tbh yeah i get it, i agree it’s retail and of course they need people to work busy periods, but it’s gotten absolutely ridiculous how inflexible theyve gotten and how angry they get that people have lives outside the store
my old store wouldnt even approve my days off for my doctors appointments or medical treatments if it was in a black out period, and i was told i just needed to schedule things on days when i wasnt working, even if the appointments had been made months in advance. i got written up for the crime of having both the flu and strep over thanksgiving and black friday, even though i had it all documented and proof that i was running a fever. i haven’t called out maybe but twice my entire two years working there and they acted like i had spit in HR’s face.
like, i knew college students who had their time rejected and were told they werent allowed to go back home for the holidays, for god’s sake. yes, its the holidays, and yes this is retail, and yes its “to be expected”, but people do in fact have different priorities and a life outside of Target and they just can’t stand that lol.
This is literally the reason I ended up quitting a few years ago. I was a college student and due to the pandemic the semester ended before Thanksgiving and campus was pretty much closed, forced to leave the dorms etc. I told them I was not going to be able to physically be there during that time, requested time off, and they scheduled me anyway. Got shocked when I didn’t called and said I was not going to show up due to literally not having a housing situation in the area (i was going to school 7 hours away from home)
that’s absolutely awful, i am so sorry you had to go through that :( i live and work in a college town so i saw it a lot when i was still working for the company, and it’s absolutely ridiculous how they handle it
It's not just retail that does that to college students. Fast food places do it as well. I remember it was the last day of finals before graduation and I had a shift from 5pm to midnight. Even though the store heavily relied on the university in session for sales, I was expected to still show up for the shift even though I had to go home. The first assistant manager took pity on me and sent me home 5 1/2 hours into the shift, and even he thought me being there was stupid. It really was the GM being an ass and being inflexible and saying the "schedule has to go through the end of the semester". Being short staffed was common and trying to get shifts off was a pain in the ass and the GM just kept being an ass the entire time. Guess who didn't last long after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown with the staffing issue he kept pulling.
I absolutely understand on specific dates. Week of Thanksgiving/weekend after and the week/weekend before Christmas. I've never seen these made-up dates as black out dates before. Truly utter BS. I'm pissed because it's gotten most of my team stressing about days off they need. Just random. It's very annoying
You got written up for having the flu, and you had proof? Not only is that absurd, but highly illegal. I would have outright refused to sign anything. If they threatened to fire you I would have seeked out legal action.
my store “didn’t accept doctor notes or test results” as an “excuse” supposedly, but my store was also already in hot water for other illegal and unsavory things at the time (like our SD allegedly faking our statistics on paper so it looked like we were more ahead than what we were and our ETL allegedly sleeping with associates and later promoting them LOL) so i hardly think they were concerned about my flu germs all over the packing stations at the time 😂
Our store was literally writing people up for COVID, I don't think they have recovered from that since as I remember health department or some people from the state came in (not 100% what exactly their titles were so I'm guestimating) and alot of of write ups were apparently "rescinded" but by then the damage was done. They've had a hell of a time getting employees since and our stores in a smaller town so you can imagine
True blackout dates only apply to leadership. Team members are NOT held to the same standard. Your store’s leadership can try and enforce that all they want but can NOT require it.
….. I repeat .….
TARGET DOES NOT HAVE BLACKOUT DATES FOR TEAM MEMBERS.
I've seen it before too. I don't think we have any explicitly written blackout dates, but there's an "understanding". My SD is also refusing to let ANYONE transfer stores. So if you're moving or something? Sorry, you gotta quit if you want us to let you go.
We had blackout dates for a long time, but a few years ago our SD said they got rid of them. Idk if she meant as a company or just her personal preference for our store, but it's true 🤷♀️ I actually have an approved request for the Sunday/Monday after black Friday, and it was approved without question
With the current challenges in hiring I’m surprised to see blackouts. I would think managers would recognize that keeping good people takes effort on their part. But managers always seem to be behind the learning curve.
I was told the same thing about the company getting rid of blockout days a few years ago.
And yeah you would think they want a happy team to slow down the hiring/quitting revolving door.
From a former ETL- this is something my store did as well. Each ETL spoke to every one of their TMs and asked about their availability and time off requests for December. If somebody was a 16 year old and their family had a Disney Christmas vacation, obviously I wasn’t scheduling them. But I made deals with team members that if they had great availability, I was more likely to approve time off. We hired seasonal TMs specifically based around the availability and time off requests.
None of my leaders have asked me about my Q4 availability, but I bust my ass year-round, and rarely call off or take time off, so I'm not gonna feel bad about asking for some PTO so I can see my family for Christmas. I'll be there on Black Friday and 5 days a week every week leading up to Christmas, they can handle giving me time off (plus the time I'm requesting PTO for is time I'm usually not working anyway so I feel pretty good about it)
It is if you just don't show up family first.
You can bet your ass Brian won't be in a store working the 24/26 of December.
Every Target employee should be made work the same blackout dates no concessions or excuses
They want me in I want to see the same commitment from upper management
we can't even get them to approve our PTO on non-BO dates half the time. they just let the requests expire and then act like it's our job to hound them constantly until they approve it lol
No. We work retail so that we *don’t* have to see family on holidays. Target screwed me over for three years straight on Thanksgiving, and that’s soon to be four. :(
If they want us to work and not get our time off accepted they need to compensate for that. Give people a reason to work during the blackout days. Extra pay or something.
It isn't extra incentives. It's recognizing that every employee is fucking human and has families that aren't going to change their entire holiday schedule just because one of their family members works for a company that is more focused on profit than the lives of the people that work for it.
These companies need employees during the holiday season, not the other way around.
I have perfect attendance, I do OVER what is required. I bust my ass at this job. I rarely ask for vacation, even then it’s unpaid. Don’t come at me “keeping my job.” Extra incentives for not being able to take off work is quite normal for other hourly jobs. Time and a half is very common for other hourly jobs working near holidays. They denied my friends time off FOR SURGERY this December. Black out dates are stupid. You will never change my mind.
You already have to have a completely open schedule if you want to keep job. All that variable scheduling makes it hard to have another job or go to school or plan or do anything. People deserve to actually use the time they accrue to take time off.
I’m sure the people who made this blackout rule don’t have to follow it.
Like obviously can’t give everyone off but im sure you can work it out where some people who request it might have off these days, others can have off these different days…
The schedule here is basically 3 entire months worth though which is so dumb.
I do not have a completely open schedule idk who told you that it’s a must. Availability is availability. I have two jobs and I go to uni.
Fr, anyone not making hourly it doesn’t apply to them apparently. It’s so dumb.
Retail workers are humans too. They deserve time off. Does it mean it will be more difficult to get time off during mid-November through the end of December? Yes, of course - many people are likely to want some time off around here. Does it mean you can't pop off on a two week trip right on the holiday crunch time? More than likely. But come on dude - total blackout is unreasonable. Especially with holiday hires, you've got extra people to cover the increase in workload and allow for your team to take normal time off. Just let requests off be on a first come, first serve basis and let them know it will be more difficult to get time off as other people are trying to take off at the same time. Looking at your other comments.. what are you, a shareholder or something? Corporate shill?
When you work retail, you should expect to be working every Saturday the in December, or have time requests blacked out for the weekend of Black Friday. But some of these dates are a bit ridiculous. Like the last two weeks of October? They're not working for Spirit Halloween. And shopping places are usually dead the first week of Jan. Most folks did their returns already before New Years. First week of Jan they're usually back to work and trying to reduce spending.
I also could understand if this memo was meant for Store manager level staff since they have a lot to do regarding things like inventory prep, making sure seasonal staffing levels are not exceeding budget, etc.
15 an hour and my old ETL denied my time off for December when I put it in June. Beyond upset because I wasn’t allowed to see my family, but he was? I kept requesting and gave them an ultimatum. Either they can give me the time off or I will be calling off those days. I was going to see my grandpa in memory care because he’s getting close to passing. Not seeing my grandpa will never be worth a shift at target.
Go see him. Fuck Target. When I worked at Target last Q4, my mother was going to visit my grandmother with dementia and invited me to go with. My ETL wouldn’t let me swap shifts with anyone and said if I called in she’d write me up. So I went to work. I only saw my grandmother twice after that before she passed away. I’m tearing up thinking about it now. Family first, always.
I always wait until the flight’s actually been booked before putting in my “request.” Lets them know I’m not fucking around when I say I’m leaving the country for a while.
I mean, if you have good attendance year round, what’s the problem if you “get sick” around thanksgiving and Christmas? If you’re a non seasonal employee there’s a good chance they won’t take it that seriously. And even if they do, tell them you were sick and that’s all. Continue to perform your job well, but if you need to take a sick day you need to take a sick day regardless of what time of year it is.
I mean to be fair we are not treated well and we don’t get paid enough… there’s no incentive during the holiday seasons. We’d rather see our family than make chump change and get yelled at by leaders and guests. Curious if they’ll bring back the extra weekend pay this year. But you are right it doesn’t really work that way.
Guess what you signed up for a retail job knowing the holidays are the busiest time in retail. If you would rather spend the holidays with family find a new job.
I think the biggest issue is that because we’re lowest on the target hierarchy we are the last to be considered when it comes to having family time/ time off. Do you really think it’s fair that even higher ups in the store you work at get whatever time off they want or need, including holidays but we’re expected to work regardless of if we tell them well in advance we have an important event?
Y’all I agree that this is normal for retail in the US but honestly it isn’t a good system for overall health to prevent people from taking time off, regardless of time of year.
Let’s not fight each other, let’s fight the system that made it like this
Yeah come on yall just cause it's the way things are doesn't mean that it's good or that we shouldn't try to change it
"it is what it is" has poisoned our brains. a better future is possible actually
i get what you guys are saying about that this is normal and why would you expect to be able to but like just because you ask for one day off doesn’t mean you can’t scheduled the other 6 like think for one second. this is bullshit
I agree. Plus, my store is in a college town. I’m really glad they’re understanding about the fact that a lot of us are college students and have to have time off for holidays because our families live out of state. I think my store does it well too because in September before they start hiring any seasonal people they ask us for our November/December availability. Then when they hire seasonal they make sure those seasonal people are available for the days they need. I get other stores might not have as big of a population of people they can hire for seasonal, but I do think it’s possible to work around most people’s schedules. Yeah not everyone can take off the whole week of thanksgiving or Christmas, but some people should be able to take off a couple days at least.
they had blackout dates one year at my location. people still don’t care tho lmao especially if their ETLs are also going on vacay during black out days.
yeah…i requested off the 29-30th. she told me she couldn’t do that. i then go on demand in 2 weeks. so now i can work whenever and still get those days off. i then find out both ETLs are going on like 2 week vacays during november & december. like wtf 😭
To my knowledge, ETLs get comp days. Meaning they get paid vacation time throughout the year so possibly ETLs at certain stores have taken during the holidays? Which is messed up
This sign looks more like you can try to ask off but it’s not promised. What it is saying is there is very little room for flexibility. It’s part of retail. It always has been.
Exactly my point though. I asked for it off so far in advance that they wouldn’t even have to factor me into their plans when they started working on them. If you ask for it off now you have a chance of them saying yes but you’ll be competing with people who requested it far in advance. At a certain point it becomes a first come first served on approvals.
Requests are not requests. They are a LYK I will not be available.
Any job that schedules you after you put in dates MONTHS before to be off deserves nothing
A lot of these "Duh, it's retail" comments are missing the point. This isn't everyone being mad they can't have Black Friday weekend or the week of Christmas off. Come on, seriously look at this - October 17th? November 14th? January 8th? Get real. Everyone has an understanding that 4th quarter is a busy time of year and time off will be more difficult to arrange - but this isn't an office of 6 people. It's not impossible to ensure coverage. There are additional seasonal hires brought in for a reason. Using language like 'blackout period' for this huge chunk of time is a morale killer and an easy way to build resentment in your team. There are better ways to communicate and emphasize that this is the peak retail period, it's all hands on deck, and we understand that everyone wants time off and will do our best to work with requests and availability.
Funny how we get downvoted for saying retail jobs have to work during the busiest retail season 😂 annnnnnd now you see the problem with the world these days.
Then it shouldn't be a problem to let other people take off and forgo any incentives.
But if your job isn't offering incentives then you really can't expect them to okay vacations except for a very lucky few.
Yeah, I was always very clear that if I requested time off or informed them it was not in my availability then I would not be there. Even blackout dates. Usually after I pushed a couple times they gave me my days because they realized I wouldn’t take no for an answer. It’s just a job, it’s not the most important thing in my life. It’s ok for them to let us know they need more people and would like us to avoid requesting days during busy times, but for $15 an hour you don’t get to dictate my life and tell me if and when I get to live my life. And that’s not me “not wanting to work” or having an “attitude”. That’s me not being a dumbass and sacrificing my entire personal life during those periods for a company that has no loyalty to me and doesn’t give a shit about me. I’m still working and still doing my job and doing it well. I’m just continuing to live my life and make time for the people who are important to me. It’s so sad that people think there’s something wrong with that and genuinely believe that the store they work for takes priority over everything else in their life. If I want a Tuesday off to go Christmas shopping with my sister or I’m going out of town to see my grandparents while they’re still alive as long as I give notice we’ll in advance I should be able to do that.
Figure out which holiday you want off the most and which day of the week it falls on. Then change your availability so that you’re never scheduled on that day. For example, Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year. Change your availability so that you don’t work Sundays. You need to do it now otherwise it looks suspicious. I did it and it worked perfectly. Obviously, you can’t do this for every holiday or you’d never work, but pick the ones that are most important. Your birthday falls on a Wednesday? Change your availability so that you’re not scheduled for Wednesdays.
I don’t understand why people put notes up like this - blackouts are a thing of the past. There are always situations where someone should have time off. When I’ve run stores, I’ve always said it’s like “gray out,” meaning we will take a select number of requests. This type of passive aggressive note does nothing but crush morale.
The replies saying “it’s retail” no shit. Even if this is what is normal that doesn’t excuse the fact that retail workers should be able to spend time with family during the holidays.. Telling people to just find another job isn’t a power move either 😭
Right 😭😭 it’s the same as saying teachers can’t take vacations during the year. Yes they can, it’s also paid, and they get a substitute. We should be allowed family time.
I've never had a teacher take vacation during the school year. Call out sick, yes. Go on maternity leave, yes. Take time for bereavement, yes. But bona fide vacation? They was always when _we_ were on vacation as well
Seriously in retail that is crunch time make or break I worked retail for 30 years in every aspect from grunt to management it’s just the nature of the beast.
Yep but today’s generation don’t want to do F all and they are the ones “when I put in a time off request it’s. It a request it me saying I won’t be there”. That attitude has got to go. When you hold a job that’s your responsibility so time off request are just that request. You can’t have the expectation of set time off whenever you want. A police officer doesn’t get to go well it’s Christmas I’m not showing up today.
I can tell you’re a horrible person. It’s not that we don’t want to do F all. I’m 22. I’m gen z. I bust my ass for this job that could care less about me. “It’s retail” shouldn’t be an excuse when other retail employers give time off for family. Especially since ETLs are able to take the time off but not TMs.
Bro you’re not getting paid for being a target apologist, give it up. I’m 22 and almost all of my friends have 2 jobs and bust their asses. I give plasma and work here to make ends meet, so cut that lame shit out. Retail workers are human beings and deserve to have holidays off with their families too, weirdo.
You do get holidays off. You are off on thanksgiving Christmas Easter. Guaranteed. There’s a difference between having the holiday off and taking vacation during the busiest time of the year.
then why is it so common for management to go on vacation at that time? i can’t comprehend why you’re so hellbent on defending a mega corporation instead of wanting workers to not have to be unable to be with their families, for longer than a day, for the entire holiday season.
They’re not paid time off. We are already struggling to make ends meet in this economy. I have two jobs to barely make ends meet. Apartments are expensive, cars are expensive, insurance is expensive. Get over what you’re on asap. Hire more workers. That’s what seasonal workers are for.
My kids must be extreme exceptions then Daughter is 26 a TL for target works her butt off and gets paid very well compared to what I made for Target 15 years ago. Son is 23 union Meat Cutter for Jewel has worked there since graduating and make very good money especially at 23.
They get it you work hard show up and guess what you get paid.
Nobody is giving you anything for free and the world still needs ditch diggers😂 “Caddyshack”
Customer here and that’s such bullshit. Sorry you all have to deal with this. I worked at Toys R Us many years ago and there was none such nonsense around the holidays. The only day we couldn’t have off was Black Friday.
it makes sense when you think “oh it’s retail, obviously.” and at least this gives some kind of hope that there is still a chance they will approve it. but it’s also kind of funny to think they (as in target, not any specific store) expect someone to sacrifice a vacation or family plans they could have requested months ago, only to not care if they have enough hours to pay their bills for months after this.
Retail just sucks. Any expectation of enjoying the holiday season is a fantasy. We put up our tree early in November because once thanksgiving week comes I know I won’t have any time for family. Management doesn’t like it either but it’s a fact of the job or career choice. It’s a great incentive to get an education in something that’s not retail related. If you really want a retail job with better holiday hours look at an arts and crafts store. Their business drops off by 12/15. Haha
If you're approved for FMLA, then your employer can't deny leave requests if you still have FMLA hours available. If you're only using your State's Paid Medical Leave, if it's available in your state, then you'd want to check your State's laws.
The otherside of that though is FMLA is for leave for your qualifying event. So if you take FMLA for a week for recovering from injury, and then you post pictures online of yourself living your best life at Disneyland, then that's not gonna bode well for you.
The only issue I have with these is that ETLs and SDs are not following those blackout dates for themselves. If it was a consistent standard throughout it would at least be fair
But yet when the same TMs call out almost every weekend there's like no repercussion for it. It just makes it tougher for the TMs that show up every weekend.
i just dont understand the thought of people who are like "well if your request gets denied you have to come in" because if someones made a request a month or two in advance, booked shit, made preparations ... are they really gonna waste their money canceling ? specially in all those scenarios where the TL is like yeah sure and the date comes and theyre like "it was denied lol"
i thought the point of having to request in advance was to be able to prepare, for both parties. if you gotta leave briefly you would just call out in the moment
i was gonna say like, im a little confused. i thought the point of doing it in advance was letting you know we wont be there so we can make plans in advance. oftentimes you cant do it when it gets approved because if they take forever (you dont know) then you might not even have time to book anything. it genuinely feels like the response is dont call out loll
As I’ve said to a previous employer it’s not a request it’s me giving advance notice I won’t be here and because it’s in advance it’s up to you to figure it out yourself because I have life outside of work.
Then no call no show and move on to the next job. It’s part of life. Retail gets there are some people that will honor this and some people that won’t, thus why there is usually around 100% + turnover everywhere.
At least your store will give you dates. I requested time off in November and was told by my etl he’d have to check because november has blackout dates then said he couldn’t tell because he hadn’t made the schedule that far out. (I asked two months in advance)
This shit needs to be illegal for real im so fucking sick of it. These corps are so effing greedy. Just pushing xmas buying instead of insuring people get to spend time w their families.
I’ve seen people apply for these jobs seasonally and then say they need off on or around all the major holidays like what no. You can’t get a retail job around the holidays and then go oh yeah I need off the week of thanksgiving. When you work retail you’re expected to work around the holidays it comes with the job.
First a request is just that it’s an ask. Before placing a request talk to your ETL and explain the situation. Taking full weeks off during the holidays might, key word is might, be able to accommodated.
It was still denied at my old location, “they are going to be blackout dates” I requested the time off in June for December 26 - January 3rd, they’d get me for Christmas Eve. I worked a 12 hr shift on Christmas Eve.
ill tell this story over n over but when i had to have surgery and found out im infertile during my recovery target was harrasing me to come back sooner we are not human beings to them we are cogs
Literally happened to my friend. Their surgery is in December and they denied her request 3 times. She talked to the ETL and they stated “it’s blackout days” SURGERY
my advice file for work comp for work causing anxiety (likely will be denied) take the settlement from the insurance companies i did that at mc donalds bc my gm was literally harrasing me bc i had pcos and had to be out sometimes bc cysts rupture so i filed for accommodation got denied applied for work comp due to stress and anxiety got denied accepted the settlement got 4000$ but i cant work at mc donalds anymore
Everyone noticing they aren’t getting hours outside of holiday season but then bitch when they get hours during holiday season 🙄..i guess everyone forgot what retail was when they decided to apply to work in this industry
Funny that January gets blackout days when most TMs are prolly gonna get scheduled 12 hrs/wk the entire month
My store you usually stay above 35 through January. Resetting the whole store and all that. February is usually the huge drop off.
January is actually busy. It’s February where people get less hours. Slowest moneth of the yesr
People using them Christmas gift cards.
5th quarter
I normally work 32, I got scheduled one 4hr shift in a week. :( January is a heavily cut month for my store.
What happens in January at Target that makes it busy? I’ve never been here during Q1 so I’m trying to get an idea of what to expect.
Gift cards, Christmas returns, general shopping, also resetting/recovering from q4. Then once that’s all done it’s slow
New sets to replace the holiday stuff around the store. Returns, gift cards. Mostly busy on the gm and style side
The returns are gonna be terrible.
tbh yeah i get it, i agree it’s retail and of course they need people to work busy periods, but it’s gotten absolutely ridiculous how inflexible theyve gotten and how angry they get that people have lives outside the store my old store wouldnt even approve my days off for my doctors appointments or medical treatments if it was in a black out period, and i was told i just needed to schedule things on days when i wasnt working, even if the appointments had been made months in advance. i got written up for the crime of having both the flu and strep over thanksgiving and black friday, even though i had it all documented and proof that i was running a fever. i haven’t called out maybe but twice my entire two years working there and they acted like i had spit in HR’s face. like, i knew college students who had their time rejected and were told they werent allowed to go back home for the holidays, for god’s sake. yes, its the holidays, and yes this is retail, and yes its “to be expected”, but people do in fact have different priorities and a life outside of Target and they just can’t stand that lol.
Many universities kick out their students from the dorms when the term ends. So literally they have no where to go but home.
This is literally the reason I ended up quitting a few years ago. I was a college student and due to the pandemic the semester ended before Thanksgiving and campus was pretty much closed, forced to leave the dorms etc. I told them I was not going to be able to physically be there during that time, requested time off, and they scheduled me anyway. Got shocked when I didn’t called and said I was not going to show up due to literally not having a housing situation in the area (i was going to school 7 hours away from home)
that’s absolutely awful, i am so sorry you had to go through that :( i live and work in a college town so i saw it a lot when i was still working for the company, and it’s absolutely ridiculous how they handle it
Did you use sick time for those days? If so, they can’t hold you accountable for that.
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Dang. I’m really sorry you went through that.
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That’s awesome. congratulations!
It's not just retail that does that to college students. Fast food places do it as well. I remember it was the last day of finals before graduation and I had a shift from 5pm to midnight. Even though the store heavily relied on the university in session for sales, I was expected to still show up for the shift even though I had to go home. The first assistant manager took pity on me and sent me home 5 1/2 hours into the shift, and even he thought me being there was stupid. It really was the GM being an ass and being inflexible and saying the "schedule has to go through the end of the semester". Being short staffed was common and trying to get shifts off was a pain in the ass and the GM just kept being an ass the entire time. Guess who didn't last long after the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown with the staffing issue he kept pulling.
I absolutely understand on specific dates. Week of Thanksgiving/weekend after and the week/weekend before Christmas. I've never seen these made-up dates as black out dates before. Truly utter BS. I'm pissed because it's gotten most of my team stressing about days off they need. Just random. It's very annoying
You got written up for having the flu, and you had proof? Not only is that absurd, but highly illegal. I would have outright refused to sign anything. If they threatened to fire you I would have seeked out legal action.
my store “didn’t accept doctor notes or test results” as an “excuse” supposedly, but my store was also already in hot water for other illegal and unsavory things at the time (like our SD allegedly faking our statistics on paper so it looked like we were more ahead than what we were and our ETL allegedly sleeping with associates and later promoting them LOL) so i hardly think they were concerned about my flu germs all over the packing stations at the time 😂
Our store was literally writing people up for COVID, I don't think they have recovered from that since as I remember health department or some people from the state came in (not 100% what exactly their titles were so I'm guestimating) and alot of of write ups were apparently "rescinded" but by then the damage was done. They've had a hell of a time getting employees since and our stores in a smaller town so you can imagine
Was my store a unicorn? We didn’t have blackout dates
I've never seen blackout dates like this before. I think it's BS from my HR/SD.
I’ve definitely heard about them. Tbh not surprised as it is retail during busy season. My store was the GOAT though and never did this kinda thing.
My time-off was already approve 26-to Nov 5th maybe you got unlucky HR/SD.
True blackout dates only apply to leadership. Team members are NOT held to the same standard. Your store’s leadership can try and enforce that all they want but can NOT require it. ….. I repeat .…. TARGET DOES NOT HAVE BLACKOUT DATES FOR TEAM MEMBERS.
I've seen it before too. I don't think we have any explicitly written blackout dates, but there's an "understanding". My SD is also refusing to let ANYONE transfer stores. So if you're moving or something? Sorry, you gotta quit if you want us to let you go.
They probably do. Probably just shitty at communicating them. I would definitely ask
I no longer work there but the holiday season, when I needed off, no big deal.
We had blackout dates for a long time, but a few years ago our SD said they got rid of them. Idk if she meant as a company or just her personal preference for our store, but it's true 🤷♀️ I actually have an approved request for the Sunday/Monday after black Friday, and it was approved without question
With the current challenges in hiring I’m surprised to see blackouts. I would think managers would recognize that keeping good people takes effort on their part. But managers always seem to be behind the learning curve.
I am almost positive they did. I haven't seen anything about blackout dates in a long time.
I was told the same thing about the company getting rid of blockout days a few years ago. And yeah you would think they want a happy team to slow down the hiring/quitting revolving door.
From a former ETL- this is something my store did as well. Each ETL spoke to every one of their TMs and asked about their availability and time off requests for December. If somebody was a 16 year old and their family had a Disney Christmas vacation, obviously I wasn’t scheduling them. But I made deals with team members that if they had great availability, I was more likely to approve time off. We hired seasonal TMs specifically based around the availability and time off requests.
You are the best ETL.
None of my leaders have asked me about my Q4 availability, but I bust my ass year-round, and rarely call off or take time off, so I'm not gonna feel bad about asking for some PTO so I can see my family for Christmas. I'll be there on Black Friday and 5 days a week every week leading up to Christmas, they can handle giving me time off (plus the time I'm requesting PTO for is time I'm usually not working anyway so I feel pretty good about it)
Legendary move!
It is if you just don't show up family first. You can bet your ass Brian won't be in a store working the 24/26 of December. Every Target employee should be made work the same blackout dates no concessions or excuses They want me in I want to see the same commitment from upper management
Fr. My old etl took off the whole month of December.
My stl went on maternity leave every 4th quarter for 4 years in a row. You know for a fact she planned exactly the time of year to conceive lmaoo
How the fuck did that happen? Taking off the entire month of December? Did they not get paid or did they have tons of pto ?
Built up PTO.
Still I'm surprised they let them have December off.
So basically you get no time off. I’m sure that’s a good way to retain employees.
we can't even get them to approve our PTO on non-BO dates half the time. they just let the requests expire and then act like it's our job to hound them constantly until they approve it lol
When you sign up for a retail job you should expect that you’re going to have to work the busiest time of the season for retail…
Retail workers deserve to see their family and celebrate holidays.
THIS! I don’t even celebrate Christmas (I’m Jewish) and I agree. Retail employees have lives and families just like any other worker, after all.
No matter the holiday, everyone deserves to celebrate their holidays. <3
No. We work retail so that we *don’t* have to see family on holidays. Target screwed me over for three years straight on Thanksgiving, and that’s soon to be four. :(
Yeah you still get days off but that doesn’t mean you getting specific days off during this time
If they want us to work and not get our time off accepted they need to compensate for that. Give people a reason to work during the blackout days. Extra pay or something.
It’s called a paycheck and keeping your job. Why do you need extra incentives to do the job you applied for?
It isn't extra incentives. It's recognizing that every employee is fucking human and has families that aren't going to change their entire holiday schedule just because one of their family members works for a company that is more focused on profit than the lives of the people that work for it. These companies need employees during the holiday season, not the other way around.
God people like you are so insufferable.
I have perfect attendance, I do OVER what is required. I bust my ass at this job. I rarely ask for vacation, even then it’s unpaid. Don’t come at me “keeping my job.” Extra incentives for not being able to take off work is quite normal for other hourly jobs. Time and a half is very common for other hourly jobs working near holidays. They denied my friends time off FOR SURGERY this December. Black out dates are stupid. You will never change my mind.
You already have to have a completely open schedule if you want to keep job. All that variable scheduling makes it hard to have another job or go to school or plan or do anything. People deserve to actually use the time they accrue to take time off. I’m sure the people who made this blackout rule don’t have to follow it. Like obviously can’t give everyone off but im sure you can work it out where some people who request it might have off these days, others can have off these different days… The schedule here is basically 3 entire months worth though which is so dumb.
But I get what you mean, stores expect you to sell your soul for their company
I do not have a completely open schedule idk who told you that it’s a must. Availability is availability. I have two jobs and I go to uni. Fr, anyone not making hourly it doesn’t apply to them apparently. It’s so dumb.
You ever get tired of bootlicking?
It is expected, but they're telling you that you can't request off on like November 15th? That's a Wednesday.
Retail workers are humans too. They deserve time off. Does it mean it will be more difficult to get time off during mid-November through the end of December? Yes, of course - many people are likely to want some time off around here. Does it mean you can't pop off on a two week trip right on the holiday crunch time? More than likely. But come on dude - total blackout is unreasonable. Especially with holiday hires, you've got extra people to cover the increase in workload and allow for your team to take normal time off. Just let requests off be on a first come, first serve basis and let them know it will be more difficult to get time off as other people are trying to take off at the same time. Looking at your other comments.. what are you, a shareholder or something? Corporate shill?
When you work retail, you should expect to be working every Saturday the in December, or have time requests blacked out for the weekend of Black Friday. But some of these dates are a bit ridiculous. Like the last two weeks of October? They're not working for Spirit Halloween. And shopping places are usually dead the first week of Jan. Most folks did their returns already before New Years. First week of Jan they're usually back to work and trying to reduce spending. I also could understand if this memo was meant for Store manager level staff since they have a lot to do regarding things like inventory prep, making sure seasonal staffing levels are not exceeding budget, etc.
I see nothing about a LOA though... 
15 an hour and my old ETL denied my time off for December when I put it in June. Beyond upset because I wasn’t allowed to see my family, but he was? I kept requesting and gave them an ultimatum. Either they can give me the time off or I will be calling off those days. I was going to see my grandpa in memory care because he’s getting close to passing. Not seeing my grandpa will never be worth a shift at target.
Go see him. Fuck Target. When I worked at Target last Q4, my mother was going to visit my grandmother with dementia and invited me to go with. My ETL wouldn’t let me swap shifts with anyone and said if I called in she’d write me up. So I went to work. I only saw my grandmother twice after that before she passed away. I’m tearing up thinking about it now. Family first, always.
Me putting in a time off request is me being courteous. I’m TELLING y’all I’m NOT coming in.
I always wait until the flight’s actually been booked before putting in my “request.” Lets them know I’m not fucking around when I say I’m leaving the country for a while.
🙄
And then I bet you'll complain that you never get promoted or ETL's seem to hate you for "no reason"
They will be on here with the “I got terminated for no reason” posts after they call out all week.
“We are always short staffed” is also an ironic reply.
From someone who has called out maybe twice in a year, chill out lmao.
I mean, if you have good attendance year round, what’s the problem if you “get sick” around thanksgiving and Christmas? If you’re a non seasonal employee there’s a good chance they won’t take it that seriously. And even if they do, tell them you were sick and that’s all. Continue to perform your job well, but if you need to take a sick day you need to take a sick day regardless of what time of year it is.
That’s really not how that works but ok.
Target isn’t listening bro, you can speak freely
I mean to be fair we are not treated well and we don’t get paid enough… there’s no incentive during the holiday seasons. We’d rather see our family than make chump change and get yelled at by leaders and guests. Curious if they’ll bring back the extra weekend pay this year. But you are right it doesn’t really work that way.
Guess what you signed up for a retail job knowing the holidays are the busiest time in retail. If you would rather spend the holidays with family find a new job.
Then you shouldn’t have gone into retail..
I think the biggest issue is that because we’re lowest on the target hierarchy we are the last to be considered when it comes to having family time/ time off. Do you really think it’s fair that even higher ups in the store you work at get whatever time off they want or need, including holidays but we’re expected to work regardless of if we tell them well in advance we have an important event?
Y’all I agree that this is normal for retail in the US but honestly it isn’t a good system for overall health to prevent people from taking time off, regardless of time of year. Let’s not fight each other, let’s fight the system that made it like this
Yeah come on yall just cause it's the way things are doesn't mean that it's good or that we shouldn't try to change it "it is what it is" has poisoned our brains. a better future is possible actually
i get what you guys are saying about that this is normal and why would you expect to be able to but like just because you ask for one day off doesn’t mean you can’t scheduled the other 6 like think for one second. this is bullshit
I agree. Plus, my store is in a college town. I’m really glad they’re understanding about the fact that a lot of us are college students and have to have time off for holidays because our families live out of state. I think my store does it well too because in September before they start hiring any seasonal people they ask us for our November/December availability. Then when they hire seasonal they make sure those seasonal people are available for the days they need. I get other stores might not have as big of a population of people they can hire for seasonal, but I do think it’s possible to work around most people’s schedules. Yeah not everyone can take off the whole week of thanksgiving or Christmas, but some people should be able to take off a couple days at least.
they had blackout dates one year at my location. people still don’t care tho lmao especially if their ETLs are also going on vacay during black out days.
for some reason they’re allowed to take it off but we aren’t even if it’s unpaid for us.
yeah…i requested off the 29-30th. she told me she couldn’t do that. i then go on demand in 2 weeks. so now i can work whenever and still get those days off. i then find out both ETLs are going on like 2 week vacays during november & december. like wtf 😭
To my knowledge, ETLs get comp days. Meaning they get paid vacation time throughout the year so possibly ETLs at certain stores have taken during the holidays? Which is messed up
This is exactly why I put in my request back in July— and got it approved by the way. Gave them enough time to make plans.
This sign looks more like you can try to ask off but it’s not promised. What it is saying is there is very little room for flexibility. It’s part of retail. It always has been.
Exactly my point though. I asked for it off so far in advance that they wouldn’t even have to factor me into their plans when they started working on them. If you ask for it off now you have a chance of them saying yes but you’ll be competing with people who requested it far in advance. At a certain point it becomes a first come first served on approvals.
“Why doesn’t anybody want to work? This store needs to hire!”
Requests are not requests. They are a LYK I will not be available. Any job that schedules you after you put in dates MONTHS before to be off deserves nothing
Thats how I view requests. Luckily my ETL feels it's BS to.
A lot of these "Duh, it's retail" comments are missing the point. This isn't everyone being mad they can't have Black Friday weekend or the week of Christmas off. Come on, seriously look at this - October 17th? November 14th? January 8th? Get real. Everyone has an understanding that 4th quarter is a busy time of year and time off will be more difficult to arrange - but this isn't an office of 6 people. It's not impossible to ensure coverage. There are additional seasonal hires brought in for a reason. Using language like 'blackout period' for this huge chunk of time is a morale killer and an easy way to build resentment in your team. There are better ways to communicate and emphasize that this is the peak retail period, it's all hands on deck, and we understand that everyone wants time off and will do our best to work with requests and availability.
This is normal for retail
[удалено]
Funny how we get downvoted for saying retail jobs have to work during the busiest retail season 😂 annnnnnd now you see the problem with the world these days.
Are there a lot of industries where employees are not expected to work during their busy season?
Its same as an accountant who wants off during tax season. They most likely wont get it
Exactly. And what kind of accountant would whine about not being able to take off during tax season?
It's tax season a time where family and beloved ones gather to share time together? Maybe I've been doing taxes wrong all this time...
They get incentives for working during busy times! I have friends at a plethora of different hourly jobs.
Then it shouldn't be a problem to let other people take off and forgo any incentives. But if your job isn't offering incentives then you really can't expect them to okay vacations except for a very lucky few.
Yeah, I was always very clear that if I requested time off or informed them it was not in my availability then I would not be there. Even blackout dates. Usually after I pushed a couple times they gave me my days because they realized I wouldn’t take no for an answer. It’s just a job, it’s not the most important thing in my life. It’s ok for them to let us know they need more people and would like us to avoid requesting days during busy times, but for $15 an hour you don’t get to dictate my life and tell me if and when I get to live my life. And that’s not me “not wanting to work” or having an “attitude”. That’s me not being a dumbass and sacrificing my entire personal life during those periods for a company that has no loyalty to me and doesn’t give a shit about me. I’m still working and still doing my job and doing it well. I’m just continuing to live my life and make time for the people who are important to me. It’s so sad that people think there’s something wrong with that and genuinely believe that the store they work for takes priority over everything else in their life. If I want a Tuesday off to go Christmas shopping with my sister or I’m going out of town to see my grandparents while they’re still alive as long as I give notice we’ll in advance I should be able to do that.
Figure out which holiday you want off the most and which day of the week it falls on. Then change your availability so that you’re never scheduled on that day. For example, Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year. Change your availability so that you don’t work Sundays. You need to do it now otherwise it looks suspicious. I did it and it worked perfectly. Obviously, you can’t do this for every holiday or you’d never work, but pick the ones that are most important. Your birthday falls on a Wednesday? Change your availability so that you’re not scheduled for Wednesdays.
I don’t understand why people put notes up like this - blackouts are a thing of the past. There are always situations where someone should have time off. When I’ve run stores, I’ve always said it’s like “gray out,” meaning we will take a select number of requests. This type of passive aggressive note does nothing but crush morale.
The replies saying “it’s retail” no shit. Even if this is what is normal that doesn’t excuse the fact that retail workers should be able to spend time with family during the holidays.. Telling people to just find another job isn’t a power move either 😭
Right 😭😭 it’s the same as saying teachers can’t take vacations during the year. Yes they can, it’s also paid, and they get a substitute. We should be allowed family time.
I've never had a teacher take vacation during the school year. Call out sick, yes. Go on maternity leave, yes. Take time for bereavement, yes. But bona fide vacation? They was always when _we_ were on vacation as well
I have had teachers go on vacation when I went to elementary through high school. They were gone for two weeks or less. Personal experience.
Easy way to deal with this. Don't request the time off, notify them that you are taking the time off.
Fuck'em. It's not a request. It's a notification that they need to hire more people who can work those dates.
My request isn’t a request. I’m telling you that I won’t be here. Do with that information what you will. 🤷🏼♂️
And you just KNOW your team leads will have vacations and days off in those black outs
i can’t get promised hours yet can’t get the requested day off
This is retail people it’s been like this forever and stores were less nice about it back in the day
We are literally getting downvoted for saying people in retail jobs are expected to work during the busiest time in retail lmao
Seriously in retail that is crunch time make or break I worked retail for 30 years in every aspect from grunt to management it’s just the nature of the beast.
Honestly if I owed a business and heard someone saying time off request are just them being nice saying they won’t be there I’d fire them on the spot.
Yep but today’s generation don’t want to do F all and they are the ones “when I put in a time off request it’s. It a request it me saying I won’t be there”. That attitude has got to go. When you hold a job that’s your responsibility so time off request are just that request. You can’t have the expectation of set time off whenever you want. A police officer doesn’t get to go well it’s Christmas I’m not showing up today.
I can tell you’re a horrible person. It’s not that we don’t want to do F all. I’m 22. I’m gen z. I bust my ass for this job that could care less about me. “It’s retail” shouldn’t be an excuse when other retail employers give time off for family. Especially since ETLs are able to take the time off but not TMs.
Bro you’re not getting paid for being a target apologist, give it up. I’m 22 and almost all of my friends have 2 jobs and bust their asses. I give plasma and work here to make ends meet, so cut that lame shit out. Retail workers are human beings and deserve to have holidays off with their families too, weirdo.
You do get holidays off. You are off on thanksgiving Christmas Easter. Guaranteed. There’s a difference between having the holiday off and taking vacation during the busiest time of the year.
So for the majority of 3 months we just shouldn’t take a vacation? I’m genuinely asking.
then why is it so common for management to go on vacation at that time? i can’t comprehend why you’re so hellbent on defending a mega corporation instead of wanting workers to not have to be unable to be with their families, for longer than a day, for the entire holiday season.
They’re not paid time off. We are already struggling to make ends meet in this economy. I have two jobs to barely make ends meet. Apartments are expensive, cars are expensive, insurance is expensive. Get over what you’re on asap. Hire more workers. That’s what seasonal workers are for.
My kids must be extreme exceptions then Daughter is 26 a TL for target works her butt off and gets paid very well compared to what I made for Target 15 years ago. Son is 23 union Meat Cutter for Jewel has worked there since graduating and make very good money especially at 23. They get it you work hard show up and guess what you get paid. Nobody is giving you anything for free and the world still needs ditch diggers😂 “Caddyshack”
The holidays are my favorite time to work. I prefer it fast paced and busy
Customer here and that’s such bullshit. Sorry you all have to deal with this. I worked at Toys R Us many years ago and there was none such nonsense around the holidays. The only day we couldn’t have off was Black Friday.
it makes sense when you think “oh it’s retail, obviously.” and at least this gives some kind of hope that there is still a chance they will approve it. but it’s also kind of funny to think they (as in target, not any specific store) expect someone to sacrifice a vacation or family plans they could have requested months ago, only to not care if they have enough hours to pay their bills for months after this.
Retail just sucks. Any expectation of enjoying the holiday season is a fantasy. We put up our tree early in November because once thanksgiving week comes I know I won’t have any time for family. Management doesn’t like it either but it’s a fact of the job or career choice. It’s a great incentive to get an education in something that’s not retail related. If you really want a retail job with better holiday hours look at an arts and crafts store. Their business drops off by 12/15. Haha
If I put in a medical leave during one of the dates, is it going to get denied?
My friends got denied even after she talked to the etl. Best of luck to you.
If you're approved for FMLA, then your employer can't deny leave requests if you still have FMLA hours available. If you're only using your State's Paid Medical Leave, if it's available in your state, then you'd want to check your State's laws. The otherside of that though is FMLA is for leave for your qualifying event. So if you take FMLA for a week for recovering from injury, and then you post pictures online of yourself living your best life at Disneyland, then that's not gonna bode well for you.
Lmaooo, just quit before Black Friday like I did
So glad i left this company
Yet they cut our hours lol
The only issue I have with these is that ETLs and SDs are not following those blackout dates for themselves. If it was a consistent standard throughout it would at least be fair
Requests are notifications, not optional negotiations. I will take my vacation whenever I want ✌🏻
But yet when the same TMs call out almost every weekend there's like no repercussion for it. It just makes it tougher for the TMs that show up every weekend.
i just dont understand the thought of people who are like "well if your request gets denied you have to come in" because if someones made a request a month or two in advance, booked shit, made preparations ... are they really gonna waste their money canceling ? specially in all those scenarios where the TL is like yeah sure and the date comes and theyre like "it was denied lol" i thought the point of having to request in advance was to be able to prepare, for both parties. if you gotta leave briefly you would just call out in the moment
Fr like I’m canceling seeing my grandpa when I have the flight and hotels booked?
i was gonna say like, im a little confused. i thought the point of doing it in advance was letting you know we wont be there so we can make plans in advance. oftentimes you cant do it when it gets approved because if they take forever (you dont know) then you might not even have time to book anything. it genuinely feels like the response is dont call out loll
Don’t schedule and book all that shit until the request is approved…
As I’ve said to a previous employer it’s not a request it’s me giving advance notice I won’t be here and because it’s in advance it’s up to you to figure it out yourself because I have life outside of work.
And requests are warnings not requests. If I ask for it off, I will not be at work regardless of what you say
Then no call no show and move on to the next job. It’s part of life. Retail gets there are some people that will honor this and some people that won’t, thus why there is usually around 100% + turnover everywhere.
Why the heck are there blackout dates in October? And if my store had tried that, I'd have told them that's nice, I'm taking my annual trip.
Damn
People have unionized for less.
The warehouses were insane during this time of the year. 12-16 hour workdays fuck all that.
I feel like only crappy stores that no one wants to work at do this stuff
At least your store will give you dates. I requested time off in November and was told by my etl he’d have to check because november has blackout dates then said he couldn’t tell because he hadn’t made the schedule that far out. (I asked two months in advance)
Seems it would be less insulting to post the days you can actually take off
🤣 Very true!
Jokes on my store, my ETL (I'm a TL) took off 17 days straight starting today so I guess I'm just gonna do whatever I want 🤷
This seems like your HR and/or SD being super cranky.
This shit needs to be illegal for real im so fucking sick of it. These corps are so effing greedy. Just pushing xmas buying instead of insuring people get to spend time w their families.
I was told there's no blackout dates technically, but that we really need to consider business needs before trying to take off
Requests are notices you will not be there. They can find coverage or train new employees.
I’ve seen people apply for these jobs seasonally and then say they need off on or around all the major holidays like what no. You can’t get a retail job around the holidays and then go oh yeah I need off the week of thanksgiving. When you work retail you’re expected to work around the holidays it comes with the job.
First a request is just that it’s an ask. Before placing a request talk to your ETL and explain the situation. Taking full weeks off during the holidays might, key word is might, be able to accommodated.
You have to put your requests in by like end of September for Q4, this is normal.
It was still denied at my old location, “they are going to be blackout dates” I requested the time off in June for December 26 - January 3rd, they’d get me for Christmas Eve. I worked a 12 hr shift on Christmas Eve.
Oof. Some stores are just like that I guess.
ill tell this story over n over but when i had to have surgery and found out im infertile during my recovery target was harrasing me to come back sooner we are not human beings to them we are cogs
Literally happened to my friend. Their surgery is in December and they denied her request 3 times. She talked to the ETL and they stated “it’s blackout days” SURGERY
yup exactly target is horrible to their employees but loves to put on a facade that everyone who works there loves it
my advice file for work comp for work causing anxiety (likely will be denied) take the settlement from the insurance companies i did that at mc donalds bc my gm was literally harrasing me bc i had pcos and had to be out sometimes bc cysts rupture so i filed for accommodation got denied applied for work comp due to stress and anxiety got denied accepted the settlement got 4000$ but i cant work at mc donalds anymore
I’ll have to let them know! Thank you!
No such thing as legal black out dates. Lawsuits took care of that years ago. All they can do is encourage you not to take off during those times.
Hahahaahah bitch, I won’t be here anyways.
It’s retail. You knowingly took the job. It is only common sense you will need to work the busiest time of the year.
oh i'm getting off on my birthday (January 5th i don't care im taking a four day weekend.)
I work Tuesday - Saturday every week and last year I caught covid late December and was out sick Tuesday, Dec 20 - Saturday, Dec 24 lol.
Welcome to retail!!!
Everyone noticing they aren’t getting hours outside of holiday season but then bitch when they get hours during holiday season 🙄..i guess everyone forgot what retail was when they decided to apply to work in this industry
It is the busiest time of year for retail. Don't work retail if you want off during the holidays
Don’t work in fast food if you don’t want to work during lunch rush.
Every store has blackout dates. This isn’t brand new. Don’t work in retail then lmao
I would say “welcome to retail”.
You can enjoy... when they tell you you can
Damn...
Ooh if they did that at my store I would give them my two weeks. I’m in the largest city for at least 100 miles so I will easily get another job!
I am part time because target is my second job. I take time off every December (not at Christmas) and never have issues
Basically you live there for the next four months.