"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...


I'd be happy to give them 6 or 8 or 12 weeks vacation...but it can't all
be paid vacation.



Several years ago when I was still running my small company, it became
important for us to develop and publish a formal Employee's Manual. I
labored over the development of a comprehensive outline of policies,
benefits and other company related issues ranging from job descriptions,
holidays, leaves of absence and continued education reimbursement. After
months of drafts, researching, conferences with the lawyer and accountant
and rewriting, I was finally satisfied with what I considered a Pulitzer
Prize candidate of a document.

At the time we had a young lady who handled the phones and greeted
visitors - a receptionist in my day, but a "Administrative Assistant" in the
politically correct world. She was pleasant, attractive and single,
qualities that soon led to her being knocked up by one of the unmarried shop
guys. I was initially unaware of her "condition" and rather than have her
sit there between phone calls doing her nails, she helped me by typing all
the drafts and revisions to the Employee's Manual. When I was satisfied
that the final revision was done and we were about to go to print, something
told me to read the whole thing again, one more time, cover to cover.

At the last minute, she had taken the liberty of re-writing the whole
section on maternity leave. It now read that the company would provide up
to six months of fully paid leave for any employee having a kid. When I
confronted her, she just smiled, and said, "Hey, it doesn't hurt to try".

Obviously, she left to have her kid and never returned. We did fully pay
her COBRA contributions for 3 months to make sure she had insurance coverage
during the remainder of her pregnancy.

RCE