Figuring vacation hours

[ishium 80439]

I have a question about something that I should have had a policy for before I implemented it. I didn't think it through enough so now I'm looking for some thoughts.

I am currently figuring my employee's vacation time as a proportion of hours he has worked. That is to say for every hour he works he earns .04 hours vacation (80 hours on a 2000 hour year). Based on experience with previous employers and my accountant's advice, it is a "use it or lose it" situation. At the end of the term when he started earning this benefit any unused hours will be forfieted.

I have a question about this scenario and I'm hoping someone uses a similiar system and can shed some light as to how handle this. Let's assume for a moment that the period in question begins January 1st and ends Decemeber 31st. What if the employee wants to take a winter vacation (or long weekend) in early February? Under the "use it or lose it" protocol he would have to work for 5 weeks into the year to earn a day off.

What if the term is June 1st to May 31st? Would that employee have no chance at earning a week long summer vacation?

How do you handle it?

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[LarryFine]

How do you handle it?

How about one week per year employed, and letting him take the vacation any time during the following year?

 

[brian john]

Our guys get between 1-4 weeks a year depending on how long they have been with us. They get the full time at the beginning of every year they can take it anytime they want. This is in addition to any holidays or sick leave, we have no policy on sick leave just give it as we feel is necessary.

 

[cadpoint]

Well for accounting purposes and closing the books and since your having a multiplier use that for hours worked period. Till that calendar year stops.

On a 40 hour week every employee get that multilper per year, if they don't use it, they lose it. As you say.

Now the person that comes in mid year get the same multilier for every hour till that calendar years ends.

With that your new year one could cycle 1 weeks vaction after 27 weeks of a new work year.

I've had .25 of a day for a weekly pay period.

For the new guy:
Now depend on how liberal you thinking you could also use .20 or .25 of a day for a pay week. same as your .20 x 52= 10.4 days or .25 x 52=13 days, I use 52 cause there cause U want that guy to work right up to the maximum weeks.

Floating a vaction past the calendar year sounds like a accounting thing.

A new calendar year everyone starts there count again. .20 x 50 is your same result.

Considering most are good employees and most will work and go beyond the even 2080 hours avaiable to work, they should be rewarded!

If you figure that some people would like to use or have a few extra days beside even a vacation day or regional holiday(s) and if you could reward that little bit of worth that you could show you might consider a .25 a day per pay period = 12.5 days. or .05 an hour. This would give them some crazy hours... if they set it up with you, they can spend hours for doctors visit, kids, etc.

All things concidered, accounting is closed. :roll:

 

[ohmhead]

Well our company has two different plans office vacation and field vacation

The office after 1 year one week
5 years two weeks
10 years three weeks But they must take the time off if they dont they dont get payed!

But they get a one hour lunch break each day .




The field after 1-5-10 years same 1-2-3- but we get to collect our vacation pay if we dont take the time off so if you work and dont take it you get the three weeks pay and you split it up in three weeks for less tax taken out .

Also sick days we get payed if we dont use them .
We have a plan if worker is hospitalize or home recovering he or she gets 65% of his or hers weekly pay until they return to work free company pays benefit .

You take it when you want i always wait until my job is completed then i go !

Everthing pays after your start date buy the year .

 

[ptonsparky]

My guys get a set time per hour worked max 80 hours vacation & 40 hours sick. If they don't use all of it, it carries over. I don't really care if they go visit Aunt Susie on a sick day but vacations are supposed to be planned ahead of time.

My accountant has never said anything about carrying V or S time into another year. What problem does this cause?

 

[BryanMD]

Every other thread is focused on an expectation that employees are supposed to be (or aspire to be) licensed professionals with careers and a consciousness about the work and their own place in the industry beyond "eight and the gate". Which is it?

This sort of paternalistic approach to benefits has to end.

At $20/hr wages.... 80 hours off = $1600.
$1600 / 2000 = 80 cents per hour worked goes to a vacation budget

Hey Bob, I know you thought you were being paid $20/hour and then I dug into my own pocket to give you two weeks vacation all paid for on me out of my sense of decency and generosity... but the truth is you have really been getting paid $19.20 per hour and I've been tucking that 80 cents aside for you like I was your grandmother with a piggy bank... oh yeah, and I got to have that in my account all year too.
==

Whatever the wage or salary level may be...
How about a liberal time off policy (with notice) balanced by ZERO paid time off.
Let them manage their own budgets.
Expect them to manage their own budgets.

Oh yeah, and pay them enough that they can afford to do it.

 

[cadpoint]

When this first posted I had to really think about the 2000 hours limit being that there's 2080 available.

Your statement of:

At $20/hr wages.... 80 hours off = $1600.
$1600 / 2000 = 80 cents per hour worked goes to a vacation budget.

This is a good rationalization but not how Uncle Sam taxes wages.

There will be the same taxes taken out on a vacation check.

Most of all this is a perk or even a benefit of being employed at this firm and I've been with many a firm were they could care less.

It is taken as an expense off the gross profit of the employer, that includes wages and or vaction pay. But more so it is a write off to the employer to give money to the employee, the employee will pay taxes on this benefit.

Other than the pleasure of having vacation time or any non-billable time available to an employee. The employee is a wage earner to the owner the allotment of pay is just that, one is making X number of dollars per year. The vacation is time is accounted for inside the wages if the employer wants to give it, it'll be just how the owner or in cause the OP wants wants to crunch the numbers, to quailify vacation time.

Would you rather hear a percentage of you pay is going towards vaction pay as opposed to hear a multiplier is used to obtained vaction time... ?

 

[eric9822]

Based on experience with previous employers and my accountant's advice, it is a "use it or lose it" situation.

You may want to confirm this is legal. I know it is not in California and it appears that in Colorado accrued vacation is considered wages and subject to payout if an employee terminates employment.

 

[jaylectricity]

Hey Bob, I know you thought you were being paid $20/hour and then I dug into my own pocket to give you two weeks vacation all paid for on me out of my sense of decency and generosity... but the truth is you have really been getting paid $19.20 per hour and I've been tucking that 80 cents aside for you like I was your grandmother with a piggy bank... oh yeah, and I got to have that in my account all year too.

You're wrong. Actually you are paying Bob $20.80 an hour, but you're taking that 80 cents and putting it away to pay him during his vacation.

 

[BryanMD]

You're wrong. Actually you are paying Bob $20.80 an hour...

Thanks. I realized I got that reversed about 10 minutes after the edit option expired.
The rest still holds true.

but you're taking that 80 cents and putting it away to pay him during his vacation.

Yep. Just like Memaw dropping those quarters in his piggy bank.

(and only Memaw gets to call me moon pie)

 

[kbsparky]

We use a similar formula:

1st year: 1 hour vacation time earned for every 50 hours worked. = 40
2nd year: 1 hour vacation time earned for every 25 hours worked. = 80
5th year: 1? hours vacation time earned for every 25 hours worked = 120

We have had no problems with anyone not wanting to use their vacation time.

But I would not make anyone forfeit it. Especially if they stayed home and continued to work so we could finish a vital project on time.

 

[cadpoint]

A major regional electrical firm was bought by a national concern a few years ago and it changed the local bennie packages and those offered by other regional firms.

They came back out as themselves but kept the bennin package... as the others have as well ...

2 weeks...1st year...

 

[Volta]

I pay for the holiday time as a percentage of time worked. Those percentages can be made different depending on the length of employment. If someone averages eight hours a day, the Time Off (sick, vacation) or Holiday pay is reflected as that average, looking back six months.

If the worker averages 6-1/2 per day, that is what a day off is worth, at regular rate. If 8, then 8. Time Off hours need to be included for the average to be fair.

The days are considered earned, they accumulate 'till used, with no expiration. Federal holidays are credited on those days, and vacation and sick days used appropriately.

If they work on a holiday they get straight time, having already been paid a day's wages. Seems fair both ways.

 

[tshea]

Vacation is accrued on Jan 1. Must use by 12-31 or loose it. Savy employee could take vacation last week of Dec and first week of Jan. Over 10 years have 80hrs.
Everyone else starts at at 40 hrs.
New guy earns vacation at 3 1/3 hrs per month. On Jan 1 he starts at 40hrs. If he started June 1 he would earn 23 1/3 hrs. On Jan 1, he's at 40.

All get paid holidays--New Years, Memorial, Independence, Labor, Thanksgiving, Christmas.

Day after Thanksgiving is optional. No work, no pay.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Most companies find that the problem with "use it or lose it" is that all of a sudden at the end of the year you have a bunch of people wanting to take time off.

Here we get "Annual leave" which is sick and vacation combined, use it how you want. If you have less than five years with the city you recieve 6.31 hours per pay period (every two weeks). Five years or more you get 7.85. We can hold on to it as long as we want, but can only accumulate 450 hours at which time it becomes use it or lose it. Twice a year they also give us a chance to cash out our time, you may cash out between 8-70 hours.

 

[tshea]

When I was in the service we earned 2.5 days per month which equates to 30 days per year or 1 month. You could sell back up to 60 days under certain circumstances.

 

[rich000]

Personally, I think the use it or lose it system stinks. If you have already budgeted that money and the person doesn't use it, they you should pay them their vacation at the end of the year.

Otherwise, like another poster said, you will have a bunch of people taking off at the end of the year.

 

[qcroanoke]

How about one week per year employed, and letting him take the vacation any time during the following year?

I want to work for Larry!
With that policy I'd have 26 weeks vacation my next anniversary.

As a side question how are you or how do you allow vacation to be taken?
We can take as little as 2 hours at a time But here it is called P.T.O. not sick leave or vacation.

 

[mivey]

I want to work for Larry!

Me too! But his rates are so high he can't afford to hire anybody else.

His secretary is looking into the costs when she gets back from vacation. She has been there 35 years so it may be a while. :grin: