Gap, Inc. has said that it will be ending the use of on-call shifts across the company's global organization by September of 2015, according to a blog post in the company's Do More website.
The company also said that each of their brands has committed to improving the scheduling policies in their store.
Gap said in the blog post that they see the value and impact of work-life balance have in the performance of their employees.
"Work-life integration enables all employees to reach their full potential and thrive both personally and professionally," the company said.
Gap added in the blog post that they also recognize the importance of having a reliable and consistent work schedule.
"We recognize that flexibility, inclusive of consistent and reliable scheduling, is important to all of our employees," the company said.
The New York Times adds that Gap is the latest retailing company to move away from the on-call scheduling.
The on-call scheduling has been criticized by regulators, workers' rights group, and even some academics, saying that it is detrimental to employees and their families.
The New York Times adds that on-call scheduling would require employees to call ahead before their specific shift to see if they will be needed at the store.
This kind of practice makes it hard for workers to have consistency in their work shift and little predictability of their schedule.
Gap said in the blog post that each of the company's brands has evaluated their scheduling practices over the past year.
This was to determine where they can improve their scheduling policies to provide stability and flexibility in their employees' work shift.
Gap also said in the blog post that each of their brands have committed to improving the scheduling practices, providing their employees with a 10 to 14 days' notice of changes in shift schedules.
This will give employees plenty of time to make changes with their plans to fit the change in schedule.
Gap adds in the blog post that the new policies will be implemented by the majority of the company's brands by September.
All Gap's brands also committed to phasing in advanced schedules by early 2016.
