How long after starting a new job would you ask for vacation time??

[KarenAylwood]

Will you have actually accrued the time by then? If you will essentially be taking time off without pay, it is tough for a boss to justify the use of overtime to let someone off on an unpaid vacation.


You are the best judge of the atmosphere at your workplace.

I will have accrued the time by then... heck I've already "accrued the time" by signing the offer. It states in my offer that in 2006, I get 80 hours of vacation time (10 per month X 8 mos), plus 40 floating holiday hours (the only set holidays are fourth of july and thanksgiving but if scheduled you have to work). So I have 120 hours for 2006.

16 of these are for the wedding- we're down to 104. Then 36 would be towards Disney which takes the rest of my floating holiday, and starts to cut into vacation time, getting down to 68 holiday hours.

I don't plan on using any more of those except towards Christmas-New Years. The facility shuts down from 12/25-1/1 so that means that if I'm scheduled to work then, I either get time off with no pay or can use vacation hours towards it to be paid (so I use 36 hrs for 3 shifts). But this way, they don't have to pay someone else to take over my shift- the place is shut down anyway. I'm down to 32 hours of vacation I don't plan to use in 2006.

I guess I'll just feel out my workplace during training and get an idea of how vacation is looked upon. If someone is sick or on vacation, extra shifts are offered to the other employees as overtime hours- and it was implied to me that many like this because they get paid time and a half.

I didn't bring up the wedding until the offer was given and when I did, the HR woman seemed very bubbly and fine with it. Even made sure to tell me that I should use holiday hours for it because if I leave, I get paid for unused vacation, not unused holiday.

We'll see how things go this week! I just made a courtesy ressie (ie no deposit) w/ WDW to make sure I could get the free dining. I have until April 19th to cancel without having to give a deposit and until July 31st to cancel the deposit. I'll just cancel if I get the vibe that vacation time shouldn't be taken within the first year.


Doubletrouble~ yes, it is a good amount of vacation time but it has to do with company policy. A BS gets 2 weeks, an MS gets 3 and a PhD gets 4. It is set by education level, not job type. The jobs that I have an opportunity to move up to w/ an MS aren't as crucial to cover as the one I'm starting in.

 

[Hannathy]

You mention it is a large company with a HR dept they should then have a set policy somewhere ie eligible for vacation after 6 mos ( which is the earliest I have ever seen) I wouldn't ask for vacation in Sept after already getting time off in May mainly because this may not sit well with your co-workers especially if they have to cover for you. You also mention getting off for Christmas - This would surprise me because this is prime vacation time and new low seniority people rarely are able to get this time. I don't predict you would win in a popularity contest if well within the first year you got off in May , September and then Christmas IMO everyone would think you must be the boss's DIL.
I guess you have to decide how much you want to build with this company and if it matters to you. Good Luck the first years can be tough, at least you get vacation time I had to work an entire year before I got any.

 

[azgal81]

I think as long as your job doesn't have any policies about working there a certain amount of time before taking off it shouldn't be a problem. As long as you have the time why not use it. I started the job I'm at in May a few years ago and took of time in October which is 5 months and they didn't care.

I think you should get the time approved before you book though. Just in case they say no you won't have to go back and cancel everything.

 

[MouseWorshipin]

Do you have vacation time coming to you in September? If so, give it a month and then tell your boss when you want to take it.

If you don't have vacation time coming, don't bring it up.

If you aren't sure, go to the HR people and find out.

The One Year Rule, while still in effect in many places, isn't everywhere like it once was.

So, if you have the time coming, by all means, sign up and take it. If not, wait a bit for your vaca.

...That's what I'd do.

p.s. Next time, bring it up as soon as they offer you the job. If the plans existed before you were hired, it is the rare employer that has a problem with it.

 

[ahutton]

You might also see if you are assigned to a mentor-type person in the first few days, and then ask that person how time off is handled for the department. You mention that your time away means others have to cover, so I'm sure there is a well established procedure for how to schedule (calendar) time and how they determine who covers. I would start with a mentor if I had one, if not then I would ask the boss from the frame of "is there a calendar so I would know when I may need to cover for others who have time off?" If so, then you can see if the time you are thinking is clear, if not then you have started a dialog related to the procedure, not "how do I get out of here for vacation?" That is a much more positive view from the new boss' persepctive. JMHO

 

[KarenAylwood]

You also mention getting off for Christmas - This would surprise me because this is prime vacation time and new low seniority people rarely are able to get this time. I don't predict you would win in a popularity contest if well within the first year you got off in May , September and then Christmas IMO everyone would think you must be the boss's DIL.
I guess you have to decide how much you want to build with this company and if it matters to you. Good Luck the first years can be tough, at least you get vacation time I had to work an entire year before I got any.

I'm not sure if you actually read my post above yours about taking off for Christmas. I'll re-explain it I guess- the entire facility SHUTS DOWN. AKA there is no opportunity for me to work- no one will be there.

There is the choice between taking this time that the facility is NOT RUNNING from 12/25-1/1 WITHOUT pay, or SAVING UP vacation time to use for the shifts I'd be scheduled in order to be paid over this period of time. I wouldn't be considered "the boss's DIL" or have to "win a popularity contest" to get this time off- there is no choice, I won't be working between Christmas and New Years no matter what. The choice is between being paid for the time off or not being paid for it.


I'm assuming there's no lag time because my job offer stated that I get 10 hours per month for the 8 months left in 2006

ahutton~ thanks for the idea! I think I'm going to keep this in mind. Sort of a "how far in advance will I know if I can pick up extra shifts when others are out on vacation" which would give more opportunity to get an idea of how far in advance time off is scheduled and when people have asked for time off. Also it wouldn't be asking my boss directly, just a better way of feeling out the situation.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

Wow....I'm actually surprised by some of the responses here. We get 4 weeks of vacation our first year (entry level-higher levels are more) in addition to 9 holidays, and people still complain about that. I guess maybe it has something to do with working for a bigger company. (Although mine is really only medium- ~1000 employees nationwide) I can honestly say I wouldn't even consider working for a company that wouldn't give me a day off for an entire year!!

As for the OP, since your company seems to be what I consider more "normal", I don't see why it would be a problem. You will have the vacation to take, so why wouldn't they expect you to use it? The only place where your company and mine may differ is that no one really has to "cover" for anyone when they take off, exactly. I am in public accounting and our only stipulation is that we can't take off 1/1-4/15 in any given year. And even then, exceptions are made for a day or two here and there. Our vacation structure is 4 weeks staff, 5 weeks seniors, 6 weeks managers, and "unlimited" for partners. It's typical of the industry from what I've seen.