Are You a Vacationing Employee? How to Get the Most Out of Your Employer’s Vacation Program
A vacation, is simply a short leave of absence from your regular routine, a special trip or excursion, generally for the purpose of tourism or recreation. People frequently take a vacation at different times of the year, for different holiday occasions, or on different occasions for special events or festivals. Vacations are also often spent with extended family or friends. Vacations may last for days, weeks, months or even years. In most instances, vacations are planned as a complete “getaway” from a normal daily life and work load.
Some employers pay their employees, or provide paid vacation days, as a part of a company benefits package. Some companies also offer vacation as an incentive to new employees or to long-term employees upon signing on with the company. Some companies also pay their employees for travel expenses to and from their place of employment when requested by the employee. Vacation is also a tax-free benefit provided by many employers.
It is generally up to the employer to determine how much, if any, benefits to provide to employees for vacation and whether it should be paid vacation time or paid holidays. However, there are certain cases where the employer pays for a portion or all of an employees’ vacation and travel expenses. An example is where an employee needs to take time off of work to tend to a sick or injured co-worker who lives in another state. In this case, typically both the employee and the employer would pay for their portion of the travel expenses.
To negotiate paid vacation days, or vacation time, with your employer, you will need to negotiate how many vacation days to negotiate and how many vacation days to request. Usually the employee will negotiate how many days they want to take (most often three) and usually how many days they would like to be able to take (typically up to five weeks). The main issue to address is the employee’s desire to be able to “do the job” while on vacation.
There are several things your employer may want to consider before agreeing to pay for vacation time. If an employee normally works six week weeks or more, the employer may consider offering paid vacation days during that time frame. If an employee normally works fewer than five weeks, your employer may consider offering vacation time for up to ten days. Also, if your employer offers paid vacation, it is typically in addition to what they would normally pay your regular wages for. So if you’re making minimum wage, a paid vacation day would typically equal your regular wage plus one week’s worth of vacation.
Usually an employee can only ask for vacations that are used. Vacations that are used are holidays, sick days, and vacation days that the employee does not use. So for example, if the employee uses his vacation for a week but does not use it for the rest of the year, that week is considered an unused vacation. If the employee requests an unlimited vacation, it would essentially be considered as ‘vacation’ for both the year and the calendar year, regardless of whether or not the employee actually goes on vacation. As a result, you can typically expect a substantial increase (up to 50 percent or more) in your employer’s health insurance premiums when you request unlimited vacations.