No Vacation Pay Earned? How does that work?

[Handbag Lady]

My sister's employer has reduced their benefits to save money. One of the things they are trying is that they've cancelled vacation pay, as in, no more accrued vacation time.

So, once she uses up her vacation time, what happens then?

Is she not allowed to ever take time off again? What if her daughter gets sick and she takes 15 days off in a row without pay? (an example) or takes unpaid time off at all? How do they know when it is excessive?

What is to stop anyone from taking four-week vacations now?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

What is to stop anyone from taking four-week vacations now?

If you take a 4 week vacation, you wouldn't get paid. That would stop most people from taking excessive amounts of time off.

 

[janey99]

If you take a 4 week vacation, you wouldn't get paid. That would stop most people from taking excessive amounts of time off.

Yeah, this seems like a no-brainer to me!

Jane

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Does she currently earn sick leave as well? I earn sick & annual + I can work "credit" which is working in advance for time off ~ I can have up to 12 credit hours which is 2 days of work for me. I can not take time off without leave even if I was OK not getting paid ~ I think that's a little odd, but it was nice getting paid to be at WDW!

 

[scrapquitler]

Its simple,,,,people won't take excessive vacation time BECAUSE they won't get paid for it.

My husband is an independent contractor, he hasn't had a paid vacation,holiday or sick day in 12 years. You just get used to it and plan for it.

 

[crisi]

She will only get paid for time worked. Her employer will probably limit how much unpaid time she is allotted, or perhaps her manager will supervise. If her children get seriously ill, and the company is large enough, she'll be covered under FMLA. She can still take time off, just not get paid for it, and if its excessive, her employer may not continue to employ her.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Every workplace is different but we could never accrue vacation. It had to be used in the year it was earned. It was based on your length of service.

We also got 8 sick days a year.

I earned 4 weeks of vacation a year. I would use 3 weeks for vacations and save one week until the 2nd week of december. then if I didn't need to use any of it because of sick kids, having to take off for school stuff, I'd take the week then.

We weren't allowed to take vacation the last 2 weeks of December. Half the company would get christmas week off and the other half got the week after Christmas off. It was your supervisors decision as to who got which week. As a supervisor, I tried to base it on need BUT the same person couldn't always have the same week off every year.

If you used up all of your sick and vacation time and still needed additional time off for sick kids or parents or you got really sick, it would be unpaid.

 

[Planogirl]

I would be actively job hunting if my company did this. They've already taken so much away including decent working conditions that paid vacation is one of the few things left to look forward to.

 

[PrincessSuzanne]

My husband has never received any kind of paid day off. If he is sick, he stays out with no pay, he doesn't get paid for holidays that they take off, which isn't many, and if we go on vacation, he doesn't get paid. Actually he barely gets paid for the hours he does work, but it is only because the boss needs to pad his pockets. He would be looking for a new job, but wiht the way things are right now, that isn't possible.

Suzanne

 

[babybaja2]

So, my next question would be: Has your sister asked for a pay-increase?

When she was hired, she agreed to work for a certain amount (per hour or salary)

dollar amount + benefits = total income

If they are taking away her benefits, they are basically giving her a pay cut... which I'm sure she didn't agree to when she was hired on...

 

[indimom]

PP. If they are cutting costs, I'm guessing they are not going to compensate by giving a pay raise... My hubby didn't 'agree' to getting a 15% pay cut in the last year.. (how many years of hard work to earn raises was just tossed aside?) He's also not happy about being moved to another department and working weekends, but he's glad he still has a job after over half the guys he used to work with got a pink slip.

OP, most likely the company will "allow" the same number of sick days each year as they previously did. She just won't be paid for them. Excessive days off would result in termination. But, like others have said, the lack of pay will prevent most folks from taking too many days, anyway.

As far as managing without vacation pay, I've been working for myself for over 13 years and have never received vacation pay. I'm planning a two-week vacation for the family next summer and part of the budget is saving enough to cover my lost income.

 

[crisi]

So, my next question would be: Has your sister asked for a pay-increase?

When she was hired, she agreed to work for a certain amount (per hour or salary)

dollar amount + benefits = total income

If they are taking away her benefits, they are basically giving her a pay cut... which I'm sure she didn't agree to when she was hired on...

A lot of people took pay cuts last year (including me - 10%). Your options are to take it, or to quit. Surprisingly few people quit, most of us just figured out how to get by on 10% less for the year. Doesn't matter what she agreed to when hired, these are the new terms of her agreement and unless she has a contract, they can change the terms at their whim (she can as well, but her option is to quit if they don't meet her terms).

 

[Inigo]

So, my next question would be: Has your sister asked for a pay-increase?

When she was hired, she agreed to work for a certain amount (per hour or salary)

dollar amount + benefits = total income

If they are taking away her benefits, they are basically giving her a pay cut... which I'm sure she didn't agree to when she was hired on...

Unless sister has a contract that specifies she will not ever have her pay cut, the sister can ask for anything she wants, but they aren't required to give it to her.

As a matter of fact, if she demands something like this, they could fire her. 49 of the 50 states (and the 50th state marginally) are At Will Employment states. Barring a union or a signed contract or to the contrary, you can be let go for any reason at any time, as long as you aren't being discriminated against for race, gender, etc. Your boss could fire you for wearing red socks and it would be perfectly legal.

 

[Darcy03231]

This just happened this week at DH's work. He's been with the company for over 20 years. He lost his vacation and holiday pay and will be taking a paycut as the company he works for pays over what the union rate is. They're cutting back to union rate to be able to bid competively which will mean a $4-$6/hr cut in pay. He never had sick days (he works construction). Since he's in the union his other benefits (insurance/retirement) won't change. The office personnel lost sick days, holidays, vacation pay, car allowance, 401k match and now have to pay have their insurance. We're just glad he still has a job.

 

[disney1990]

I took a 100% pay cut in February (I lost my job). I would have gladly just lost my vacation pay.

 

[DanceRC28]

It depends on the company and their policy, there is really no way for anyone on here to know the entire situation. As many others have said, the fact that someone is not getting paid would probably stop them from taking excessive amounts of time off. If she needed to take excessive amounts of time off for a medical reason to care for her or a family member, she may be FMLA eligible- still, however, it would be unpaid.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They are likely out of funds and future time off would be unpaid.

Paid vacation time and PTO are privileges and not rights.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[averysmom]

Is there no mandated vacation law?

I'm not a HR expert, but our province's (Manitoba) Employment standards which cover most ppl, make it law, that after 1 year all employees (except the few that it doesn't cover) are entitled to 2 weeks paid vacation (or 4% of their gross pay). A lot of part-time or casual workers take their 4% rather than vacation.
I'm pretty sure that after 5 years, they up it to 3 weeks and 6%. I know that the province next to us starts at 3 weeks, and goes to 4 at 5 years.
I'm surprised that your sister's employers can legally do this to her!

 

[disneymom2003]

I took a 100% pay cut in February (I lost my job). I would have gladly just lost my vacation pay.

I agree. My husband lost his job last March and vacation pay was the last thing we were worried about.

We would have been happy to give up vacation pay. He has been looking for a job for a while. They are few and far between. It is probably best to take the cut in benefits and hope they are restored when the economy is better. If not your sister could then look for a new job. Sorry for the rant, lack of money to pay the bills makes one a little edgy.