Those of you who get a ton of leave--how?

[Anonymous]

It's strange that you still only get 3 weeks of vacation after 10 years. Typically companies go up to 4 weeks by then.

[Anonymous]

28 days comprehensive PTO
11 fed holidays + 1 floating
can roll over 240 hours

Fed contractor - I've been there 10 years. I used a ton of accrued leave to extend my maternity leave and then cover sick and snow days, but I've been able to build it back up. The single biggest factor in this is my ability to telework. I'm able to schedule appts and school-related things and still work a full 8-10 hour day. I wish more companies would follow suit.

[Anonymous]

I work for a federal contractor and they've cut us back to 20 days total PTO maximum (after ten years). There's a cap so you don't earn any PTO once you have 30 days accrued. As a parent, it gets chewed up on me being sick, the kids getting sick, snow and other stuff. There never seems to be a chance to really get away and recharge.

It does make me jealous of all the highly-valued folks on these threads who negotiate higher pay and extra leave when I'm barely hanging onto a job and haven't been able to find anything better.

My sister has been a fed forever and she is buried in leave. That's definitely what I should have done when I had the chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've been working at the same place for 10 years. I have 3 weeks of vacation, accruing 5.5 hours every two weeks.
There were 11 snow days. So I have ten left for the rest of the year. One week vacation over the summer. And three days sprinkled here and there. My new supervisor watches sick leave like a hawk (I used to use some for summer vacation days if I had run out; can't do that now).
What do I DO? If I switch jobs, I'll probably have to start with a job that offers less leave, right? Help. My child is whining that she doesn't see me much and she needs a day off. And we both do.

I'm confused. If you had 15 days (3 weeks) of leave, and took 11 for snow days, wouldn't you have 4 left?

It seems as though you need to figure out another plan for snow days. Sorry that I don't have a better suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been working at the same place for 10 years. I have 3 weeks of vacation, accruing 5.5 hours every two weeks.
There were 11 snow days. So I have ten left for the rest of the year. One week vacation over the summer. And three days sprinkled here and there. My new supervisor watches sick leave like a hawk (I used to use some for summer vacation days if I had run out; can't do that now).
What do I DO? If I switch jobs, I'll probably have to start with a job that offers less leave, right? Help. My child is whining that she doesn't see me much and she needs a day off. And we both do.

I'm confused. If you had 15 days (3 weeks) of leave, and took 11 for snow days, wouldn't you have 4 left?

It seems as though you need to figure out another plan for snow days. Sorry that I don't have a better suggestion.

That's right, OP - are you really getting 4 weeks? 20 days would be 4 weeks. You need to either negotiate telework option on snow days or find back-up care. Or, in the future, could you and your spouse split up snow days? In a previous job, I also was able to take LWOP, so I would do that a few days each year.

[Anonymous]

People use all kinds of tricks. I had an emigre I inheireted who seemed to be taking all kinds of leave. I finally figured out she was working 4/10 weeks, but when she took a vacation day only charged out 8 hours (but still didn't come in on her "off" day that week. I made her back track as far as records and hr would let me and she owed the company a crazy number of hours.

[Anonymous]

What is a 4/10 week?

[Anonymous]

I have worked for my company for 20 years. From 10 yr on, I have 24 days of PTO / year, max of 480 accrual. It used to be when you hit the max, they would write you a check for lost leave (at the end of the year), but that is done now.

How did I accrue that much? well, my wife is a SAHM, so when there is a reason for the child to be home, she would take that. I would take 2 weeks / year, and was sick a total of a week...Between everything, including floating holidays, I was banking about 10 days per year, for 6 years, which put me at 480.

I used the leave as a buffer when I did not have work -- either project or to delay layoff. Then I got sick, and over the last three years, I used about 70 days for medical stuff (plus four bouts of short term disability, totalling 80 days, so I have missed 30 weeks in the last 3 years....while getting 100% salary, and I just got a 10K raise....life is good.

[Anonymous]

This back up daycare that everyone keeps mentioning in this thread... do tell. On snow days, White House Nannies doesn't have enough people to cover. Where else should I look? I usually take leave without pay or telecommute if my boss is feeling charitable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This back up daycare that everyone keeps mentioning in this thread... do tell. On snow days, White House Nannies doesn't have enough people to cover. Where else should I look? I usually take leave without pay or telecommute if my boss is feeling charitable.

Advertise for a HS student willing to watch your kids. Pay them a little up front as insurance, and then make an agreement to cover any days that the public schools are closed.

[Anonymous]

OP, your employer sounds like my DH's. He's been there 11 years and still only has a total of 3 weeks of leave per year, combined sick & vacation. He ends up taking unpaid sometimes to make vacations work out.

I've been at my job 4 years and now have 4 weeks vacation, 2 week sick, 3 personal days, and all Federal holidays. My boss has been there 18 years and has more leave than she can use.

[Anonymous]

All these posts are making me incredibly grateful for my company's unlimited PTO policy. I wouldn't survive in an environment where I had to track my time off by the hour. Do you have to clock in and out when you get to work?

[Anonymous]

What kind of job do you have where you get unlimited PTO PP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This back up daycare that everyone keeps mentioning in this thread... do tell. On snow days, White House Nannies doesn't have enough people to cover. Where else should I look? I usually take leave without pay or telecommute if my boss is feeling charitable.

Daycares. Preschools with aftercare. HS students. College students. SAHMs. Be resourceful.

We fired a woman last year because she took off for every single snow day when her child's school was closed. She missed all deadlines. Never looked for any back up care. She was so entitled about the time off as well.

We had a silent policy on snow days until she abused it. Now we all suffer because we need to burn vacation days for it now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a 4/10 week?

Work 4 days, 10 hour shifts.