Do you use all your vacation days?

[Music City Mama]

Since we don't receive $ for unused vacation days, I definitely use all that I'm entitled to. We can carry over any unused days to March 31st of the following year, but if you don't use them, you lose them.

On the other hand, we also accrue 12 sick days per year, and I may use 2-3, while others don't think twice about using all 12. We can bank sick days from year to year, so I have hundreds of hours banked (and that's with taking 2 separate maternity leaves over the years).

 

[smiths02]

Just to give you a different perspective on the potential benefit of rolling time and letting it build...

7 years ago my DH was diagnosed with cancer. He was fit and healthy so this was completely unexpected. His treatment was overseen by MD Anderson so there were months of many trips back and forth from our home 300 miles away and included a stem cell transplant that required us renting an apartment and staying in Houston for six weeks. At that time, we still had a child in high school. One big thing that saved us from financial disaster was the fact that we both had always rolled most of our sick time. He missed about 3 months of work that year but had sick time so was paid for all of it. I’m a teacher and missed about 30 days as his caregiver and was also paid for all of it.

In the 7 years since, we have both been letting our sick time build back up. He is close to the max so later this year, he will need to start using some. I don’t have a max but I’m only a year from retirement eligibility. I do not plan to retire but I will start using more time since, if another health crises came up, I could just retire if I ran out of PTO.

As far as the original question and vacation time, DH can roll 1 week but has to take or lose the other 4. He usually takes a couple of week long vacations, uses 2 weeks for long weekends here and there or projects around the house, and then rolls one week forward.

I’m a teacher, no vacation time for me. Just 10 days of PTO that can build forever. I will get paid for a portion at retirement.

Both DH and I can benefit at retirement a little from letting time build, and I agree, for a medical reason, it is nice to have a buildup. However, we also both participate in a sick leave bank so something like a cancer diagnosis would most likely be covered whether or not we had the time personally.

 

[tvguy]

I’m curious if most of you are white or blue collar. I’m really impressed with those who have time left to bank.

I’m a small business owner and I’ve had a hard time coming up with a reasonable sick and vacation policy. I allow 40 hours to roll over each year and felt terrible this year when one of my employees had more time accrued than that.

White collar.
I know a number of small business owners that don't give paid vacation time. You can take all the time you want off without pay. In compensation at the end of the year you get a month's pay as a bonus.

Again, I am in California, and employers are required here now to give some paid sick time. That hasn't set well with a few small business owners I know because it is something they have to keep track of.

 

[siren0119]

Again, I am in California, and employers are required here now to give some paid sick time. That hasn't set well with a few small business owners I know because it is something they have to keep track of.

That's a shame. Not offering sick time forces employees to choose between providing for their living expenses (getting paid) or taking care of their health. And EVERYONE loses in that scenario.

 

[GreatLakes]

We changed to a PTO instead of a Sick/Vacation system, and I love it as the manager and as a beneficiary. Staff can carry over if they want, but there is a ceiling so it encourages them to manage their PTO days. I generally frown on a lot of Friday/Monday days off as productivity and other team members that rely on a person are impacted. We do ask all employees to take at least a week off, for a lot of reasons but the biggest is their own state of mind.

PTO is better for everyone, IMO, than a sick/vacation policy. At my last company I was the one that went to HR to propose we switch to PTO and I had a ton of research to back me up. The only negative had to do with how the hours were reported on financials but it was only an accounting difference and there was no real negative financial effect.

Additional flexibility helps the employees and management equally. I'd much rather know one of my direct reports needs a day in a few weeks to go get a test done than to have them fake sick that morning so they don't lose their day.

 

[tvguy]

That's a shame. Not offering sick time forces employees to choose between providing for their living expenses (getting paid) or taking care of their health. And EVERYONE loses in that scenario.

They are required to provide sick time now in California.

 

[SteveH]

PTO is better for everyone, IMO, than a sick/vacation policy. At my last company I was the one that went to HR to propose we switch to PTO and I had a ton of research to back me up. The only negative had to do with how the hours were reported on financials but it was only an accounting difference and there was no real negative financial effect.

Additional flexibility helps the employees and management equally. I'd much rather know one of my direct reports needs a day in a few weeks to go get a test done than to have them fake sick that morning so they don't lose their day.

I totally agree, I really don't care why you need a day off and with PTO I got out of feeling like staff were trying to play games to save their Vacation day when they weren't really sick. I have often taken a mental health day mid-week to have some "me" time.

When I first got here, 16 years ago the change from Vacation/PTO was an ugly fight with the Board and Staff that had gone on for months. I didn't make some staff happy when I told them I appreciated they'd given their input but it wasn't their decision to make. Board passed it at my 1st meeting, and we started the phase in process. I've lost count how many times I've run into business owners that don't see the value of PTO, but for to many they want to control things.

 

[Buckeye218]

We have PTO also. I have 29 days a year and can only roll over a max of 5, which I did over 10 years ago. So I have to use them each year or lose them. So yes...I absolutely use them every year.

 

[siren0119]

They are required to provide sick time now in California.

Yeah I got that, it's just a shame that business owners would complain about having to do it. Especially if the reasoning is that they have to keep track of it - that's just lazy IMHO

 

[SteveH]

I am in California, and employers are required here now to give some paid sick time. That hasn't set well with a few small business owners I know because it is something they have to keep track of.

My 2 cents on this. They forced our hand in Washington State too. Instead of writing the law that said we needed to offer something, we were told (like children) exactly what we had to offer and how much. We already offered a generous PTO system, but you had to work for us for 1 year first. Nope not anymore, they start earning it the first day, and start taking it after 90 days. We now have to have 2 systems the State mandated sick time and our PTO system, because if I don't keep it separate the State system infects our existing system and hurts everyone. For us it was just one more expense and another State requirement that we have to manage.

Yeah I got that, it's just a shame that business owners would complain about having to do it. Especially if the reasoning is that they have to keep track of it - that's just lazy IMHO

I will say for a lot of businesses this is nothing to sneeze at, they are focused on their actual work not trying to track State requirements and State reporting. If it were just this one thing I'd agree, but every year the State keeps heaping more and more "requirements" on businesses, driving costs up and businesses out. I am a firm believer in Personal Responsibility. The economy is very strong and if you don't like what an employer provides, you can move along, eventually that employer will figure it out or die off.

 

[lifesavacation]

PTO is better for everyone, IMO, than a sick/vacation policy. At my last company I was the one that went to HR to propose we switch to PTO and I had a ton of research to back me up. The only negative had to do with how the hours were reported on financials but it was only an accounting difference and there was no real negative financial effect.

Additional flexibility helps the employees and management equally. I'd much rather know one of my direct reports needs a day in a few weeks to go get a test done than to have them fake sick that morning so they don't lose their day.

The label sometimes affects the way taxes are paid. In WA, an employer is taxed on gross pay for UI. Gross pay does not include sick pay but it does include PTO or vacation days. So I pay less in taxes by calling it sick pay and being really flexible with how it’s used.

 

[siren0119]

My 2 cents on this. They forced our hand in Washington State too. Instead of writing the law that said we needed to offer something, we were told (like children) exactly what we had to offer and how much. We already offered a generous PTO system, but you had to work for us for 1 year first. Nope not anymore, they start earning it the first day, and start taking it after 90 days. We now have to have 2 systems the State mandated sick time and our PTO system, because if I don't keep it separate the State system infects our existing system and hurts everyone. For us it was just one more expense and another State requirement that we have to manage.

I hear you. But from what I've seen legislation passes when there is a track record of NOT doing the right thing over an extended period of time. Sick time is the right thing to do for employees - a sick employee at work benefits noone, but an employee who must choose between getting paid or showing up sick is put in a position that demoralizes them and negatively affects them no matter which they choose. Too many employers opt NOT to offer paid sick time, then the right thing to do is for the state to step in and require it.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I carried 3 days over from 2018, but did the same at the end of 2017. So, technically I did use my entire allotment last year.

 

[lifesavacation]

My 2 cents on this. They forced our hand in Washington State too. Instead of writing the law that said we needed to offer something, we were told (like children) exactly what we had to offer and how much. We already offered a generous PTO system, but you had to work for us for 1 year first. Nope not anymore, they start earning it the first day, and start taking it after 90 days. We now have to have 2 systems the State mandated sick time and our PTO system, because if I don't keep it separate the State system infects our existing system and hurts everyone. For us it was just one more expense and another State requirement that we have to manage.

I will say for a lot of businesses this is nothing to sneeze at, they are focused on their actual work not trying to track State requirements and State reporting. If it were just this one thing I'd agree, but every year the State keeps heaping more and more "requirements" on businesses, driving costs up and businesses out. I am a firm believer in Personal Responsibility. The economy is very strong and if you don't like what an employer provides, you can move along, eventually that employer will figure it out or die off.

By calling it anything but sick pay in WA, the employer then has to generate the additional paperwork documenting and calculating how it corresponds with the state regulations. It’s so much easier just to call it sick pay. I’m sure at some point I’ll get my hand slapped for allowing it to be used however the employee wants, but for now that’s what I’m doing.

 

[Darcy03231]

I’m fascinated by those with unlimited time off. Are you in small companies? Having managed a lot of people in my day I just know there would be some who would abuse it and then it would become my problem to stop approving time. I just can’t see how it works without being abused since I’ve realized how many people don’t have my work ethic.

The company I work for has about 50 employees. What I do is fairly specialized in my area and it's becoming harder and harder to replace retiring people with new qualified individuals. Just not a field that people are really going into anymore. Since I've been doing my job for over 30 years I'm very experienced. I also have a good work ethic and make sure everything is done before I go and will work extra hours to get caught up when I get back (if necessary). My boss doesn't want me to retire, so he's happy to approve any unpaid time I want to take in addition to my paid time. While it's not fair, company policy is that your boss has to approve any unpaid time over and above your paid time, and some bosses won't approve anything extra. Also, while some people might like to take unpaid time, they can't afford to do it. I could have retired 5 years ago when DH did, but I wasn't ready to (and I'm still not) so the compromise is that I continue working but take some extra time for travel. Because I'm still working it's also afforded us the opportunity to do a lot more travel each year that we would have done if I retired.

We're also not allowed to roll anything over. We have a use it or lose it policy for vacation and personal days. Sick time rolls over and accrues, but you can't take it with you when you leave.

 

[wvjules]

I'm not sure how to answer that. I started a new job in October. When I left my previous employer I was paid out my unused PTO of 150 hours. Those hours were what was accumulated in 2018. All of the 160 PTO hours I used in 2018 were carried over from 2017. So yes I do use them all, just not necessarily in the year I accrued them. (We were allowed to carry over 200 hours but those had to be used the following year or you lose them.

My current employer has 3 personal days, 22 (I think lol) vacation days, and 10 sick days. The sick and personal do not carry over. PTO is accrued and you can carry over 40 hours to the next year but they have to be used by June.

FTR, I am not a fan of unlimited PTO. First, if you leave the employer then you don't get a PTO payout. Second, employees with unlimited PTO use LESS than employees with a set number of PTO hours/days. So it's really more of an employer benefit than an employee one.

 

[tvguy]

Yeah I got that, it's just a shame that business owners would complain about having to do it. Especially if the reasoning is that they have to keep track of it - that's just lazy IMHO

Well, like I said, some did provide money to their employees in compensation for their laziness

 

[Mto3]

PTO here also. I earn 25 days a year which I use in full every year and have carried the allowed 20 days in addition to that over for the past 5 years. I would lose the time carried if I had any over 20.

 

[Monykalyn]

Employers can get VERY creative about making it tough for employees to take time off (either through psychological manipulation, or "blackout" periods - while those are sometimes necessary they can be balanced with generous time off flexibility during slow periods or willingness to bring in temp/per diem staff)

Yes-welcome to healthcare!!!! Ridiculous policies that result in coming to work sick, extreme guilt trips for taking planned days off...especially if was over 5 in a row. One of the many reasons I quit hospitals and now do consulting.
I am bolstered by how many DO use their PTO/vacation days though!!

 

[siren0119]

Yes-welcome to healthcare!!!! Ridiculous policies that result in coming to work sick, extreme guilt trips for taking planned days off...especially if was over 5 in a row. One of the many reasons I quit hospitals and now do consulting.
I am bolstered by how many DO use their PTO/vacation days though!!

HAHA EXACTLY what I had in my mind when I typed that. My poor mother in law is a 28-year career nurse with seniority on her floor, and she STILL has trouble getting the time off she wants because of all the "creative" ways the administration prevents them from taking what they've earned.