The US does not have a national policy regarding paid vacation days. However, many companies realize that paid time off is an essential part of any employment offer to attract and retain the best talent.
A legal requirement allows for 12 weeks of unpaid leave while the job remains protected under the Family Medical Leave Act. It applies in the case of taking care of a sick family member, the birth of a new baby, or illness that prevents the employee from working.
Traditionally, employers separated time off into several categories: paid vacation, sick leave, and personal days. Now more than ever, employers realize the benefit to melding these separate categories into a more flexible paid time off (PTO) policy that gives the employee more control over their benefit.
With a PTO policy, employees won’t feel the need to tell a white lie about a sick day or why they are taking a personal day and not a vacation day. Instead, it is merely PTO and each employee is entitled to this leave in their contract.
Rewarding loyal employees with PTO and increasing it each year for good performance will keep both employer and employee satisfied. Some companies allow a rollover system, where vacation days can be accrued and used in the next year, although that is not a perk that all companies offer. With others, PTO must be used within each calendar year.
The average worker starts with about two weeks paid holiday in the first year of a new full-time position. It can take several years to earn more weeks per year. In most cases, the more senior and the longer you’ve been with a company, the more flexible and longer your PTO may be. For those job-seekers with specialties, it might be a point of negotiation to obtain more vacation time from the start of a new contract.
A newer trend is to completely remove a vacation policy and allow workers to take time off when they like. This is quite a different methodology. It may sound risky at first, but, in 2009, about 66% of employees chose to work rather than using all their allotted vacation time.
No matter what your company’s policy, have a policy that works well for workers at all levels. The ability to take a break from a full schedule will allow workers to return to work refreshed and full of new ideas after a relaxing vacation.