taking vacation when quitting a job

[Fenixgoon]

why not just make your last day the last day of your vacation? and then you get paid out whatever vacation hours you have left

 

[Childs]

I had a coworker retire, taking 2 months worth of vacation up until his retirement date.

Yeah, a few months ago a coworker retired, and she used all her vacation time (6 weeks). Then she showed up on her last day, we gave her a party, and she was out.

 

[OverVolt]

Yea, take all your vacation time, then give two weeks notice on the end of your vacation date. Win win!

 

[brianmanahan]

if you have left over vacation days when you leave a job, then you've been doing it wrong all along and just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

not necessarily. sometimes a good job can come along unexpectedly and you have to jump on it. i did that last year, but my previous company had a policy to pay for vacation you hadn't yet taken.

 

[nageov3t]

Yea, take all your vacation time, then give two weeks notice on the end of your vacation date. Win win!

that's assuming your new job would be OK with you not being able to start for a month.

 

[PowerEngineer]

If they DON'T buy out your unused time, time that is obviously already earned unless he wouldn't be able to schedule the time...

Not necessarily true. Some companies allow you to schedule use of at least some vacation days before they are "earned". In one example I am familiar with, an employee's vacation balance is limited to -14 days (rather than zero). If an employee leaves the company with a negative vacation balance, then repayment is deducted from his/her final pay check.

 

[OverVolt]

that's assuming your new job would be OK with you not being able to start for a month.

Shoulda have taken a vacation to look for a new job. Duh!

I'm dead serious though. I would have. Nice and relaxing job search.

 

[pcgeek11]

if you have left over vacation days when you leave a job, then you've been doing it wrong all along and just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

No not really. I am usually at the maximum on vacation and personal time on the books and still take a couple of days off a month. Then when bad things happen ( economy and what not ) I can be out of work for an extended period and still get paid just the same. Like in 2008, remember... It is called planning.Then again we roll over our unused and are allowed to sell back any if we want to at the end of the year.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They should definitely pay it out. It's time that's owed to you. That or they should let you just leave early instead of 2 weeks.

Idealy I would avoid that situation to be on the safe side though, because at the end of the day, rule, law, or not, companies do what they want, so you might lose out on it.

Like if you are thinking of leaving I'd try to rebook the vacation and use it up before giving the notice.

 

[Fritzo]

Yea, take all your vacation time, then give two weeks notice on the end of your vacation date. Win win!

That's not always as easy as it sounds. Some places won't approve your vacation requests all at once (especially if you have 4-6 weeks), and it can be awkward to say to a new employer "I'm going to starts a month and a half from now..."

You may be restricted on starting a new job while on vacation due to moonlighting regulations in your company's handbook too.

 

[Fritzo]

Just beware...some places will fire you the day you give notice instead of letting you work those last two weeks...you could get fucked out of the vacation pay anyway...

I've seen this too. Very possible.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

that's assuming your new job would be OK with you not being able to start for a month.

If the new company really wants you, you can generally negotiate. One month is not unreasonable at all and with the exception of my last job change, I always took at least one week off between jobs and will do that again. I really regretted not taking time off between jobs this last time and that won't be negotiable when I go to my next job.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

if you have left over vacation days when you leave a job, then you've been doing it wrong all along and just chalk it up to a lesson learned.

When I left my last job, they paid out 2 or 3 weeks of vacation for me. I was kind of shocked I had that much, because I had just spent 2 weeks in Europe a couple months before I quit and I quit in August, so I am not sure how I accrued that must extra time. I had taken several other days off as well.

 

[Jumpem]

I wouldn't expect them to do a thing. The last day of employment based on when the two weeks was put in is prior to the vacation date.

 

[Jeeebus]

A few months before I quit to open my own firm, my prior firm instituted this 'great' new policy where you no longer accrued any vacation days - if you want vacation, you take vacation. No need to worry about building up days or having enough. The unwashed masses loved the idea, but they were too stupid to realize why the firm was actually making the change - so that it no longer had to pay out vacation time when someone quit. I had something like 3 weeks sitting there that would have been nice to be paid as a cushion for the transition.

 

[Jumpem]

A few months before I quit to open my own firm, my prior firm instituted this 'great' new policy where you no longer accrued any vacation days - if you want vacation, you take vacation. No need to worry about building up days or having enough. The unwashed masses loved the idea, but they were too stupid to realize why the firm was actually making the change - so that it no longer had to pay out vacation time when someone quit. I had something like 3 weeks sitting there that would have been nice to be paid as a cushion for the transition.

This is exactly why I stay at ten weeks of accrued vacation. If I get laid off I get that to soften the blow.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

This is exactly why I stay at ten weeks of accrued vacation. If I get laid off I get that to soften the blow.

If you're that concerned about getting laid off, maybe you need to find a new company.