Wally World weeps

Every place I've been, I've had the "use it or lose it by the end of the year" vacation benefit. And I've taken it.

Even at the one-man paper I was at. My second year there, they actually increased the vacation time because they wanted to retain everyone more than a year. So I ended up with three weeks vacation my second year there. And I took it all.

Yeah, it meant that the assistant editor and the GA reporters had to cover for me. Oh well. I helped them out in training before I went out for the week. But I took that time. Otherwise, why offer it if I couldn't take it. And it's not my fault they chose to not have a second sports person on staff.

 

Great thread title, btw.

 

Actually, this varies by state, which I learned the hard way when I left my last job. My state is a "right to work" state, which among other things means employers have the option of not paying unused vacation time when the employee leaves the job.

My last employer told me they wouldn't pay my unused vacation unless I had the time off scheduled in the week following my last day. It was a total crock of shit, because the way they worked their vacation time, you could only request it quarterly during an "open request" window. There was no way you would be able to schedule a vacation to immediately follow your departure. The planets would have to line up right. I was as angry as I've ever been.

Then, when I got my last paycheck, it was supposed to have a bonus of about $200, which they didn't pay. I thought about suing, but was advised that, given the state' labor laws, my chances were slim and none. So I had to eat about $800 and take solace in the fact that this bullshit validated my decision to leave.

So yeah, cautionary tale. Make sure you know your company's policy before you make any decisions.

 

My company has to pay unused vacation time at the end of employment. It's in my employee handbook. Because of my length of service, I'm also allowed to carry over 120 hours (three weeks) into the next year. So when I leave, I'm leaving after my anniversary date if it's on my terms.

 

My current employer will buy back 2 weeks worth of vacation per year or you don't use it. You can accrue up to 4 weeks of vacation, and at that point, it stops adding up. So, if you've got 4 weeks worth of vacation saved up, you could sell it back at the end of the year, get the equivalent of an extra paycheck, then start accruing more vacation time at the start of the new year.

 

Last place had a policy that you couldn't take vacation after giving your departure notice. So, following the lead of one of my colleagues, I took whatever vacation time I had and got paid for that, then came back and gave my notice (still stayed a couple of weeks longer than I wish I had).