Human Resources
Paid Vacation: How Much Time Should Employees Receive?
Jul 29, 2015
All Work and No Play
Vacation: it is one of the most discussed benefits out there, yet for some reason we haven’t found that “one-size-fits-all” solution to it. It is different everywhere; some may be lucky with much, and others with very little. It is vacation time, or Paid Time Off (PTO). How do you quantify it for your employees?
One of the most important reasons to give your employees vacation is the ability to “recharge”. Without vacations, employee productivity diminishes, which will end up costing you more money in the long run.
How much should you offer, you ask? That’s a difficult question, as young companies have a hard time with balancing time coverage and keeping product and service knowledge available at all times for customers. The most common vacation schedules among businesses are two weeks after one year of service, three weeks after five years of service, four weeks after 10 or 15+ years of service.
Laws on Vacation Days
You may be surprised that there are no U.S. laws requiring employers to offer vacation time whether paid or unpaid to its employees. The best thing that you can do is to make sure everyone is aware of the vacation policy in your employee handbook. Once a business establishes a policy, they must be sure to follow the related federal and state laws. According to the Department of Labor the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require payment for time not worked, such as vacation, sick leave or federal or other holidays. These benefits are matters of agreement between an employer and an employee (or the employee’s representative).
At the end of the day, it’s up to you as the employer to understand your employees, the customers’ needs and how to keep a fully-engaged workforce. Also, remember to include yourself in the time off discussion! As an employer, you can’t afford to be burnt out – your employees will follow your lead.
