scrubbedexpat091

Not sure if it's widespread but a couple companies I worked at used vacation time used in part if their decision to promote.

Those who took vacation off tended to not be promoted as quickly.

Rete

Learn not only to read but to comprehend the written word. I never said that factory workers should not be included. And you didn't read my prior posts. As for the survey, who gives a crap. I don't care who does it, it does not represent the majority of Americans but a minority.

You post to hear yourself talk. Guess what, I am no longer listening. The heavy winds have whipped the words right pass me.

morpeth

My own experience has been that almost all Europeans and Latin Americans I know take their vacation, and shake their heads how little vacation Americans have and also how much they don't take.

The comment about factories is interesting, I think one's perspective depends a lot on what part of country one lives in. Almost like two countries. When I lived in California I didn't know many people who worked in factories, here in Midwest many who do ( but unfortunately many now just through temp agencies). Most factory workers ( as opposed to their managers)- when they are not forced into mandatory overtime- do take most of their vacations, but in drips and drabs when they get exhausted. And most when they do just stay at home. Just from local observation.

Giantaxe

It's good to hear you believe that factory workers are a legitimate part of the equation when considering how much vacation Americans get. As for the poll, it does represent Americans as a whole. Like any other poll, a statistically significant sample is made, with the result being within a certain margin of error. Looking at the methodology for this particular poll, I can't see anything to suggest that it "does not represent the majority of Americans but a minority".

Getting back from personal insults to the OP's question, I'd say the poll is indicative that the vacation situation has actually got worse for employees over the past few years.

mrken30

the biggest thing in the US is the vacation packages vary so much. In the UK it was generally start with 4 weeks and work up to 5 or maybe 6 weeks, with no rollover. Paid out when you leave. Here it can vary from a few days a year to several weeks a year, some will use a use it or lose it policy, some will have a maximum accrual amount. 99% of job advertisements mention salary, but nothing about vacation benefits.

cautiousjon

I believe that it was Netflix that started (or was one of the early pioneers of) the "unlimited" vacation policy. It seems to be growing in popularity, because, as you said, vacation is no longer accrued, and thus doesn't have to be paid out if unused.

In California (and other states, I'm sure), accrued vacation is the equivalent of deferred wages, meaning that it must be paid out upon termination of employment, if not before.

I know of many people in my company that have maxed out their vacation accruals (which is two times annual allowance), and have every intention to keep carrying it until they leave the company (and thus have it paid out as cash). I know one person who fairly recently left the company and had 12 weeks of vacation paid out, which equated to about 3 months of extra salary. I wouldn't be surprised if my employer is carrying tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars of liabilities on it's balance sheet just due to unused vacation.

Indeed. I work in a team that has quite a lot of employees that are originally from the Far East, and/or have spouses from the Far East. When most people in my team go on vacation, they rarely seem to go away for less than a week. Some folks go away for as long as one month at a time (particularly those from India).

That's great! In the USA, my employer gives everyone 1 discretionary day per year that is granted on January 1 and expires on December 31. In addition to this, those with 0 - 5 years of service accrue 15 days of vacation per year, those with 5 - 10 years accrue 20 days, and those with 15+ years accrue 25 days. There are some longstanding employees who are still on contracts where they accrue 30 days per year. In addition to this, there is an unlimited sick day allowance, although for California state workers regulation reasons, we are officially given 10 days per year. This doesn't get paid out at the end of our employment, unfortunately.

Maternity / Paternity is in addition, and isn't super generous, if I recall correctly. I think that fathers get two weeks fully paid and a few weeks after that at 50% pay, and mothers get a bit more than that. There is some sort of California state disability insurance that covers a bit more time too, but the pay is capped to a few thousands dollars per month.

Indeed. My employer has offices all over the world, and tailors each employment contract/agreement to the laws, customs, and competitive environment. When I was working for my employer in the UK, I was granted 5 weeks of vacation on January 1, and could carry a maximum of 5 days until March 31st of the next year. Any unused vacation is paid out upon termination of employment, which is a benefit that I leveraged to receive a payout of about 4 weeks worth of holiday when I left the UK.

It seems that vacation allowances in the US tends to have to be accrued before it can be taken, whereas both of my UK employers allowed its employees to take vacation before it had been accrued, and upon termination of employment, they would deduct any difference from our last paycheck, if we had taken more vacation than we had actually accrued.

mrken30

It depends on the State and the employer. In Oregon employers can have a policy not to pay out unused vacation on termination.

scrubbedexpat027

5 weeks UK -> 2 weeks US (& less public holidays).

Although I've only managed to get 2 days in this year, so more wouldn't have done me any good anyway.

But the sun shines all the time, so I'm good

Bob

Where the missus works, it's like that but what's rather depressing is the employee handbook on benefits shows world wide benefits by location. So in some areas, it's a annual year of paid maternity and x amount of holiday, while down here, no pay out for accrued holiday, zero paid maternity unless you take your holiday allowance etc.

Some states are definitely much better than others too.

celticgrid

Where I work allows unlimited carry-over and long term retirees have been known to end up with a year of vacation. However, this does indeed build up a massive financial liability and rumour is that things will change on 1st January. We wait and see.

Currently I have about 12 weeks in the bank and view it as a safety net should the 'hire at will' option be exercised!

Fred16

I get 200 hrs PTO + the 9 public holidays.
So I would consider this as excellent
PTO is taken for sick days should I need them.
Should your PTO balance ever get to 200, you have to take some as you can never have more than 200

mrken30

May or may not be related but the US has a high number of disengaged workers.

The most common states to have actively disengaged workers are centered in the Northeast and Midwest–New York, New Hampshire, Michigan, Connecticut, Ohio, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Interestingly, actively disengaged state and local employees are least common in six states across the South and Midwest–Wyoming, Nebraska, Idaho, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi.

Read more: 71 Percent Of US Government Workers Disengaged At Work | The Daily Caller

cautiousjon

https://labor.ny.gov/workerprotectio...ds/faq.shtm#11

You might want to check what your employment agreement says with regards to your company being able to make arbitrary changes to the vacation policy (or any other benefit policy). I would assume that the company can, if it gives you enough notice.

It's a great idea, but be aware that cashed out vacation will count as supplemental wages, and thus will be taxed as such. For those in California, it's about 40%.

scrubbedexpat091

I am surprised at the amount of people posting that have companies that let let vacation carry over. Can't say I have ever had a company permit that, had to either use it, or have it paid out on the last check of the year.

pejp

I started my job last year. I get 168 hrs a year PTO, which is 21 days. I can also take a day for volunteering, and a day to climb a 14er (14k ft summit mountain) with a work sponsored group. Plus I get 3 personal days, and they don't mind if I work from home. Oh, and I can carry over up to 5 days, but I need to use them in the first 3 months of the year.

My wife started a new job here which offered 15 days, but during the negotiation she said that seeing as she currently had 20, it would be good if they could match that, and they did.

I feel we're pretty lucky. I couldn't imagine 10 days off a year.