Use Vacation Time Credit When Available

A vacation is any leave of absence from work, a special trip or excursion, usually for the intended purpose of tourism or recreation. Most people regularly take a vacation at certain holiday intervals, such as during religious celebrations, holidays or for special occasions. A vacation can be planned around a destination or a particular activity. Some travelers like to spend their entire vacations in one place. For others, the idea of a vacation means leaving their homes and going sightseeing.

The majority of people who take vacations do so because of a special occasion – perhaps they want to go to a sunnier, more tropical location, a ski resort, an exotic or sedate city, etc. Most of these vacations are paid for by their employers. Many employers offer paid time off for vacation days. When a person agrees to take vacation pay, this agreement does not restrict the employee’s vacationing on particular days. It is up to the employee to notify his or her employer when he or she will be taking a vacation.

Sometimes employees have a vacation wish that is not financially available – perhaps they want to travel for a week to another state, but they need to save money for the trip. If this is the case, then there are options for two weeks or four weeks of paid vacation leave. In addition, two weeks of vacation pay is often paid during the first two weeks of vacation, and then it becomes paid vacation leave after the employee has taken his or her vacation. In some cases, a company will allow employees to take two weeks of vacation pay in a row – this would be considered a “marketing vacation,” which is authorized. The employee would count the first two weeks as his or her vacation, and the remaining time as his vacation leave.

Vacationing while on leave of service is a bit different than just taking time away from work. Typically, companies will require employees to report to work for two full working days before returning to their homes. This requirement can be difficult for employees who need to take time off from work for personal reasons, such as caring for a sick spouse or child, but it is sometimes a necessity if the employee needs to take time away from work due to health concerns. In these situations, companies may provide vacation days instead of paid vacations.

Vacation accrual adds additional hours to vacation time, but if employees do not use this time, they do not get the vacation time off they are entitled to. By using an entire vacation time bank, employees may use as much or as little of the accruals as they like. For example, some employers may allow employees to draw from their accruals up to three days each year. Employees are only required to use these accruals for days that they are actually employed by the company.

Employers should provide their employees with the tools they need to manage and plan their work schedule and budget. These tools include access to online vacation policies and instructions for how employees can more easily plan vacations and take time off. Part-time and independent contractors have the same benefits and responsibilities as traditional employees. Therefore, employers should recognize the valuable resource these workers have and provide them with the tools to plan vacations and take time off when needed.