Possibilities of getting extra PTO in job search negotiations. Tactics, arguments, and economic realism. Evaluation of possibilities.

‘Unlimited’ Vacation?

Some companies (not many) say, “I am paying you to do a job. If you need paid-time-off for sick time, vacation, personal errands, or just-cuz you want it, take it. As long as your job is done well, no worries.”

With such an employer, asking for additional paid time off as part of your compensation package is not a swift tactic, i.e., you already have it. After all you have no cap anyway (as long as you get your work done).

Not for NE

This is not normally a feasible plan for hourly-paid (NE) or salaried-non-exempt (SNE) employees who must by law be paid at overtime rates for work-hours over 40 in a workweek in most cases (or over 8 in one workday in some places).

My Explanatory note: The term ‘non-exempt’ means such job categories are not exempt from the legal requirement to pay statutory premium pay rates for overtime work. In short they must be paid at overtime rates for these hours. In such instances, the employer must keep track of hours worked.

SE

Salaried-exempt employees (SE) do not have to be paid for overtime in most cases. SE employees are generally classified as managers, most supervisors - not all, most - not all - professionals (lawyers, accountants, scientists, etc), and some senior administrative folk.

It’s kind of complicated

Deciding who is SE can get difficult. Not all managers, professionals, etc, can be classed as SE - it depends on the actual work they do and what they are paid. For example, not all professionally-trained accountants or engineers do work that can legally avoid OT payment.

We will not try to cover all that legal stuff here because it has not much to do with negotiating for a job. Suffice it to say that work-time records are not required for SE employees and so it is easier to negotiate being away from the job - with pay. The paychecks happen in the same amount regardless of hours put in - or not put in. The employer is restricted from ‘docking’ pay for the true SE people who take time off during the work week.

NE and SNE folks - harder to get a special deal

If you want some paid time off that is not ‘allowed’ in the general plan it may a tad difficult since you won’t be physically there to record your hours worked. And it is not kosher to have someone else fill in your timesheet; people can get fired for doing such.

Also, in hourly paid jobs, there might be lots of others in the same job category who would not be thrilled if they found out you get something they don’t have.

So if you do get a little extra, better to keep your mouth shut.

Sr. Managers work a bunch

‘Unlimited Paid-Time-Off plans are usually reserved for senior-level jobs. It is normally specified for a small group, e.g. corporate officers or top managers and critical senior technical individuals). But that sounds better than it really is.

Example

One can normally get paid accrued but untaken vacation time upon termination. That is calculable because timecards and timesheets are kept for work time. So you know how much time you have not taken, as does the employer.

SE people, e.g. managers, etc., are normally not legally required to have their vacation or PTO recorded. So they are not normally legally entitled to get 'untaken' vacation upon termination-unless the plan calls for it.

They get their paycheck whether they work the whole workweek or not.

My comment

Those people who have this ‘unlimited’ time off privilege most often do not take as much time off as they should; their personal commitment to the success of the enterprise is so strong.

It recognizes that people in those jobs are expected to be available at almost any time; that they work whenever needed; that they usually work excessively long hours, and bear great responsibility for the success of the enterprise.

Personal Note:

Having been in senior corporate VP jobs - from startups to companies with 12,000+ employees scattered internationally - plus years in my own consulting practice, I have dealt with hundreds of executives in many industries. They, almost to a wo/man, suffer the same malady - they spend an enormous amount of time devoted to company business - and don’t take much vacation. And they don’t get paid for OT.

That’s true, by the bye, for all you cynics who thing being a big-deal executive is a cush job.

Special Plan Just For YOU

To recap: In a hiring situation - or in a change of job situation within the company, e.g., promotion, transfer, shift change, etc., it might be feasible,

• if you ask in just the right way at just the right time
• if the employer really wants, or needs, just you, and
• if s/he is in just the right frame of mind.

That implies you should try to recognize when the employer might consider it and exploit it for your personal self-interest.

Virtue of Self-Interest

Negotiating for a job is not an altruistic endeavor; it is a venture to further your self-interest - as it is for the employer - and properly so.

Why are you looking for a job?

• You are not looking for a job because some employer needs an employee.
• An employer does not create a job opening just because someone like you wants a job.
• Each of you are considering working together because you both hope the other has something the other needs - at the particular time. Note: this need of course may change over time and if so, the relationship will probably end. The job is simply the mechanism by which both of you get what you need.
• And for no other reason

Truisms

You owe the prospective employer nothing.

The prospective employer owes you, prospective employee, nothing.

Pure self-interest in the job market is the mechanism for the best allocation of human resources for the economy. Better that the principals involved in the negotiations decide on what is best than someone outside whose interests might be different.

You want the best your talents can get for you and your family; the employer wants the best chance for the enterprise success. Who else can make better decisions to meet your personally-important goals, whatever they might be ?

Both of you need to accommodate the other or there will be no deal. That's the essense of a good negotiation.

People by nature will give their best if personal reward and gain is allowed that recognizes contribution; that applies to employer and employee.

Specific arguments to win the extras

Now that we have disposed of some legalities and marketplace realities; In the next hub we present some specific scenarios that might fit your job-search situation and how you might craft your argument to convince her/him that you should be treated to more paid-time-off than other candidates - or for that matter - more than present employees.