So who gets the time off?

[DrFaroohk]

So if it comes down to who asked first, throw this in there:

Employee A left a note for the boss as he got off shift one night.

Employee B was in with the boss first thing in the morning, and asked before the boss read the note.

Who asked first? Employee B asked first, but Employee A wrote the note first.

[PepperElf]

actually i like the idea of...

1) why do you need time off? the one with the more valid reason gets to go first, and the other can get another day

2) first come first serve

3) or tell them that you can only spare one of them at a time and ask them if either one wants to - or can - reschedule. sometimes people will be adult and voluntarily take another day off.

[Aisling]

Bat'leth competition, or, failing that, riddle contest. Sphinx optional required.

Or they could arm-wrestle bears!

[Duelist925]

Bat'leth competition, or, failing that, riddle contest. Sphinx optional.

[Andara Bledin]

All other things being equal, the one who asked first.

^-.-^

[Mytical]

Alphabetically with whoever didn't get it this time, automatically getting it next time.

[EvilEmpryss]

I had to deal with this in the military. We would drill down through rank, date they made rank, time on station, and time in service if necessary, but usually the following questions decided the issue:

Who asks for time off less?
Who has more leave time on the books?
What is the lead time on the request? Did they ask today for time off tomorrow, or did they give me a few weeks or months to decide?
What is the purpose of the time off? Medical appointments, sick/dieing family, etc. generally take precedence over "just 'cuz".
How did they ask? If one has an EW attitude about taking time off, it's going to count against 'em.

Try and get the two workers to talk it out themselves, and definitely give precedence on the next conflicting vacation time to the one who doesn't get first pick this time. It may seem more fair to just flip for it, or draw lots, but in my experience that usually comes across as a cop out. Unless both workers buy into the idea, one or both may wind up feeling that their needs weren't addressed.

[Android Kaeli]

^Agreed. First come, first serve should be the normal route, regardless.

[Bright_Star]

Who asked first? That's who you give it to.

[csquared]

I second Imprl59.

If they are both equal there also, make the two of them decide how it will be settled, with the understanding that the denied request get preference next time.

[Imprl59]

Easy one.

The one that gets the day off is the one most likely to come in when I need them or most likely to help out with that undesirable task witout giving me any grief

[Salted Grump]

Flip a coin, or if I know both of them personally, give the day off to the person whose family has suffered the most deaths recently, with the understanding that the second person will get a preference towards the next day off they request.

[DrFaroohk]

You have two employees who both want Tuesday off. All things being equal, that is, they're both the same type of employee, both been there the same amount of time, have the same attendance record, etc....but you can only give one of them the day off. How do you decide?