Trendy Company PTO Policy

[IndySooner]

So, my company just instituted a PTO policy, which is essentially that there is no PTO. You need to be gone, you can be gone as much as you want, as long as your boss approves it and your job gets done. Essentially, I won't ever run out of time off. I hardly use any anyway, but it's an interesting look at it. On one hand, you have as much time off as you want. On the other hand, your boss controls how much you can take.

Anyway, just curious if anyone else is in a similar situation. Supposedly, it's the "trendy" thing to do, and I work for a somewhat trendy company, so.....

[soonerprices]

So no vacation days (paid days off)?

[IndySooner]

So no vacation days (paid days off)?

Nope. Only the holidays. It's only for exempt employees, though, so it's not like we lose pay on days we're gone. It's weird.

[soonerprices]

So you do get paid when you're gone i.e. vacation, illness, bereavement etc?

[IndySooner]

So you do get paid when you're gone i.e. vacation, illness, bereavement etc?

Yes. It seems like a great deal, but I'm always skeptical about how companies are **** me because I'm like a battered wife.

[SoonerArtillery]

Who doesn't get paid when they are off work? If you don't you need to find a new job...

[soonerprices]

Who doesn't get paid when they are off work? If you don't you need to find a new job...

I think people will abuse that especially if the boss is weak and basically OK's every request for time off. How much in advance do you have to request time off?

[IndySooner]

I think people will abuse that especially if the boss is weak and basically OK's every request for time off. How much in advance do you have to request time off?

2 weeks. I think it will get abused, too. For me, I'm not sure it will matter. I don't take my 10-15 days every year anyway (though if you consider I'm a sales guy, I probably actually take more when you add the down time up). I work for a California tech company. We do lots of weird stuff for employees.

[SoonerArtillery]

I take every other month off....but actually that is just the way my schedule falls.....4 weeks on, 4 weeks off.....+ 3 weeks paid vacation a year.

[soonerprices]

Who doesn't get paid when they are off work? If you don't you need to find a new job...

I have about 16 weeks of vacation and am forced to take it with out pay.

[soonerprices]

2 weeks. I think it will get abused, too. For me, I'm not sure it will matter. I don't take my 10-15 days every year anyway (though if you consider I'm a sales guy, I probably actually take more when you add the down time up). I work for a California tech company. We do lots of weird stuff for employees.

If you had 15 days of PTO and only used 5 did you get anything in return at the end of the year for the 10 unused days?

[Section31]

I'd be concerned about whether you would be paid for unused days in the event you take another job, retire, etc. Of course, I'm self-employed, so I don't have this issue, but I can still see where I wouldn't be geeked about it if I WERE an employee.

[Section31]

Additionally, I'd be wary of them actually tracking it more than you think and, as such, most people end up with less time off. Seems a little too subjective to me.

[IndySooner]

If you had 15 days of PTO and only used 5 did you get anything in return at the end of the year for the 10 unused days?

Yes. I have about 5 days coming to me this year. They still haven't told us how they're handling that.......

[IndySooner]

Additionally, I'd be wary of them actually tracking it more than you think and, as such, most people end up with less time off. Seems a little too subjective to me.

Oh, I'm PLENTY wary. I agree. Seems like some managers will handle one way while others will handle another. Again, it really doesn't mean anything to me. I'm one of two employees in Oklahoma and the other is in Tulsa, in a completely different division. If I need to get away, I don't ask already, so that won't change. What worries me is that if sales start slowing down (things are really good right now, but I've been around enough to know that doesn't last) then they put the clamps down and don't let anyone take any time for anything, under the guise that it's our job to sell and we have to be getting the job done to get any time off.

[SoCaliSooner]

I have about 16 weeks of vacation and am forced to take it with out pay.

I have about 300 sick days and 250 vacation days (and counting) that I will sell back when I retire. I've been banking much of my overtime as comp time.

[xunil]

The company I work for does this.. We have no defined number of days PTO, only company holidays.

For Section31 -- no, you don't receive any accrued benefit should you leave the company. There is no accrued benefit.

Managers are coached on tracking vacation schedules for proper business coverage, not amount of time an employee has taken. I have 60+ in my org and couldn't tell you who is taking a lot and who isn't taking any. Don't know. Don't care. Goals are set and performance measured on success, not whether a butt is in the seat.

For me personally, I've found that I have to force myself to be away. Vacations have turned into those that force me to be disconnected. At part I don't care for but it's my own fault.


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[xunil]

Yes. I have about 5 days coming to me this year. They still haven't told us how they're handling that.......

They are either going to force you to take that or pay it out.


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[KCRuf/Nek]

I have about 300 sick days and 250 vacation days (and counting) that I will sell back when I retire. I've been banking much of my overtime as comp time.

Nothing like sucking off the taxpayer.

[soonerintn]

Yes. It seems like a great deal, but I'm always skeptical about how companies are **** me because I'm like a battered wife.

They are just checking on your work ethic.

[oucub23]

It's a great idea if you trust the people working for you. Hire someone to do a job. If the job gets done, who cares how much they're in the office? If it doesn't get done, and there's not a legitimate reason, fire them.

[ArbySooner]

I read about companies doing this. It is an interesting concept. I, like you, would be wary. Especially cause your boss could be a **** and deny "just because"..

[Yatahaze]

Sounds ****ing lame.

[Oldnslo]

I haven't had a paid day off in over 22 years. Yea, self-employment.

[SoonerSean03]

My company is the opposite. Three weeks plus they take two sick days out of your accumulated total that you can use as vacation days. And until just this past year you couldn't take a single day off. You had to take 2, 3 or 5 days in a row.

You don't get paid for sick leave if you quit (I have about six weeks that I've earned at 8 hrs a month) and you don't get paid for unused vacation days.

And even though most of us are exempt - if we don't login into a special system each day we get a nasty email asking where we were and have to go in and explain the absence.

[SoCaliSooner]

Nothing like sucking off the taxpayer.

After tens of thousands of calls saving the taxpayers homes, lives and property both here and in other states and countries....and with a rebuilt knee and shoulder for my troubles, I'm fairly guilt free about my compensation. Rather than be taxed at a higher rate every year by getting paid for overtime, I'd rather stick it to the government by making them pad my retirement where I'm taxed at a lower rate...or potentially...not taxed at all for the first 5 years.

[xunil]

I read about companies doing this. It is an interesting concept. I, like you, would be wary. Especially cause your boss could be a **** and deny "just because"..

In our system, if your boss denies you and doesn't have a legitimate reason the HR people come down hard on them. A manager who gets a rep for denying vacation requests "just because" is pushed out the door pretty quickly. It's actually kind of ironic because they are fairly lax (IMHO) on a number of other issues.


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[IndySooner]

In our system, if your boss denies you and doesn't have a legitimate reason the HR people come down hard on them. A manager who gets a rep for denying vacation requests "just because" is pushed out the door pretty quickly. It's actually kind of ironic because they are fairly lax (IMHO) on a number of other issues.


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I'm thinking ours will be the same. Hell, one of our missions as a company is to be "Cool", so I'd say they're working hard at it. The more I think about it, the more I like it. Nothing will change for me, really, but if I decide to go into management, I think I'll like it a lot.

[brian]

I would hate to be a supervisor at a place with this policy.

[RenegadeSooner]

It would definitely require some readjustment in thinking as both a manager and employee. With advances in mobile technology, many companies have added much more flexible work scheduling. Along with that flexibility, there is a silent ****umption that you will be available as needed (even while on PTO). So maybe the OP's company is on to something. In addition, most companies attach overall pay to achieving certain performance metrics. As long as the job is done, who cares when and how someone gets it done? If it doesn't get done, it will be reflected in the employees mid-year and year-end scorecard and pay (target annual bonuses for most of my team are 20% of base pay). 2011 was a very good year with our company exceeding metrics and thus I had the pleasure of delivering bonuses of 25-30% annual pay. This year, not so much. Bonuses will be 5-10% of pay.

So with mobile technology and pay for perfomance, is there a need for established PTO accrual policy?

[IndySooner]

It would definitely require some readjustment in thinking as both a manager and employee. With advances in mobile technology, many companies have added much more flexible work scheduling. Along with that flexibility, there is a silent ****umption that you will be available as needed (even while on PTO). So maybe the OP's company is on to something. In addition, most companies attach overall pay to achieving certain performance metrics. As long as the job is done, who cares when and how someone gets it done? If it doesn't get done, it will be reflected in the employees mid-year and year-end scorecard and pay (target annual bonuses for most of my team are 20% of base pay). 2011 was a very good year with our company exceeding metrics and thus I had the pleasure of delivering bonuses of 25-30% annual pay. This year, not so much. Bonuses will be 5-10% of pay.

So with mobile technology and pay for perfomance, is there a need for established PTO accrual policy?

And, by the way, my company sells pay for performance software. We're all paid that way, too. As a sales guy, though, I'm always paid based on my sales.