Holiday Hours Memo to Employees — Free Template

Need a holiday hours memo for your staff? Here is a ready-made notice for the staff board or the team group — fill in the holiday and the date of the holiday eve, and the text updates automatically. Copy it with one click, share it on WhatsApp, print it or download it as a Word file. Written for the Israeli holiday calendar — erev chag short days included.

Fill in the details — the text updates automatically:

Staff Notice — Holiday Working Hours   Dear team,   For [Reason], our working hours will change:   – On the eve of the holiday, [Date], we will finish the workday at [Early closing time]; – On the holiday itself the business will be closed, and we will return to full activity right after.   Please make sure all urgent tasks are handled in advance, and update customers and suppliers accordingly.   For questions about shifts and scheduling, contact [Manager name].   Happy holiday and thank you for all your hard work, Management
Illustration of a staff notice board with a holiday working hours notice, a calendar and a clock

How to announce holiday hours to your staff — no confusion, no holiday-eve phone calls

Publish the memo one to two weeks before the holiday — early enough for employees to arrange rides, family plans and shifts, and close enough that it isn’t forgotten. Publish in several channels at once: the notice board in the kitchenette or staff entrance, the team WhatsApp group, and internal email. One clear memo saves the dozens of “so when do we finish on erev chag?” questions that flood every manager in the week before.

What must it include? Three details: when work ends on the holiday eve (an exact hour), what happens on the holiday itself, and when full activity resumes. Worth knowing the legal backdrop in Israel: under the Hours of Work and Rest Law and collective agreements, a workday on a holiday eve is shortened (in many workplaces up to 7 hours at a full day’s pay, and in some sectors less), and holidays are rest days — monthly-salaried employees are paid in full, and hourly employees are entitled to holiday pay subject to tenure and conditions.

And the operational side: the staff memo is only half the job. In parallel, update your customers — a holiday-hours sign at the entrance, updated hours on your Google Business Profile and an updated voicemail. The “please update customers and suppliers” line in the memo turns the team into partners: every employee who closes a loose end with a supplier or customer before the break saves a glitch after it. Name the scheduling contact explicitly — so the questions go to one person, not to everyone.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far ahead should staff be told about holiday hours?

One to two weeks ahead. Earlier — the memo is forgotten; later — employees have already locked in plans and rides. In shift-based businesses, publish the memo together with the holiday-week schedule, so the hours and the rota arrive as one package.

How many hours is a workday on a holiday eve in Israel?

A holiday-eve workday is shortened: absent a more generous arrangement, the law sets it at up to 7 hours paid as a full day, and many sectors and collective agreements practice less. The exact finishing hour depends on the agreement covering your business — which is why the wording here leaves the hour to fill in.

Are employees paid for holidays when the business is closed?

Monthly-salaried employees receive their full salary — the holidays are included. Hourly or daily employees are entitled to holiday pay after three months’ tenure, provided they worked the day before and the day after the holiday (unless absent with the employer’s consent). Verify the arrangement that applies to you with your accountant or payroll specialist.

What do I write for employees scheduled to work on the holiday itself?

Add a separate line to the memo: who is scheduled, for which hours and at what compensation. Work on a holiday legally entitles the employee to extra pay (at least 150% under the Hours of Work and Rest Law, more under many agreements) or compensatory rest. Transparency about the compensation up front saves resentment after the holiday.

How do I make sure every employee actually saw the memo?

Combine channels: post on the notice board, send in the team WhatsApp group and ask each employee for a short confirmation. In shift businesses, have the shift supervisor confirm with their team. And in offices — a digital signage screen at the entrance or kitchenette shows the memo to everyone without relying on an email being opened.

Key Takeaways

  • Announce one-two weeks ahead: notice board + team WhatsApp + email
  • Three must-haves: the holiday-eve finishing hour, what happens on the chag, and when full activity resumes
  • Erev chag is a shortened workday by law in Israel; holiday work earns extra pay
  • Update customers in parallel: a sign at the entrance, Google and the voicemail
  • The template here is free — auto-fill, WhatsApp, print or download as Word

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A notice board buried in paper is where memos go to disappear: a digital staff signage screen shows the holiday-hours notice, the shift schedule and the running updates — and updates remotely in seconds, across every branch at once.

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