I only have contractors at this point, but if I get to the point where I'm hiring real employees, I will not allow them to trade time off for cash. There have been countless studies that show why people need time away from work- they're healthier, happier, and perform better. They need the time away. America has a work-dominated culture and it stinks. It's not healthy for us to live that way.
Hindsight- I'm not sure if you're asking a general question about legality or the behavior of employers. There are no guidelines legally about how PTO works- it's a benefit offered by employers, and subject to the company guidelines and the employee's contract. An employer can refuse to pay in full for PTO. An employer doesn't have to pay anything at all.
The question is about industry standards. My employer offers a very nice PTO program. An employee can take time off with full PTO which is equal to one's hourly wage. However if an employee wants to sell the PTO and not take time off one gets only a percentage of the full value, which if I remember correctly is 75%. I find this unreasonable. The employee has earned the full value, of what concern is it to the employer if the time is taken off or not?
I addressed this concern to the director and was told the policy cited above is industry standard and they, my employer, offers something better than the standard sell back rate. This is more evasion than answer.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at May 23, 2017 12:23 PM MDT
Yes, you got a crappy answer. It sounds like someone in HR actually understood the benefit of getting employees to take time off and structured the benefits to encourage that. It's actually better for your employer, profit-wise, for you to take time off- and I'm not talking just about the 25% they keep if you don't take it. Employees who don't take time away wind up tanking morale and productivity. It hurts the company when you don't get some balance. My guess is that the director is only aware of how their policy stacks up against others, not the reason why many HR departments structure benefit packages the way they do. Or, maybe he couldn't be bothered at the time to give a full answer. I don't know. But, I do know that it's better for you and your company if you take time off, and that's often why companies don't allow you to trade time for money at all. You and your coworkers may be fantastic, but you're not machines. You're not designed to go 24/7. That's one of the leading causes of employee burnout... that has costs on both sides of the table too. It sucks because you're "entitled" to the time off, and you see it as a simple conversion, but it's not- there's so much more involved than that. It would be smarter if they explained their logic, so you could see if they are indeed looking out for your well-being... you might get a better answer from HR.
Just Asking 