Situation: A company is a professional organization with exempt employees who sometimes work extra time. Some employees are fine working 50-60 hours per week, others are not. The latter want comp time in exchange for the extra hours worked. What are appropriate policies for comp time?

Advice from the CEOs:

• When weekend duty is called for based on company needs, one company swaps dates to give the affected employees time off during the week. On the other hand, if they need extra hours to get their normal job done, this is part of the job and does not merit comp time; particularly if other employees manage similar work during regular hours.
• What about on call duty? If this is a regular part of the job, particularly if it is not frequent, it’s just part of the job. However, you may want to consider a spot bonus for special duty.
• Do not allow employees to accrue unlimited personal time off – PTO. Start limiting what you allow them to rollover and give them time to use it or lose it.
• Look at the individual, what is happening and their work processes. Help them to save time if their processes need to be improved.
• People sometimes feel that they are “entitled” with no justification. Rate your employees A, B and C. Inform them of their rating, and the reasons for it during their regular reviews. In a tight job market C’s either upgrade their performance to B or A, or they become candidates for replacement.

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