteries. As an employer, [MegaCorpCH] has a duty of care towards our employees to ensure that this annual leave is offered; however, employees themselves are responsible for planning and taking their annual leave in consultation with their line managers. In order to support employees in their self-responsibility for taking annual leave, our Executive Committee (EC) decided in September 2019 to regulate the entitlement to annual leave in Switzerland according to the last-in-last-out principle. This means: • Vacation days of the current year always come first: The most recently accrued vacation days are always used first. The current year's vacation entitlement must first be completely used up before any accrued days carried over from the previous year can be used. --> Example: When booking vacation in 2021, the balance for 2021 will be utilized first, before using the 2020 vacation accruals balance is used. • Limited carry-over from the previous year: Employees in Switzerland are only entitled to carry over a maximum of five days from their annual leave entitlement to the following year. These five carried-over vacation days must be taken within the first four months of the following year. If they are not used by the end of April, they are automatically transferred to the previous year account and can only be used after the current year vacation entitlement have been taken. --> Example: If the remaining entitlement from 2021 is not taken by the end of April 2022, it can only be taken after the 2022 holiday entitlement has been completely used. • Five-year time limit for past vacation entitlements: If past annual leave entitlements are not used within this five-year period, the credit on unused leave days will be forfeited without replacement. --> Example: If remaining holiday entitlements from 2019 are not taken in 2020-2024, they will lapse at the turn of the year 2024 / 2025. • No payout or rebooking of vacation days: Please note that payout or rebooking of any vacation to other years is not possible. More information on this regulation can be found in this video. Please check your vacation accounts and plan the reduction of any outstanding vacation balances in consultation with your line manager, so that your well-deserved rest is guaranteed. Further information about annual leave as well as valuable tips and tricks for planning can be found here in connection to Wellbeing@[MegaCorpCH].