Companies Imposing Unlimited PTO Policies. YAY!

[s0me0nesmind1]

Hah - just kidding. It's all a trap.


In shit industries like my old Big 4 accounting firms it seems they are trying to slyly save money under the guise of new "Unlimited PTO" policies.

As someone that came from these companies - they generally all give you the same thing... The 2 I was at would give you 5-weeks of Vacation/PTO starting and it goes up by maybe a week if you stay for 5-years, etc.. The thing is it's basically an unspoken rule and a general fad to take the least amount of vacation as possible - as dipshits would celebrate "I have 3 weeks of PTO expiring this year". Yeah bud, whatever floats your boat. At minimum I would make sure to take enough so that nothing would expire for a given year. Probably also why I left, because I couldn't put up with management giving in a huge sigh and giving you shit for requesting to take a week or so off of PTO time that you rightfully accrued and earned.


Anyhow, E&Y (Ernest & Young) looks to be making this change to an Unlimited PTO policy. Why you ask? So that they don't have to accrue and pay for vacation hours of course. Whenever someone quits, gets fired, leaves the company, etc... in many states they are required to pay out vacation hours. But what if... you had no vacation hours? Because you supposedly had "unlimited" vacation? No payout!

If someone wants to be a complete snob and ask a HORRIBLE question like "Can I take 2 weeks off?" you give them a huge guilt trip and push that they don't actually take it. If they take too much, just fire them!



Here's a leaked letter.

Main point: If you ever hear about this at your company - don't fall for it. And hollllllly shit I'm glad I got out of the dumpster-fire known as Big4

 

[herm0016]

yep. its a trap.

 

[snoopy7548]

 

[local]

I haven't asked to take off for at least 10 years, I tell them when I am not going to be there. That being said I am over the cap for vacation hours right now.

 

[MrSquished]

It's the American Dream. Fuck those lazy Europeans with actual things like real vacation time and parental leave!

 

[brianmanahan]

2 straight weeks off is a big unwritten no-no at every company i've worked at

even a week and a half is ok, but if you ask for 2 weeks then it's like you've crossed the line

i've only taken 2 weeks off once, and it was the only year i've ever gotten a "meh" year-end review and no raise/bonus

 

[Red Squirrel]

What happens if you abuse this, like decide you want to take a week off every month? Do they just can you? If you are truly allowed to take advantage of it I can see it being a trade off for the idea of getting paid out... but if they basically guilt trip you or even threaten to fire you if you use it then yeah that kind of sucks.

I sometimes end up letting my floaters get paid out but that's because I work shifts so I get tons of time off anyway. I tend to keep the floaters to get rid of odd ball 8h shifts that might give me a longer stretch of time off. For example I'm on a stretch of like 10 days off right now. I originally had a single 1 8h day I had to work in the middle, so I just took a floater. For vacation I always take it though, at our company you have to use it or you lose it. Vacation is prebooked at the start of the year.

I would hate going back to a 8x5 job though. 3-4 weeks of vacation per year is not really enough and 2 day weekends are too short. I kinda have it made with my current job, I'm off like practically half the time.

 

[sdifox]

I haven't asked to take off for at least 10 years, I tell them when I am not going to be there. That being said I am over the cap for vacation hours right now.

Take every Wednesday off.

 

[brianmanahan]

Take every Wednesday off.

i usually every take every friday for the rest of the year off if i've got time to burn

3 day weekends are lovely

 

[sdifox]

i usually every take every friday for the rest of the year off if i've got time to burn

3 day weekends are lovely

I prefer two day work week xd

 

[WelshBloke]

It's the American Dream. Fuck those lazy Europeans with actual things like real vacation time and parental leave!

I get (the equivalent of) about 9 weeks paid holidays. That's including bank holidays but excluding sick days (sick days are unlimited but you'll need a doctors note if you are off for a week or so). I'm not sure what the rules on parental leave are but a friend is planning to be off for a year when her and her wife adopt their second child.

 

[local]

I prefer two day work week xd

Two day weeks are the best, makes the work week as short as the weekend. A three day weekend just makes the weekend a little less short but still leaves the work week longer.

 

[Zeze]

I mean, we all know by now that Unlimited PTO means you don't own any of them. You can't cash them out. You can't carry them over.

Corporate assholes.

 

[herm0016]

I take at least a 2 week vacation almost every year. I work 10 on and 4 off though.

 

[ultimatebob]

I mean, we all know by now that Unlimited PTO means you don't own any of them. You can't cash them out. You can't carry them over.

Corporate assholes.

Doesn't seem like much of a difference than what I've been dealing with. I get 4 weeks of PTO (in theory), but it's nearly impossible to take it during our busy season at the end of the year and you're only allowed to carry over a week of it. So, you were basically guaranteed to lose about a week of PTO every year.

 

[BudAshes]

Good thing I got one of these for working from home.

 

[Exterous]

2 straight weeks off is a big unwritten no-no at every company i've worked at

even a week and a half is ok, but if you ask for 2 weeks then it's like you've crossed the line

i've only taken 2 weeks off once, and it was the only year i've ever gotten a "meh" year-end review and no raise/bonus

There are places out there that allow that even in IT. Harder to find though for sure.

 

[Brainonska511]

I mean, we all know by now that Unlimited PTO means you don't own any of them. You can't cash them out. You can't carry them over.

Corporate assholes.

Many states don't mandate PTO cash out, so companies won't cash it out even if you have stuff left.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Taking extended time at my company isn't a big deal. I've known multiple people who've taken 3 weeks straight, some on multiple occasions.

I thinkni had a buddy do 3 weeks, then come back for two days before the 2 week Christmas shutdown. Surprised he knew where to find his cube after that 😂

 

[KillerCharlie]

I work for a big aerospace company as an engineer and have decent vacation with separate sick leave. Our vacation is our vacation... You take it when you want and as long as there's a bit of notice you can take it all at once if you want. Heck, a lot of people even take unpaid leave for extended vacations. If your bosses are appy with your performance, they try to keep you and make you happy.

 

[Elfear]

I get (the equivalent of) about 9 weeks paid holidays. That's including bank holidays but excluding sick days (sick days are unlimited but you'll need a doctors note if you are off for a week or so). I'm not sure what the rules on parental leave are but a friend is planning to be off for a year when her and her wife adopt their second child.

Oh man, I would be pissed if I had to do another person's job on top of my own for a year. That's inevitably what ends up happening and not only is it a year off but then you have to basically retrain that person when they get back. I would also think taking a year off would put you at risk of the company deciding if they could do without you that long, do they really need you?

 

[WelshBloke]

Oh man, I would be pissed if I had to do another person's job on top of my own for a year. That's inevitably what ends up happening and not only is it a year off but then you have to basically retrain that person when they get back. I would also think taking a year off would put you at risk of the company deciding if they could do without you that long, do they really need you?

Luckily for me none of those things will happen!