job offer ?

[coastiewifern]

I work in healthcare and received a job offer but something struck me as very odd. I get no vacation/PTO or sick time until after I have worked there 1 year and then I start accruing. The probation period is 90 days which is pretty standard. Is this the new normal for PTO time or is this just not very good. One job I had you couldn't take vacation for 6 months but you started accruing right away. Opinions on this

 

[Ginny Favers]

That's normal practice for some companies, and also, not very good.

My company has that policy, as well. Before I accepted the job, I negotiated with them and received 10 PTO days for my first year.

Some companies will put the bare minimum in their job offer, expecting that you'll want to negotiate certain points with them.

 

[HM]

I'd definitely negotiate for some time off during your first year.

 

[HLAuburn]

I work in healthcare and received a job offer but something struck me as very odd. I get no vacation/PTO or sick time until after I have worked there 1 year and then I start accruing. The probation period is 90 days which is pretty standard. Is this the new normal for PTO time or is this just not very good. One job I had you couldn't take vacation for 6 months but you started accruing right away. Opinions on this

Hey neighbor Congrats on the job offer.

While I agree with the PP that this is the norm for some companies, it definitely can't hurt to ask for something else. The plan you mentioned where you accrue from the start and can't take a vacation for 6 months seems like a much more "doable" option.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I've heard of something like that before but don't know anyone who has been offered a deal like that.

In my company they offer 3 weeks up front, free and clear. At 5 years you get 4, at 20 years you get 5 (that fifth week must feel really well-earned by that point I guess). DH works at a much smaller company (think 50 people vs 115,000) and he got 2 weeks to start and there is no formal policy on getting any more than that.

If it's not a deal breaker for you and you really need a job then I would take the offer. However, I would look at the company's other benefits and research the company a bit. It would personally bother me that the company views vacation this way. My company doesn't let us roll vacation over but that's partly because they want us to USE it. They emphasize the need for rest and relaxation as part of a healthy lifestyle. I don't know how I'd survive without the occasional time off, but if it isn't a stressful position then it may not matter as much.

I'd try to negotiate a bit. Congrats though! A job offer is a great thing

 

[malibuconlee]

In the past it was pretty standard, now it seems most places you start accruing PTO when you start work. At my husband's company you start with none, but accrue it during while working at a rate of x hours per pay period.

 

[IUTBAM]

That sounds like a sucky vacation policy, but with the job market what it is now, I'm not surprised. I personally wouldn't work for a company with that type of policy (because it just screams "bad management" and a bad corporate culture), but if you need a job badly, then I'd say take it, while you continue to look for something better.

My husband took a white collar/management level position last year with a mid-size oil/energy company. They offer vacation to all new hires based on years of experience, not years with the company. Because he has over 20 years in the business, he received 5 weeks vacation per year right off the bat. He had to accrue the days/hours before he could use them though. We typically take a 2-week summer vacation, and a 2-week Christmas vacation. Since he didn't have vacation to take right away, we squeezed in a week's vacation right before he started in June, 2012, and by Christmas, he had enough to take our usual 2-week vacation. Have you considered taking a vacation before you start? I wouldn't want to wait a year+ for a vacation. No way.

 

[chipdale74]

I have heard a lot of companies are doing this now. I know some friends who had this issue. They negotiated some pto for the first year. My company gives you a standard amount depending on you start salary that you accrue throughout the year. They also give the option of purchasing up to 5 more pto days at the beginning of the year.

I would definitely negotiate. A year is along time of not being able to take off

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

That was always the standard for most companie/jobs I have had. Well, most just gave you a certain number of days after the first year and so on. Several of my jobs over the years sisn't even offer paid time off at all, my husband's last job was like that.

I love all the time I get with the company I've been with for the last 8 years, I get PTO, sick time, vacation and a floating holiday; You start with 2 weeks of vacation after your first year alone, can use up to 3 of the sikc days, and after 90 days you can use your floating holiday, which runs from Jan to Dec instead of your anniversary date like your other benefits do. I hae never heard of a company with such generous time off.

 

[StayCool]

I work in healthcare also and I have never heard of a place where you don't accrue PTO for an entire year. I would think that being in healthcare they would understand the importance of time off, for mental and physical health. Unless you really have to accept it the way it is, I would try to negotiate with them so you can accrue time immediately but not use it until at least your 90 day period is over. Good luck.

 

[ctl]

I work in healthcare and the standard seems to be 2 weeks PTO for the 1st year (with no vacation taken for at least the first 6 months while accruing). If you really want the job, I would try and negotiate non-paid time off in your contract. They may not go for paid time off, but perhaps they would be more agreeable to non-paid time off for the first year. If you can't then I would take a vacation now before you start the job and push back your start date to take the vacation. I would asssume that you may at least get federal holidays off. You know it's always easier to find a job once you have one. I faced a similar situation recently and passed on the job, because I had already plans made for the next year that I am not willing to change at this point. Good luck.

 

[Colleen27]

It is pretty normal for blue collar work in my experience. My husband was absolutely floored when he interviewed for his current job and was told he started accruing sick/personal PTO on day 1 (though he doesn't get his vacation time until he's been there a year) - it is the first job he's had that didn't impose some sort of delay on the earning of vacation/sick time and it has been a long time since he's had PTO at all so it was a very nice surprise indeed. But I would think in a more in-demand field you could expect more and negotiate to get it.

 

[Marionnette]

I work in healthcare and received a job offer but something struck me as very odd. I get no vacation/PTO or sick time until after I have worked there 1 year and then I start accruing. The probation period is 90 days which is pretty standard. Is this the new normal for PTO time or is this just not very good. One job I had you couldn't take vacation for 6 months but you started accruing right away. Opinions on this

Totally out of the norm for high-stress healthcare jobs that require you to work holidays, weekends and all kinds of crazy shifts. Are they paying really well or offering some kind of benefits that make it worth it? How competitive is the job market in your area? Most healthcare professionals around here would laugh at such an offer. There are a lot hospitals and someone is always hiring.

But if you're talking about working in a private office or group practice, they pretty much make their own rules knowing that the lower stress level and a work week that doesn't include night shifts goes a long way towards making it up to an employee. However, I would be wary of such an offer from a small practice. It's not unusual for demanding bosses that cannot keep an employee for more than 12 months to do that. It saves them from paying accrued vacation time when them employee leaves after less than a year.

 

[rachel09985]

My job doesn't start accruing vacation until 1 year after you stat but you get sick days and some personal time after 90 days(accruing until end of year)