Anyone else out of vacation?

[KarefulKactus15]

So it's barely the middle of June and I'm out.

This is probably the lowest I've felt in my job for a while. 125ish working days to go this year...and no vacation days.

Anyone else have this?  Our company made the exempt folks  use all their vacation during covid shutdown. (I begged for no pay...)

[ixtap]

Since you were already considering no pay, why not request unpaid time off?

DH doesn't have this problem, but doesn't do well just sitting around the house. With WFH, if he gets bored, he just logs into work, rather than finding something to do. Today is meant to be his first full day off in a few weeks, but it won't surprise me if he logs on for a few hours when we get back.

[mm1970]

Since you were already considering no pay, why not request unpaid time off?

DH doesn't have this problem, but doesn't do well just sitting around the house. With WFH, if he gets bored, he just logs into work, rather than finding something to do. Today is meant to be his first full day off in a few weeks, but it won't surprise me if he logs on for a few hours when we get back.

I was going to suggest this.

I have a ton of vacation.  Not at the cap (never hit the cap), but we weren't able to take time off when spring break hit for the kids (COVID+ work deadlines), and my summer vacation was canceled (COVID).  SO, I'm actually taking 2 vacation days this week and one next week.

Anyway, take unpaid time off later if you need it.

[terran]

I'm self employed, so all of vacation is unpaid. My wife has been able to work remotely, so without travel she'll probably have to burn some days to avoid losing them (caps at one year worth of days as of the end of the year). I expect lots of people will be in one situation or the other.

[ixtap]

Since you were already considering no pay, why not request unpaid time off?

DH doesn't have this problem, but doesn't do well just sitting around the house. With WFH, if he gets bored, he just logs into work, rather than finding something to do. Today is meant to be his first full day off in a few weeks, but it won't surprise me if he logs on for a few hours when we get back.

Did I say when we get back? We haven't left yet because "I am just going to go see if <colleague> is available."

[Mike in NH]

That's brutal. I would cry. When I was done whimpering, I would ask about unpaid time. If unpaid time was not an option, I'd take unpaid time anyway and find a new job.

[DadJokes]

I'm going on vacation next week. I haven't seen a beach in 2.5 years, so we're overdue.

[the_fixer]

So it's barely the middle of June and I'm out.

This is probably the lowest I've felt in my job for a while. 125ish working days to go this year...and no vacation days.

Anyone else have this?  Our company made the exempt folks  use all their vacation during covid shutdown. (I begged for no pay...)

That sucks! !!!


I am lucky I have been working from home and our vacations have been canceled so I will be close to hitting the vacation time cap by the end of the year.

Since we are staying somewhat local we are just doing multi day camping trips that fit around days off / holidays this year.


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[JLee]

I have the opposite problem.  My employer took a week of PTO away from us due to covid and I am still sitting on 3 weeks...I burned a couple of days for some house projects, but that was mostly because I had so much time. I have no plans to use any of it, I can't really go anywhere, and I'm halfway through the year already.

If we're still mostly locked down by August/September I will probably just end up taking time off and doing random house projects.

[Zikoris]

I actually have a lot because I was supposed to leave for much-anticipated a trip to Italy tomorrow. Booked in January.  Ha ha haaaa. I got fucked on that one. As soon as travel opens up again, I'm doing the biggest, most epic trip I can possibly throw together.

[MudPuppy]

I have the same problem for the opposite reason. I'm sitting about three and a half weeks above the use or lose cap, but I work at a large medical center and can't seem to manage to snag a full week at a time because things are too hectic. I'm considering going forward with a medical procedure I was going to wait and do next year if things aren't looking better in the fall.

[Samuel]

So it's barely the middle of June and I'm out.

This is probably the lowest I've felt in my job for a while. 125ish working days to go this year...and no vacation days.

Anyone else have this?  Our company made the exempt folks  use all their vacation during covid shutdown. (I begged for no pay...)

That really sucks. Is it at least accruing again now or does it reset yearly and you (and your peers) are seriously expected to not take any days off the rest of the year? That doesn't seem at all feasible.


Like others I'm fortunate to the opposite problem. Haven't taken a day off in 4 months because there's nothing to go do so I'm flush with PTO, although since there is a risk of more lay offs so I'm considering it potential severance rather than planning to use it any time soon.

[Engineer93]

I've taken one vacation day since mid October 2019.  Would have already taken 2 weeks this year if covid didn't cancel those trips though.  I love working from home and have already worked from the beach multiple times this year.  I do have to take 2 weeks at some point before the year is up though or I lose it...

[American GenX]

5 weeks left.

[Cranky]

Dh was going to use his vacation time when we went to Italy and Greece, and that didn’t happen. Now the university is restructuring and he’ll go back to faculty status and they’ll have to pay him for his unused vacation time.

And he’ll take off all of July because finally he can.

[Gronnie]

My last couple of jobs in tech have been "unlimited" vacation time. One benefit is not having to worry about how much is accrued.

[js82]

So it's barely the middle of June and I'm out.

This is probably the lowest I've felt in my job for a while. 125ish working days to go this year...and no vacation days.

Anyone else have this?  Our company made the exempt folks  use all their vacation during covid shutdown. (I begged for no pay...)

How much time do you typically put in per week?  How flexible is your boss/local organization?

The reason I ask is, I know plenty of managers who are willing to consider Comp Time if you're working somewhere beyond full-time for long enough.  If you're in that situation and your manager's a reasonable person, might be a conversation worth having.

[neophyte]

My workplace has instituted 14 day quarantine upon return for anyone who leaves the immediate area. Puts a damper on vacation for sure. I haven't officially lost any time, but I know my boss won't view it well if I take vacation this year.  I'm not gonna put my job in jeopardy over it at a time like this though. :( I haven't taken vacation in 15 months now and I'm starting to go stir crazy.

[kanga1622]

Nope. I saved at least 100 hours of planned vacation time usage while we were WFH. Depending on how August goes, I may be using up all that saved time or they may have me WFH again. I’ve got at least 6 weeks of time off available and will max out by the end of the year if I don’t find a way to take some time off.

[KarefulKactus15]

Thanks for replys. It's interesting how many folks have the opposite problem.  Regarding comp time, yes that's an option in theory. From experience it's about a 2/1 ratio in the companies favor.

Unpaid time is not an option. We'll see how all this turns out. Luckily I'm in a great place financially so I don't have to stay if I got completely burned out. 

[terran]

Unpaid time is not an option. We'll see how all this turns out. Luckily I'm in a great place financially so I don't have to stay if I got completely burned out.

If that's what happens you might find that unpaid time off suddenly becomes an option.

[FIRE Artist]

I am surprised to hear you are not on a vacation accrual system.  If my company had gone the way of asking employees to empty their vacation banks, that would only be for past accrued vacation, they wouldn't dip into future, as yet, unearned vacation. 

I earn 25 days of vacation every year, and after my first year of employment, I always have about 20 days "in the bank" that I keep for personal emergencies (very handy when my dad way dying on the other side of the country).  My employer could in theory ask me to empty that bank, but I still earn just under one vacation day every 2 week pay period, or one week vacation every 11 weeks.   

[KarefulKactus15]

That's pretty neat that you earn 1 day approximately every 2 weeks. I guess mines closer to every 3.5 weeks.

But mine doesn't accrue as the year goes on.

[HPstache]

Thanks for replys. It's interesting how many folks have the opposite problem.  Regarding comp time, yes that's an option in theory. From experience it's about a 2/1 ratio in the companies favor.

Unpaid time is not an option. We'll see how all this turns out. Luckily I'm in a great place financially so I don't have to stay if I got completely burned out.

You've been having a rough year with this and the business startup right before COVID hit.  Sorry to hear about the reduced hours and losing vacation time.  Definitely a bonus to be in a strong financial place.

[FIRE Artist]

That's pretty neat that you earn 1 day approximately every 2 weeks. I guess mines closer to every 3.5 weeks.

But mine doesn't accrue as the year goes on.

Did you have to wait a full year of employment before you were allowed to take any vacation?  That might explain why your vacation for the year is available all at the beginning of the year, so the vacation you were told to use during the pandemic was possibly accrued in the previous calendar year.  If so, you likely are accruing vacation on the books for next year, you just don't see it if you are not privy to the balance sheet, and if company policy prevents you from using it in this calendar year,  there would be accrued money owed to you for vacation pay out if you quit.

Either way, that really sucks that you don't have any more time for this year. 

[pdxvandal]

I haven't burned any vacation or sick hours this year with the exception of bereavement leave (which is separate leave). And I just qualified for 3 weeks' annual vacation last month and haven't gone on extended vacations in several years. Looks like I have about 40 days each of vacation and sick time (80 days in all, with yearly accruals) in addition to 6 days personal time (use it or lose it), that I plan to burn up this summer.

I'm fortunate to have tons of unused PTO and definitely see it as a sort of emergency fund in case I'm suddenly unemployed. If I can hang on another year, and grow enough balls to FIRE (and market depending), I should get paid out about $25k-$30k worth of PTO, which would be a nice ramp to FIREdom.

[ditheca]

@Kroaler

No vacation days allowed? Sounds like you might get 'sick' (of working).

[Optimiser]

I have about 120 hours accrued but I just requested 4 weeks off (I'll accrue another 40 hours by the time I take the 4th week off) over the next 5 months so I can study for and hopefully pass the 3 sections of the CPA exam that I have left to pass. It's kind of depressing to know that I'm basically going to be working during my time off, but I know if I can pass the exam it will be worth it in the long run.

[alsoknownasDean]

I've got about four and a half weeks of annual leave. I not long ago took a week off to move house, but wouldn't mind a couple weeks off for a holiday later this year. Of course I can't go all that far...

A week or two in August or September would be quite nice. I'll at least be able to travel domestically then, and maybe to New Zealand.

I do plan on painting the house over the Christmas break. Maybe I'll add onto that.

[2sk22]

Talking about vacation time, I had a weird situation with respect to vacation when I quit my job at a megacorp last year.

Anticipating that I would be quitting, I used up most my vacation in the first half of the year. When I resigned in July however, I was told that I would have to return a part of my vacation pay since it was over half the amount. When I complained, HR pointed me to some obscure part of the rule book that I was unaware of. It was not a large amount but I was very annoyed and decided not to contest this as I was eager to be done with the megacorp for good.

[Playing with Fire UK]

@Kroaler

No vacation days allowed? Sounds like you might get 'sick' (of working).

Seems the natural conclusion to me.

[the_fixer]

Talking about vacation time, I had a weird situation with respect to vacation when I quit my job at a megacorp last year.

Anticipating that I would be quitting, I used up most my vacation in the first half of the year. When I resigned in July however, I was told that I would have to return a part of my vacation pay since it was over half the amount. When I complained, HR pointed me to some obscure part of the rule book that I was unaware of. It was not a large amount but I was very annoyed and decided not to contest this as I was eager to be done with the megacorp for good.

That is how most companies I have work at handle vacation.

You can use 100% at the beginning of the year but you have not accrued it yet as a certain amount is earned each pay period. So if you leave before you accrue it they have essentially loaned you some vacation time and you have to pay it back.

I worked at a company that would only allow you to take vacation after you accrued it. That sucked as there were a few times that we were unable to go on vacations that we were invited to go on due to not having enough accrued time.

As someone that uses their vacation every year I prefer option one as it allow you to take it when you want VS waiting.


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[MyAlterEgoIsTaller]

I have about 5 weeks of vacation left, and our use-it-or-lose-it policy will only let me carry one week beyond the end of the year.  I've been working at home, and we've been moderately busy.  I could probably fit in some time off, but I'm concerned about eventual layoffs and worry that if I seem like I have time for that then I would seem like one of the expendable people.
Also I have a retirement-age coworker who seems to be angling to take over my job as part of his winding down but not yet retirement plan (because his current job requires constant travel, while mine has almost no travel.) I fear that if I take vacation then he'll see his chance to swoop in and take over projects, or save the day by doing something that might otherwise have had to wait a couple days for me to come back, or something like that.

[Optimiser]

I have about 5 weeks of vacation left, and our use-it-or-lose-it policy will only let me carry one week beyond the end of the year.  I've been working at home, and we've been moderately busy.  I could probably fit in some time off, but I'm concerned about eventual layoffs and worry that if I seem like I have time for that then I would seem like one of the expendable people.
Also I have a retirement-age coworker who seems to be angling to take over my job as part of his winding down but not yet retirement plan (because his current job requires constant travel, while mine has almost no travel.) I fear that if I take vacation then he'll see his chance to swoop in and take over projects, or save the day by doing something that might otherwise have had to wait a couple days for me to come back, or something like that.

That sounds like a tough spot to be in. Maybe you could take off one day a week or something similar so you don't lose your vacation but also can stay on all of your projects.

[Schaefer Light]

Talking about vacation time, I had a weird situation with respect to vacation when I quit my job at a megacorp last year.

Anticipating that I would be quitting, I used up most my vacation in the first half of the year. When I resigned in July however, I was told that I would have to return a part of my vacation pay since it was over half the amount. When I complained, HR pointed me to some obscure part of the rule book that I was unaware of. It was not a large amount but I was very annoyed and decided not to contest this as I was eager to be done with the megacorp for good.

I wonder if that same company would have paid you for any unused PTO you had remaining if you hadn't taken so much PTO early in the year.

[2sk22]

Talking about vacation time, I had a weird situation with respect to vacation when I quit my job at a megacorp last year.

Anticipating that I would be quitting, I used up most my vacation in the first half of the year. When I resigned in July however, I was told that I would have to return a part of my vacation pay since it was over half the amount. When I complained, HR pointed me to some obscure part of the rule book that I was unaware of. It was not a large amount but I was very annoyed and decided not to contest this as I was eager to be done with the megacorp for good.

That is how most companies I have work at handle vacation.

You can use 100% at the beginning of the year but you have not accrued it yet as a certain amount is earned each pay period. So if you leave before you accrue it they have essentially loaned you some vacation time and you have to pay it back.

I worked at a company that would only allow you to take vacation after you accrued it. That sucked as there were a few times that we were unable to go on vacations that we were invited to go on due to not having enough accrued time.

As someone that uses their vacation every year I prefer option one as it allow you to take it when you want VS waiting.


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Interesting! I did not realize that this was standard practice. I'm a little less annoyed now :-)

[2Birds1Stone]

It's usually better to ask for forgiveness than permission, at least in the corporate world. I've always leveraged FU$ to take extended time off work and it always worked out very well. Back in 2012 my now wife and I took 5 weeks to visit family in Poland and spend two weeks in Egypt. My employer at the time (small box retailer) hated managers taking off even a week of time at a clip. I had no debt and only an EF of 6 months but bit the bullet, gave them 60 days notice to find someone to cover my store for 5 weeks and requested unpaid time. Not only was the job still there after I came back, but I now had the respect of the regional for having the balls to do it.

The trip was great, Sharm El Sheikh is a must visit for anyone who likes to dive/snorkel.