Our H always dreaded coming back from vacation and the work the piled up in his absence because few people could do any of his work and it would mean long days/nights before and after the vacations.
I accrue 22 days of vacation and can have up to 44 days untalented before it stops accruing. After a number of years of running up against use it or lose it, I was able to take ~3 weeks off in 2014 to go away for my 30th wedding anniversary. I had to cancel last years time off due to work responsibilities and I swear that will never happen again. My managers were always able to get off work, but didn’t even say a word when schedules made it impossible for me to get away. I am thrilled to be away from that bunch!
Sick leave is in a different bucket. 10 days per year, and half of what is unused is put into reserve. We can get half of that when we leave the company if it’s not used before then. Unused vacation is paid out in full when leaving the company, either by using it as vacation days at the end of your work time or by getting a lump sum.
I’m always considerate when scheduling vacation to ensure that it won’t come during critical times - quarter close, forecasting, strategic planning. In my last group, I was the only one to do so. So weird.
I do payroll. For many years I did it for a medical practice and now for a small retail operation. In both case I am the only one who knows how to do it. It’s second nature to me to schedule time off around paydays. I know people count on their paychecks.
Wow, I’m very lucky. I earn 12 hours vacation and 8 hours sick every month. The only limit on my vacation bank is that if I have more than 144 hours at Dec 31, I don’t earn any more until I get it back down to 144. Right now it’s in the 180s but I’m taking a week in October. Will have to take a few additional days, but I always have it just under 144 at the end of the year. I like to let it pile up during the year; I think of it as an emergency severance fund.
Our sick bank can go as high as it goes; there’s no year-end limit. Right now it’s at about 350. It was in the 400s until I was out a couple of weeks for surgery in March. It was nice not to even think about missing a paycheck.
@doschicos- you have it right!
I returned to work yesterday after a 4 week sick LOA. It was the first time I’ve been out sick more than a day here or there in >35 yrs at this job, except for the births of our two children.
Kind of nice to feel the love from coworkers and even the bosses…pretty sure the welcome back comments were genuine. Good too let them know your value once in awhile. Though I’m not planning on the sick version again anytime soon!
I accrue 4 weeks a year, but now I’m lucky if I can take off 4 days a year. We used to be able to rollover up to 80 hours. A few years ago my employer reduced that to 40 hours annually. They enacted this policy on Nov. 15th. I lost 186 hours. They also decided that we could no longer cash out PTO.
^Wow, that is just wrong.
My company offers a buy-out of PTO in December every year at 50%. Whatttt??? No way. Our benefit package sucks and I’m not giving anything back at that rate. But they do get those people who need Xmas $$.
I’ve never understood people who take all of their vacation time. What do you do if your car breaks down or your washing machine breaks and all your time off is gone? It’s even worse in companies with a single PTO bank, where you might find it impossible to go to the doctor or dentist or be forced to go to work despite a stomach virus because you don’t have separate sick time and you used up all your time off.
This probably reflects my personality more than it reflects reality, though.
I’ve been at my current job for 5 years. I get 3 weeks vacation time, but I never use more than 2 for actual vacations (and most years, it’s less than 2 full weeks). My company allows employees to accrue quite a lot of vacation time and infinite sick time, and I have nice amounts of both in the “bank.”
I have a medical problem right now that, in the worst case, might require surgery with a 6-week recovery time. It’s nice to know that I have enough time coming to me that I would get paid my full salary for at least 4 of those weeks.
funny at my place it seems like 55% take all their paid vacation + more !
I take all of my time except 80 hours I am allowed to roll over. That way I do have time for the unexpected. I’ve been rolling over those same hours for years.
I’m a business owner and I have a use it or lose it policy. I want everyone taking vacation so 6 weeks before someone’s year rolls over (at their anniversary) we check their leave and I “make” them take time off if they have any left. Only a few people are like that, most take every second. I think it’s very important to have work/life balance.
@Marian - Me too. I get 5 weeks each year, I carry over the maximum (or near to) of 2 weeks each year. So at the start of each year I actually have 7 weeks, but I treat it as 5. If something were to happen in a given year that I need even more time, I’ll have it.
Besides, when I say I “take all my vacation time” I mean that by the end of the year, I take whatever is left. Since my company shuts down for a week and I usually have a week or two remaining (minus the 2 weeks I want to carry over), I end up with a 2 or 3 week vacation in December!
We have a PTO bank system so vacation, personal, family, and first 5days of an illness come out of that bank.
But we ALSO accrue x number of EIB (extended illness bank) hours per yr if you’re out for surgery or whatever.
PTO I manage and use every hour up till Dec 31, no carryover allowed at all.
But I do have, oh, about 9 MONTHS of extended illness days banked.
Hope I never have to use them!
I take every little bit of my paid vacation. And fortunately, I have worked with companies that don’t track vacation time so I have typically taken and been encouraged to take more vacation than is written in the employee handbook.
Musicmom - 25 years ago I worked for a company with a similar leave policy which included extended illness days. I took 3 months off after I had D and my maternity leave was 100% paid. I realize that I had a rare benefit.
I had 4 weeks vacation but never came close to that. I typically took 1 week off and then did a few days here and there (like around my kids’ graduation, or adding a day or two of vaca to an international trip to sightsee). But when you do consulting and have international clients, you don’t really have time off. They don’t GAS about your time off! You’re tethered to email even on vaca. I remember ducking out of S’s baccalaureate to deal with a crisis. I can’t relate to the kind of job where you work 9-5 and leave it there!!
This is why I love working in a classified environment. We’re not allowed to take work home nor have access to it when we are not at the office 
Due to the nature of the business I work for I have been scheduling vacation for the second half of the month only for years.
@fallgirl- Yes, I had 3 months paid time for each of our two children. Three years apart allowed me to accrue enough between the two.
@pizzagirl- I do hope the job you describe with so little free time off offered alot in compensation. I know for many people it’s a reasonable trade off. Less time off, higher salary, more advancement, more perks.
It’s good there are people who thrive in such workplaces.
I am so happy to have a wonderfully satisfying and challenging career that allows me to turn off and disconnect when I’m off. Really, totally. 28 incredible paid days a year. When I’m at work, I’m there, focused and completely engaged. Often extra hours, often extra shifts, many overnight shifts and holidays including numerous Christmases over the last 38 years. I come home drained. But when I leave, I’m allowed to be gone!
Just never realized how fortunate I am to have such a rare situation.
This is why I hate the fact that my husband works in a classified environment and I don’t. When I have to work from home on snowy days (something that’s expected at the company I work for, where everyone has full work-at-home capability), he’s hanging around the house bothering me and whining about how bored he is. (He does shovel the snow, though.)