Vacations

[panewswatcher69 28]

Moderators: Please move this to another subtopic if necessary. I didn't really know where to post this.

 

I've always wondered how vacation time is structured for on-air personalities. The companies and places I've worked for usually have a yearly range say year 1, years 2 to 5, etc with a specific amount earned of vacation time available to the employee. In some cases, certain on-air staff seem to have a lot of vacation time throughout the year while other on-air staff with the same or more experience and tenure seem to work more often. I'm looking at what general vacation time structures are but I understand if this can not be discussed due to confidentiality, etc.

[MetroCity 248]

Apologies for the long answer.

 

Vacation time is one of those incentives that (in theory) don't impact a station's budget or an employee's tax bill, that can be pulled out of a drawer when a manager can't offer dollars.

 

Most companies have a standard base vacation policy, which might start at two weeks per year. Then time increases with seniority, up to a company ceiling. But managers generally have some lee-way.

 

A manager makes a job offer. The employee wants more money but the budget doesn't have it. So an extra week of vacation gets thrown in. An exceptional employee deserves much more than the standard 3% annual raise, but a manager can't set a precedent or throw off the budget. So a few extra vacation days are offered instead. Then there are comp time policies in lieu of overtime. They generally aren't even trades, but a salaried employee who works, say, four double shifts over the course of a month might be given a freebie comp day. Working a sixth day to cover someone sick or on vacation will also generally get a comp day. Working holidays might or might not get comp time, depending on a station's policy.

 

If there's a union, vacation time is dictated by the bargaining agreement. For instance, at some top-10 market stations, on air talent gets six weeks. Also, it isn't just on air people. Every union has vacation minimums.

 

Some companies are starting to get tougher on vacation time because they don't have big enough staffs to cover those days or weeks when vacation is the heaviest. And, it becomes a Catch 22, because you have to give people comp time to work extra days to cover vacations, and you just dig a bigger hole.

 

As always, the most senior people and the biggest names command the best vacation perks. But (most) stations are imposing limits in how far they are willing to go for talent vacations. It's hard to maintain a big following and justify a big salary if it seems like you're never on the air. And viewers start to resent talent who never seem to be where they're supposed to be.

[tyrannical bastard 3950]

Usually during sweeps, vacation time is either forbidden or strongly discouraged. July seems to be the lenient time of year when employees can get away with it.