Job search: Negotiating extra paid time off (con't) 2

Here we explore tactics to get extra paid-time-off beyond what the employer plan says you can get.

PTO background info

First a quick liberal education on Paid-Time-Off (PTO) legalities, protocols, company policies, and traditions.

Note: We include this to form some depth to your brilliant arguments that will prompt the employer to say “of course”.

Paid Vacation

While there is no legal requirement to give paid vacation, most employers do. Where plans exist they are almost always based primarily on credited length of service. Length-of-service credit is decided by each employer.

No universal definition

• Some employers will count part-time or temporary service earned before you become full-time.
• Some will ‘bridge’ service, i.e., count your old service, if you had worked for the employer in the past.
• Some employers will give partial credit.
• And on and on.

Groups

Formal plans might differ by employee groups, with groups defined by the employer. For example, hourly-paid employees might be on one plan, salaried-non-exempt (legalities explained later) employees (clerical, etc.) on another, managers on another, and senior people on yet one more. On the other hand, everyone might be on the same plan.

Lastly, there can be a purely individualized plan, designed for one person - and that provides an opening for you in your negotiations

Maybe.

All-In-One PTO

• Sometimes several kinds of plans such as vacation, personal time off, and sick time off are combined into one overall Paid-Time-Off (PTO) plan.
• Sometimes unused time can be carried over to the following year.
• Sometimes you lose it if you don’t use it by December 31.
• Sometimes no matter what the policy says, you can do better.

Comment: What a confusing world but one that provides room for you to bargain a little.

Why one overall PTO plan?

This approach has the virtue, among many, of not fighting the battle whether the person is really sick, the necessity of doctor’s notes, too much creative lying, accusations of disparate treatment between employees who have kids or pets, and those that don’t, etc.

An Opening For You?

For the job search candidate this kind of combined PTO plan makes the negotiating possibilities of getting something more a wee bit easier. Why? Employees’ records will show vastly different amounts of allowed time in their ‘accounts’ so different numbers between employees are not so noticeable. And people won’t so easily see who is getting more and who less.

And maybe you might make a side deal with your proposed new boss to just let you take the time off without keeping a record.

Sneaky, huh?

Sure but that’s OK. Paid time off, no matter how individualized is simply part of the overall compensation package the person gets. If the individual and the employer are happy, that’s it.

There is nothing sacred about all employees in a job receiving the same compensation. The essence of a good negotiation is the win-win. So what’s wrong with that? It is not a matter of 'fair' or 'unfair'.

Records?

With the overall PTO plan where most paid-time-off allowances are thrown into one plan there isn’t the same level of record-keeping documentation or obviousness to other employees who may get a lesser or greater amount.

Being able to mask preferential deals may reduce the employer’s natural reluctance to show you such individual preference in order to make the hiring deal.

Enough for this hub

Next hub we will cover ‘unlimited’ vacation or PTO plans, legality concepts, and some scenarios you might use is getting your best PTO deal, should you be so inclined, in the hiring discussions with the employer(or for that matter, later promotion or transfer deals after you are an employee).