Andersen employees will be celebrating the holiday season at home this year due to a new mandatory vacation policy.

Big Five firm Andersen has announced that, except for skeleton crews, all offices in the U.S. and Canada will be closed from December 24 through January 1, and employees will be required to use up personal vacation time for the forced holiday hiatus.

An Andersen spokeswoman confirmed that this policy is to apply to all staff except those with "pressing client needs" that occur during the time the offices will be officially closed. Skeleton crews who will work during the holiday break have yet to be selected.

"Employees who have not accrued enough vacation time are permitted to borrow against future vacation days to take advantage of this time off," according to the Andersen spokeswoman.

Andersen employees received notice of the plan in an e-mail message that included the following statement from Larry Gorrell, Andersen's new managing partner: "This period of time is generally one of our least chargeable times of the year. By accelerating vacation into this-time frame, we realize both a short- and long-term positive financial impact."