Chapter 7: time off

The Turtle turns off the overhead projector. The white square on the wall fades away to a blue imprint on my retinas. The room is dark. I cannot see a thing.

Something brushes against my arm.

Time off? Whispers the Turtle, 6 inches from my left ear.

She turns the light on, and opens the filing cabinet next to the door.

I’ll have to check the regulations, she says.

The Turtle produces a box file from the filing cabinet with ‘REGULATIONS’ written on the side. Sitting at her desk, she begins to leaf through the contents.

Uh-huh, she says, hmmm.

After 8 minutes she looks up.

The regulations state that every employee employed for 13 continuous weeks will begin to accrue paid time off at a rate of 4 hours for every working week of 40 hours or over starting from the end of their first 13 consecutive weeks of employment, unless there are ill health issues or extenuating circumstances.

The Turtle looks at me expectantly.

So how much time off do I have?

The Turtle shrugs.

I don’t know exactly. The girls in HR will work it out and get back to you. Are you planning on going somewhere special?

The Philippines, I say.