Understanding Your Employer’s Vacation Policies

A vacation is simply a leave of absence from your usual work, a special trip or travel, usually for the intention of tourism or recreation. Generally, people often take a vacation during certain vacation observances, such as Christmas holidays, spring break, Easter, Thanksgiving, and so on. Usually, vacations are also spent by family or friends.

Vacations are enjoyed by people of all ages. For children, vacations are an opportunity to play outside, exercise, go swimming, visit theme parks and other amusement parks, and hang out with other children. However, for adults, vacations are also times to relax, unwind, and socialize with co-workers or other professionals.

Most employers do not allow their employees to take paid vacations. There are several exceptions to this policy, but these exclusions generally apply to vacations that are used for personal reasons, like going on a family vacation or for other similar reasons. If an employee uses vacation time for business purposes, his/her employer may deduct a reasonable portion of the cost of the vacation.

Sick days are paid time off for employees. When an employee is sick, s/he may use sick days to recover. However, if an employee does not have enough sick days during the current calendar year, s/he must ask for an extension, which will result in the employee taking time off without pay in the following calendar year. Extension requests are subject to approval by the employer.

Normally, an employee will be given up to a maximum of seven paid vacation days per year, regardless of whether s/he takes the entire year off (including sick days) or less. For employees who work fewer hours than others in the same position, usually they are entitled to two paid vacation days and two sick days. An employee may also receive one additional paid day each year for each one year of service (including the one-year period starting with his first day of employment).

VACATION days are very valuable to employees. They allow them to recover from long, stressful work weeks, enjoy the warm weather and travel, and go on summer vacation. In the past, many employees took vacation days off without giving it much thought, assuming that they would be able to get more days off when they became available. But, with increases in technology and the ever-changing nature of business operations, more companies are recognizing the importance of employees having paid time off for vacation days and sick leave.