By BLR Founder and CEO Bob Brady
In our January 2010 Survey of Paid Time Off (PTO) Practices, 54% of respondents had a PTO plan rather than a traditional plan with individual policies for vacation, sick leave, and personal leave. By contrast, in BLR’s Survey of Employee Benefits in late 2007, only 43% used a PTO plan.
Survey respondents also detailed their holiday and vacation practices. Thanks to the nearly 2,000 readers who participated.
PTO Plans
Of the companies that offer a PTO plan, virtually all apply that plan to both exempt and nonexempt employees. Most include vacation, sick time, and personal days in the plan, and nearly half include days off to care for dependents.
In addition:
- 72% of companies with a PTO plan allow days to be carried over to subsequent years.
- 29% allow the bank of accumulated days to grow to between 20 to 29 days.
- 26% allow the bank to grow to a maximum of 30 to 59 days.
Those who reported offering a PTO plan described their plans as follows:
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Types of leave included (percent of respondents):
| Sick |
90% |
|
Vacation |
94% |
|
Holidays |
29% |
|
Personal Days |
84% |
|
Death in Family |
32% |
|
Care for Dependents |
45% |
|
Other |
8% |
PTO days allowed per year (percent of respondents):
| 1-5 days |
8% |
|
6-10 days |
15% |
|
11-19 days |
42% |
|
20-24 days |
21% |
|
25+ days |
15% |
Maximum number of days that can be accumulated in a PTO plan (percent of respondents):
| 1-9 days |
9% |
|
10-19 days |
15% |
|
20-29 days |
29% |
|
30-59 days |
26% |
|
60-89 days |
5% |
|
90+ days |
9% |
|
No limit |
8% |
PTO days carried over from year to year (percent of respondents):
| Yes |
72% |
|
No |
28% |
Jury Duty
About one-half of respondents had no limit on the length of jury duty; the rest set limits ranging from less than 2 weeks to over 5 weeks.
Paying for leave for jury duty (percent of respondents):
| Practice |
Exempt |
Nonexempt |
|
Pay full salary |
55% |
49% |
|
Pay difference between salary and jury duty pay |
32% |
33% |
|
Do not pay |
9% |
14% |
|
Other |
4% |
5% |
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Holidays Observed
Respondents almost universally (all over 90%) observe the “standard six” holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. The Friday after Thanksgiving was the next most commonly observed holiday.
The following percentages of companies reported observing the indicated holidays (in calendar order):
|
Friday, January 1, 2010 (New Year’s Day) |
93% |
|
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day |
26% |
|
Lincoln’s Birthday |
2% |
|
Washington’s Birthday/President’s Day |
30% |
|
Good Friday |
24% |
|
Memorial Day |
94% |
|
Independence Day (observed Monday, July 5) |
94% |
|
Labor Day |
94% |
|
Rosh Hashanah |
1% |
|
Yom Kippur |
1% |
|
Columbus Day |
12% |
|
Election Day |
1% |
|
Veterans Day |
15% |
|
Thanksgiving |
96% |
|
Friday after Thanksgiving |
64% |
|
Friday, December 24, 2010 (Christmas observed) |
84% |
|
Employee’s birthday |
7% |
|
Other special day/floating holiday |
36% |
Vacation
Survey respondents offered weeks of vacation as indicated:
One week offered after:
| Do not offer |
16% |
|
Fewer than 6 months |
28% |
|
6 months |
25% |
|
More than 6 months, less than 1 year |
9% |
|
1 year |
21% |
|
More than 1 year |
1% |
Two weeks after:
| No second week |
8% |
|
Less than 1 year |
27% |
|
1 year |
36% |
|
Greater than 1 year, fewer than 2 years |
7% |
|
At least 2, fewer than 5 years |
19% |
|
Greater than 5 years |
3% |
Three weeks after:
| No third week |
12% |
|
Fewer than 5 years |
29% |
|
5 years |
29% |
|
More than 5 years, fewer than 10 years |
17% |
|
10 years |
10% |
|
More than 10 years |
3% |
Four weeks after:
| No fourth week: |
28% |
|
Fewer than 10 years |
23% |
|
10 years |
19% |
|
More than 10 years, fewer than 15 years |
11% |
|
At least 15 years, fewer than 20 years |
13% |
|
20 years or more |
7% |
Five weeks after:
| No fifth week |
68% |
|
At least 10 years, fewer than 20 years |
17% |
|
20 years |
6% |
|
More than 20 years, fewer than 25 years |
4% |
|
25 years |
4% |
|
More than 25 years |
1% |
Also, 65% of respondents indicated that earned vacation is lost if not used within a specified period of time.
To see a PDF of the entire survey:
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Thanks to all who participated in the HR Daily Advisor’s PTO Practices Survey.