Is an unlimited vacation policy really that great? (interviewed, non-profit, wage)
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In the federal Gov't, you receive a set amount per year based upon longevity, and it rolls over from year to year up to a certain point. Basically no more than 30 days.
In the federal Gov't, you receive a set amount per year based upon longevity, and it rolls over from year to year up to a certain point. Basically no more than 30 days.
I wonder though in a federal unionized environment if “unlimited” vacation was provided that people would take it literally...
yeah. I like more of a definition of what "unlimited" really means. It sounds attractive on paper … but really what company would be ok with a free reign to take like months & months off @ a time. I would think limits need to be set.
I agree limits need to be set. So set a generous policy (i.e. 6 weeks vacation a year) rather than "unlimited" - they won't do that.
That's why advertising "unlimited PTO" is false advertising.
And you apparently don't understand that the word "vacation" also has a meaning.
I know what vacation means, you apparently don't know what "unlimited" means.
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But sure, keep making the silly argument that someone should "hire" you and pay you a full time salary to never actually work.
I'm not making that argument. Stop putting words in my mouth.
My argument is that if employers should not lie to their employees.
My argument is truth in advertising.
if an employer advertises "unlimited" vacation and they have any limits whatsoever on the vacation, THEY ARE LYING and should be held accountable under false advertisement laws.
A few is not the same as many. Your statement is purposefully misleading. Three states explicitly require carry over balances. There's an additional exception in many states for payout upon termination but that doesn't apply here.
But why doesn't it apply for "unlimited" vacation in those cases?
if the vacation is TRULY unlimited that means when one leaves their jobs they get a NICE JUICY CHECK for all the unpaid vacation time they did not take.
More reason that "unlimited" vacation is just a fraud.
It should be renamed to "responsible time off" or something like that. Unlimited time off isn't really "unlimited."
Agreed.
But that still doesn't address the lack of payment for unused vacation when one leaves the company.
If there is no payment, then there is no vacation time. So the policy should be advertised as "no vacation time" policy - but that won't attract talent into the company.
So what you are doing is advocating false advertising. In addition, you are advocating a lack of ethics in business.
The Gervais Principle in action.
You'd be told up front what that policy means. It means vacation isn't tracked, and you can take a reasonable amount that you and your boss agree upon.
I'm not sure what you think is false advertising. I'm sorry that you're having such a difficulty understanding what these policies entail. With respect, I'm not sure where the confusion is over something this simple. You seem to be going based off what you think the title alone should mean, not the policy itself. What about the policy do you feel is false advertising?
I would rather companies offer more flexible work-from-home options. It can save them a ton of money in overhead if they don't need as much office space. And most employees would be much happier. Unlimited vacation is so dependent on the company/manager that I prefer a set policy on how much PTO time is available and how it accrues to avoid any misunderstandings.
You're focusing very narrowly on the semantics, not the policy. As has been said, "unlimited vacation" is a policy where your exact days aren't tracked, and where the employer trusts their employees to not abuse anything. It's also where the employee trusts their employer won't abuse them by denying vacation.
Focus on the actual policy itself, instead of getting so hung up on a single word in the title of what it's called. You're just being ridiculous by claiming you should be able to take a full year.
Even that you say you had to schedule vacations months in advance is crazy. If I find out I'll have a slow day tomorrow, a day's notice can be fine. If you worked somewhere that you had too much work all the time, for 28 years, you simply worked for a bad company, where a policy like 'unlimited vacation' wouldn't work. My boss(s) will actively stop me from taking on more if I get too much work. Keeping your employees happy is a big part of management, and the trust that comes with giving 'unlimited vacation' policies is part of that. If you went into a workplace like that and tried to take a year off, then six months, etc., you'd just look foolish. If you did that to me, I'd stop you without giving a hard answer and ask you what the point of the 'unlimited vacation' policy was. If you needed your hand held and couldn't be trusted to use that policy responsibly (as is evident by asking for a year off), you're probably not a good fit for the company.
Unlimited vacation won't work with the kind of toxic workplaces that try to just squeeze work out of people, but those are the kind of places you look to quit ASAP anyway. There is no confusion about what an 'unlimited' vacation policy means, outside of people who are intentionally trying to create problems.
You really think they aren't tracking the vacation time an employee takes? Of course they are! It would be foolish not NOT track it. And what one person deems reasonable (I think 4 weeks per year is reasonable for my position/years of work) while someone may find that too much/too little. And don't think they don't look at those things when deciding on things like promotions and raises. It happens even at "good" companies.
Uh, it is not crazy in a lot of industries. In healthcare, you have to plan around major holidays. Many docs and nurses will even talk among each other to decide which holidays/times are more important to have off and they request them far in advance in order to lock in the dates. This isn't even an unusual practice, I've seen plenty of people plan far in advance if there are special dates they want off.
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