Vacation Days/PTO

[ICF]

I cant imagine or understand not using every last second of your PTO. I've never lost any PTO and never intend to.

It's a benefit of your job and I dont care how important you are....the company will survive without you (unless maybe if you are a small business owner or something like that.)

Perhaps I've been lucky, but my companies have never made you feel bad for taken what you were entitled.

 

[DisGirlAllie]

I can roll over up to 40 hours so I usually roll over every other year or so to have a "splurge" vacation every year where I take an extra week, but for the most part try to use up all of my PTO. Ours isn't separated into sick days vs personal, but if I'm sick I can just work from home.

 

[violina]

I'm a SAHM now, however when I worked, I used some. Most of my jobs back in my hometown had a "use it or loose it" policy so it got me into the habit of taking a vacation and using my days.

In my current state, they don't have that policy so it's a matter of badgering my husband enough to take the time off. I'm all for going on a vacation, a week to recharge. He's not in the habit, but I'm working on him about it.

 

[tvguy]

I cant imagine or understand not using every last second of your PTO. I've never lost any PTO and never intend to.

It's a benefit of your job and I dont care how important you are....the company will survive without you (unless maybe if you are a small business owner or something like that.)

Perhaps I've been lucky, but my companies have never made you feel bad for taken what you were entitled.

If your sick time is lumped in with vacation time there is a risk if you use every second of PTO. You could have a need for sick time come up and have to take time off without pay because you have used every last second of PTO up already.

 

[Kimkimba]

I usually take about 3 weeks. My boss has never discussed time off. I’m salary and just let him know when I’ll be out.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Where I work we can accumulate up to two years, then we lose the hours. In my earlier years, when I only had two weeks, I used up all the time, plus we were able to purchase a week, so three weeks, and took it all - some of those days were to take care of my kids when they stayed home sick from school. Now that I've been at my job for so many years I have a lot of vacation. I maxed out in 2020 (432 hours for two years with no cash-out) for the first time. We also work 9-hour days, Mon-Thu, and get every other Friday off. So one Friday is my 'off-day' and one Friday I take PTO, so typically get 3-day weekends.

Unless I'm camping it's rare for me to take a full week off without logging on my laptop for work. Most years I may take a couple of weeks, but there are some years that I take off a month's worth of days. Even at that, I'll check in so I don't fall too far behind in my responsibilities. When I do that I charge my time to the company.

We also get 10 federal holidays, and five of those days fall between Christmas and New Years.

 

[tvguy]

Where I work we can accumulate up to two years, then we lose the hours. In my earlier years, when I only had two weeks, I used up all the time, plus we were able to purchase a week, so three weeks, and took it all - some of those days were to take care of my kids when they stayed home sick from school. Now that I've been at my job for so many years I have a lot of vacation. I maxed out in 2020 (432 hours for two years with no cash-out) for the first time. We also work 9-hour days, Mon-Thu, and get every other Friday off. So one Friday is my 'off-day' and one Friday I take PTO, so typically get 3-day weekends.

Unless I'm camping it's rare for me to take a full week off without logging on my laptop for work. Most years I may take a couple of weeks, but there are some years that I take off a month's worth of days. Even at that, I'll check in so I don't fall too far behind in my responsibilities. When I do that I charge my time to the company.

We also get 10 federal holidays, and five of those days fall between Christmas and New Years.

My brother worked as a civilian for the Department of Defense. When he retired he has 14 months of sick and vacation time on the books that he had to use up before he could officially retire. So technically, he was still on the payroll for the first 14 months of his retirement.
Curious, I understand Christmas and New Years are Federal holidays, what are the other three federal holidays that fall between Christmas and New Years?

 

[starry_solo]

My brother worked as a civilian for the Department of Defense. When he retired he has 14 months of sick and vacation time on the books that he had to use up before he could officially retire. So technically, he was still on the payroll for the first 14 months of his retirement.
Curious, I understand Christmas and New Years are Federal holidays, what are the other three federal holidays that fall between Christmas and New Years?

I bet the prior poster meant between New Years and Christmas.

MLK Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day. But I thought Veterans Day and Thanksgiving was also a federal holiday so that makes seven between NY and Christmas.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

My brother worked as a civilian for the Department of Defense. When he retired he has 14 months of sick and vacation time on the books that he had to use up before he could officially retire. So technically, he was still on the payroll for the first 14 months of his retirement.
Curious, I understand Christmas and New Years are Federal holidays, what are the other three federal holidays that fall between Christmas and New Years?

We get New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, a floater on the Friday after Thanksgiving (unless it's our off-Friday), Christmas, then the week between Christmas and New Years. (We don't get off on MLK, President's, Columbus/Veterans). Somehow, these days total 10 company holidays due to our off-Fridays factored in.
So six holidays: NYD, MD, ID, LD, TG, C, and 4 floaters for MLK, PD, CD, VD that are put at the end of the year. Our off-Friday will usually fall on the day after Thanksgiving, or year-end shutdown to make the 10 company holidays, and typically including a 4-day Thanksgiving holiday.

 

[barkley]

If your sick time is lumped in with vacation time there is a risk if you use every second of PTO. You could have a need for sick time come up and have to take time off without pay because you have used every last second of PTO up already.

in california this can be less of a worry due to the state disability insurance program. depending on a person's eligibility they could collect up to $1539 per week. if the tax laws haven't changed since my retirement then those monies aren't taxable for state or fed purposes. i had co-workers who ended up netting more via ca-sdi than they would have had they used paid sick leave so they would just make sure they never had less than the 7 days they needed to cover the waiting period.

 

[DisneyHardin]

In SC, our days accrued at retirement are worth 25 dollars per day...

Wow - that really stinks. That is definitely not much of an incentive to not use them and cash them in.

 

[wvjules]

I currently get 5 weeks PTO. We get off extra days at Thanksgiving, July 4 and the entire week between Christmas and New Years. I find it really hard to use all of my PTO. We are allowed to rollover what was earned and unused in the previous year but it has to be used in the current year. I rolled over 102 hours that need to be used this year.

Taking a Monday or Friday never usually works because I've worked so much the other days that I will only use 1 or 2 PTO hours. In order to really "use" PTO full weeks need taken off at a time. Finding a good time to take off a week is difficult.

I'm looking at the calendar and the only PTO I have scheduled is for my birthday at Disney in December for 1 week. Luckily, we have no seniority, lottery or any PTO approvals really. We just send out a calendar notification and that's that.

 

[GreatLakes]

I mean, that's a nice thought... but if the corporate expectations are such that people who take their time tend to be let go, or given negative performance reviews, or passed over for advancement, it might not be a realistic one. I think most people are pretty good at reading their company's culture when it comes to these things, and that few people are interested in leaving time on the table by choice (assuming there's no incentive to do so - a payout for unused time might be more valuable to some people or at some points in time than days off would be).

This is one of the things that needs to be discussed during the interview process. I've never bought that any interview is a one-way street. The person in the "interviewee" chair needs to be doing as much analysis of the company for fit as the other way around.

There are people that thrive on the rat race and startup culture and those that thrive with balance. As long as both sides match it can be successful.

 

[mrodgers]

I don’t get what living in a house has to do with using vacation time. I think the point is to work to live don’t live to work.

4 weeks of pay and 3 sick day payouts in January is significant when you are a normal working stiff trying to save up to buy a house, as I said in my posts. I put a few thousand away after Christmas.

There's also the matter of making less money because I'm then not paid overtime for the extra work over the 40 hours which includes the day that I used a benefit that covers my workday when taking days off piecemeal.

 

[Turn the Page]

DH gets 4 weeks of vacation time a year. He ususally takes 3 and his company will pay out the fourth week.

This hear he may take all 4. We have a 2 week Mediterranean cruise planned for this fall. It was supposed to be last fall but we pushed it a year. Fingers crossed we can go this year.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I do leave some unused, but they carry over to the next year. Sick leave is separate and carries over indefinitely.

There are now eleven federal holidays (Juneteenth was added last year.)

 

[tvguy]

in california this can be less of a worry due to the state disability insurance program. depending on a person's eligibility they could collect up to $1539 per week. if the tax laws haven't changed since my retirement then those monies aren't taxable for state or fed purposes. i had co-workers who ended up netting more via ca-sdi than they would have had they used paid sick leave so they would just make sure they never had less than the 7 days they needed to cover the waiting period.

But you still have to go 5 days without pay before you qualify.

 

[disneychrista]

4 weeks of pay and 3 sick day payouts in January is significant when you are a normal working stiff trying to save up to buy a house, as I said in my posts. I put a few thousand away after Christmas.

There's also the matter of making less money because I'm then not paid overtime for the extra work over the 40 hours which includes the day that I used a benefit that covers my workday when taking days off piecemeal.

But none of that has to do with living in a house vs a trailer. Not using time that will later be paid out I understand.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

Vacation, sick and personal are all separate.

I definitely use all my vacation, I guess in total it is 20 days.

 

[mrodgers]

But none of that has to do with living in a house vs a trailer. Not using time that will later be paid out I understand.

Again, I get it paid out, as in a couple thousand dollars that I would not have if I took the days off and used the vacation time to replace money I would have made to pay bills. I can save a couple thousand dollars to buy a house if I don't use my vacation time and get paid the extra money. Not too difficult to understand.

$0 money, can't buy a house.
$3-4000 put away every January, can buy a house after a few years.

Not everyone sits on a gold mind at their jobs and can just go out and buy whatever they need at any moment or chose to stop investing the equivalent of a full income into their retirement to buy a house. Some people have to save extra money up to get what they need.