Leap day means you might be working for free today

Getting up for work can bea challenge on most Mondays,but for some peoplewho are paidan annual salary, clambering out of bedon leap dayisa little more painful.

Some salaried employees are paid twice a monthon the15thand the last day andtheir annual salary isbroken down into 24 payments.

With anannual salary based on 365 days of work, it means employees under this arrangement are essentially volunteering their services today,Feb. 29.

"In that instance, it would probably would mean they are being unpaid for one day of the year," saidGerald Walsh,president of Gerald Walsh Associates Inc., a human resources firm in Halifax.

With compensation being a sensitive issue for people, Walsh recommendsfirms talk to their employees about this.

"Before employees get too upset about a situation, any progressive employer should be jumping ahead of that situation and speak to them," said Walsh.

Why do we have leap days?

TheEarth doesn't take exactly 365 days to orbit the sun. It's actually closer to 365.242 days. While that may not seem like much, it amounts to almost six extra hours a year, whichdoes add up over the long run.

Without a leapyear, ourcalendar would eventuallyfall out of sync with the weather.

Walsh saidmost salaried employees are paid every two weeks. Thenumber paid twice a month is smallso it's only a minority affected by leap day.

There is one cohort for whom a leap day is good news.

"For the hourly [paid]folks, if they're working an extra day, they'll get paid for those extra hours," said Lisa Kay,president and lead consultant of Peak Performance Human Resources Corp. in Toronto.