kev_in_hawaii

I knew that the USA wouldn't be up to the UK in terms of time off - I've been working here in Hawaii for 6 months and I've earned just about enough time to take off 3 whole days! It's supposed to get better next year (up to 2 weeks + carry over time).

This in itself is OK (since I only live 5 minutes walk from work = long evenings) - but the company insists that any sick time comes out of your vacation time. Presumably to stop too many 'sickies'!

Is this usual policy for US companies? It means you have to come in when you're genuinely sick because you don't want to lose what little time off you have!

Still, I'm not too cut up about it, I'm happy I was able to get a decent job fairly quicky

TouristTrap

Yup.

Angry White Pyjamas

Agree 100%

Welcome to slave labourville.

Dan725

Ah, my favourite subject! I'm saying nowt, me....

anotherlimey

I've heard of that before, but luckily my company isn't that bad.

Chorlton

I got a week my first year. I've taken unpaid time off when I needed it. The american colleagues couldnt understand that time off could be more important than the almighty $

Elvira

Sucks, doesn't it!

The time to negotiate these things is before one accepts the job. Though unless they want you more than you want them, you won't have much luck...

anotherlimey

I should point out I'm a intra-company transferee which has it's advantages.

I get 4 weeks vacation, 2 weeks sick leave and 1 week "disaster vacation" (for hurricanes etc).

Sarah

We get 5 sick days off a year. After that, if you're off sick, you don't get paid.
Yes it does suck.
I always find it funny that over here they say you have 2 weeks off, when what you really have off is 10 business days. In the UK 2 weeks means 2 7-day weeks.

dan_alford

We have the sick time comes out of vacation also but my boss is a star. He isn't a stickler and has sent me home before when I have been ill without counting it.

On the flip side, when I worked in England one of my colleague's daughters worked in France as part of a french degree program. She got 45 days off a year! The minimum you could take I think was 3 days at a time!

Elvira

45 working days? As in NINE weeks?

Oh, I see, it was a uni. They're different

dan_alford

No, it was 9 weeks. She was studying in Manchester but part of the degree was to spend one year in France working. She worked for the French state run bookies. The other strange thing was that apparently in France you have the right to SMOKE so you can smoke in the office and no one can stop you.

Irn-bru

so did my hubby last time we lived in the states and he got sent back and another person took his job. Hubby said it was because he was never there all his colleagues had US time off. (Also it was much cheaper to employ a US person than all the extra we got.)

gsnichol

I worked out that, with public holidays and a closure at Christmas I get about 33 days off per year, which is similar to the UK. Having said that I work in academia... I agree with France. When I lived there people smoked in their (shared!) offices in a chemistry building, which is dangerous anyway. As for time off, I recall being FORCED not only to take a public holiday off but, as it fell on a Tuesday, to have the Monday off too. Faire le pont they call it, and it doesn't come out of your annual leave I miss France...

TouristTrap

I worked for a German company in Africa, years ago, and we did the same. If it fell on a Thrus, we'd get Friday off, and Tuesday, we'd get Monday off.

We didn't do a stitch of work in May between that and the country's numerous public holidays.