Unlimited PTO!?!?!?

[ChrisL]

So new policy change within my company, unlimited PTO!  Time off has to be approved in advance of course and operational needs must be factored but if I want to take a week off every month technically I can!?!?  

Also, my accrued vacation under the old plan gets cashed out as of November 1st and I already have 57 hours accrued.  Looks like I get a week & a half extra pay next pay cycle as well!

[Square Wheels]

My wifes company does this.  It seems to be failing.  Not sure I understand how this can possibly work.

[BuffJim]

My brother’s employer, Moog, just went to this also. 

[ChrisL]

21 minutes ago, Kzoo said:

My wifes company does this.  It seems to be failing.  Not sure I understand how this can possibly work.

Fortunately for me none of my staff qualify as it's only for certain levels of employees  but I can see how it could be challenging.  One person takes a 3 week vacation every quarter but another may not be able to for varying reasons, all valid but then the person  could say I was discriminated against as joe was approved for 12 weeks where I only got 4... 

[Dottleshead ★]

I pretty much have this. You basically can take any time off provided you get your shit done. There's the catch.

[Ralphie ★]

36 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

Fortunately for me none of my staff qualify as it's only for certain levels of employees  but I can see how it could be challenging.  One person takes a 3 week vacation every quarter but another may not be able to for varying reasons, all valid but then the person  could say I was discriminated against as joe was approved for 12 weeks where I only got 4... 

Absolutely!  Sounds like a terrible idea!  Guaranteed to cause dissension.

[JerrySTL ★]

I worked with a company that did that. It lasted 2 years. When they switched back, those who previously had 100+ hours saved up had to start back at zero. They 'allowed' use to buy vacation days - basically unpaid days off.

Cashing out the PTO helped the company 2 ways. It made bidding on new contracts easier as they didn't have to factor in PTO costs after the contract was over. For example if I accrued 200 hours while on a 5-year contract and we didn't win it when the contract came up for re-compete, they still had to pay me. With new system that wouldn't happen.

The other way it helped the company is that it made it much nicer for someone to buy with the lower overhead costs. And that's what happened and why we went back to the more conventional PTO system after the new company took over.

There seemed to be a correlation between who took the most PTO and who got laid-off. I took exactly the 160 hours that I was entitled to the previous years.

[Square Wheels]

I can accumulate up to 680 hours of time.  I can cash out 600 of those hours.  That's enough to buy a car.  I'd be unhappy if they took that away.  I rarely take time off, I usually work more than 4 hours and am salaried.  We also use comp time.

[Ralphie ★]

@BR46will like this thread.  Unlimited Power Takeoff. :)

 

 

[Razors Edge ★]

I've had it before and it was really no different than pretty much any other system I have been under.  It "works" because there are a broad spectrum of people from the "never take vacation or sick days" to the "will be off as much possible".  Eventually, you weed out the latter or realize 1) they aren't abusing the system since they are getting their work done and/or 2) they are key & irreplaceable folks who you are probably underpaying already and you are lucky to have.  Almost everyone else falls in the middle - ie they take 2-4 weeks of vacation a year and a few "sick" days.  So, it ends up a wash and I think from a corporate accounting perspective, the unlimited policy lets them keep less "reserves" in payroll to cover the "owed" vacation balances that some folks carry into the triple digit hours.

Tom

[Ralphie ★]

4 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

I've had it before and it was really no different than pretty much any other system I have been under.  It "works" because there are a broad spectrum of people from the "never take vacation or sick days" to the "will be off as much possible".  Eventually, you weed out the latter or realize 1) they aren't abusing the system since they are getting their work done and/or 2) they are key & irreplaceable folks who you are probably underpaying already and you are lucky to have.  Almost everyone else falls in the middle - ie they take 2-4 weeks of vacation a year and a few "sick" days.  So, it ends up a wash and I think from a corporate accounting perspective, the unlimited policy lets them keep less "reserves" in payroll to cover the "owed" vacation balances that some folks carry into the triple digit hours.

Tom

It's a lot easier to do like I'll bet many companies do and allow 1 or 2 weeks of carryover, and otherwise it is use it or loose it for vacation.  And for sick days, if you aren;t dead or in the hospital, you better be there!  :D

 

[Razors Edge ★]

1 minute ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

It's a lot easier to do like I'll bet many companies do and allow 1 or 2 weeks of carryover, and otherwise it is use it or loose it for vacation.  And for sick days, if you aren;t dead or in the hospital, you better be there! 

My comment about the corporate accounting and associated overhead is the main factor.  In "rich" companies, it is also a recruiting tool.

Tom

[Longjohn ★]

My sister in law is the book keeper for local pest control company. She never takes all of her vacation . She says they don’t have anyone to cover for her. I would say that’ snot my problem, I’m taking my vacation deal with it.

[Razors Edge ★]

9 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

My sister in law is the book keeper for local pest control company. She never takes all of her vacation . She says they don’t have anyone to cover for her. I would say that’ snot my problem, I’m taking my vacation deal with it.

...and either be 1) the irreplaceable employee (YAY!!!) or 2) the replaceable employee (BOO!!).  Unless you're in a union, then you can get away with that "nonsense".

Tom

[BR46]

4 hours ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

@BR46will like this thread.  Unlimited Power Takeoff.

 

 

[Ralphie ★]

2 hours ago, Longjohn said:

My sister in law is the book keeper for local pest control company. She never takes all of her vacation . She says they don’t have anyone to cover for her. I would say that’ snot my problem, I’m taking my vacation deal with it.

I am in danger of loosing some days this year - big projects have put us in a jam.,  But I sure plan to make a good run at getting them all in!

[Longjohn ★]

4 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

I am in danger of loosing some days this year - big projects have put us in a jam.,  But I sure plan to make a good run at getting them all in!

Supposedly she hasn’t lost any vacation days but they haven’t offered to cash them out either. She is probably owed 100 weeks. I guess if she had to be off long term for health reasons she could just take vacation instead of disability? She is the same age as me. She planned on working to age 70. I tell her to go on vacation now and come back to get your gold watch at age 70.