How much vacation do you take?

[happylabs]

Where I work you only get 10 days of paid vacation days per year and when you've been with the company for 10 years and over you then get 15 days. I've been with the company for a long time so I do get the 15 and I use all of them. As for sick time, we can only use it if we are sick so I never use all of them unless I have surgery or something that requires a long recovery time. We now also need a doctor's excuse if we're out sick for more than a couple of days. We are allowed to carry over some of our sick time to the next year and as far as I know we can also carry over any unused vacation time. We also get our birthday as a paid holiday so I really have 16 paid vacation days. We used to also be able to use our sick time for personal time off or even vacation time when work was slow but ever since the poor economy we can't. Sometimes if we have to work on a Saturday we can also get comp time which would go towards vacation time. I usually just take staycations, I just stay home during my vacations, because I can't afford to travel and I have 6 cats to take care of and I don't have any one close by that could cat sit them. I also can't afford the prices of professional pet sitters.

As much as I miss the beach, I do LOVE my staycations. I will take a Friday and the following Monday sometimes and make a 4-day weekend. I am becoming very much a homebody. Sometimes I think I could be a hermit - LOL!

[Taz_Zoee]

I've been with my company over 8 years. We do not get sick days. We accumulate PTO (paid time off) as we work. Depending on how long you've been here determines how much PTO you get per days/hours worked.

We usually try to take a week long vacation each year. The past several years its only been going up to Tahoe (our home away from home) for a week. Back when we first go together we went on nice tropical cruises or trips (Carribbean, Hawaii, Mexico, Florida, Belize). Hopefully someday we will be able to do trips like that again.

Pomtzu, I think Randi means she TAKES vacation. Not that she necessarily gets paid vacation. And if I'm wrong..........I'm moving there!!!

[caseysmom]

I get 14 hours a month vacation and 8 hours sick leave a month so a bit over 4 weeks a year, I have about a years time on the books because I get called on the weekend a lot so time off is used to compensate so don't end up touching my balances a whole lot. I will run it out when I retire.

[wolf_Q]

I get so many hours of PTO a year. I think I have 250 something right now...they roll over from previous years though I think sometimes some are lost. But my PTO is our hourly rate (we make hourly or commission whichever is higher) so it's only like $7.50 an hour. I definitely make more than that (unless its really slow) with commission, so, while I do get paid to take time off it is not the same pay I would make working if that makes sense. So taking a week off "just to use hours" I would generally loose money as I would not be making the same amount as if I was at work. But it sure is nice to take a week off and get paid while I'm not there. I don't necessarily keep track of how many hours I use but if I want to take a trip I take it and I use my hours. I like to have some on hand because we do not have a separate sick leave if I want to get paid while I had to take time off for a surgery or something I would have to use my PTO.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

I am not really sure, but I think my hubby has as much vacation days as in The Netherlands!
But........ from July on he will have as much vacation as he chooses, because........................................... ....
he will be retired as from July 1st !!! Yîppie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[maid25cats]

At my old job after 18yrs I was up to 5 weeks vac, 6 sick. I started there in 89, some years later they changed it to no more than 4 weeks but if you were hired before a certain year you still got the 5th week after the 15 years. 6 sick days and you got paid if you didn't use them . Paid holidays and the company was closed from Christmas Eve to New Years -PAID.
So I think it ended up being about 16 paid holidays. Unfortunately they moved out of the state
New company:
Right now after 4 years this month I just got 4 more days added which brings me up to 14 days vac and 8 sick.
But now they changed the sick day policy that is use it or lose it.

Right now with 5 cats I cant really go away so I stay around the house

[Randi]

Wow, it's really different over there... huge variations from one company to another, and from one state to another. I would have thought there was a law stating the minimum/maximum days of vacation for all Americans. Well, at least most of you get at least 2 weeks of vacation. In my opnion that's not enough to wind down, but I guess with the financial crisis we have, this is not the time to fight for more.

I found this that shows the development over the years:

1919	First demands for holiday entitlement made in connection with collective bargaining.
1920s	Workers in a few factories obtain the right to three days' annual leave.
1931	Half of the members of trade unions affiliated to LO (then DsF) obtain one week's paid annual leave in connection with the conclusion of new collective agreements.
1936	In connection with new agreements, a larger share of workers obtain a right to summer holiday with pay.
1938	The Holiday Act gives all employees a right to two weeks' annual leave.
1952	A third week of annual leave is introduced with effect from 1953 in connection with the conclusion of collective agreements.
1971	A fourth week of annual leave is introduced with effect from 1973.
1979	A fifth week of annual leave is introduced.
1995	A new - and more flexible - holiday agreement concluded in the public sector is overruled by the Ministry of Labour, but the following year this leads to deliberations concerning a revision of the Holiday Act.
1998	Two special holidays per year are introduced in connection with the government intervention in the dispute in the private sector bargaining area covered by DA/LO (DK9805168F).
1999	Three special holidays per year are introduced in the agreements concluded in various sectors, including the public sector, to be implemented in the course of the period up to 2002 (DK9903114F).
Spring 2000	Five special holidays per year are introduced in the agreements in the private sector bargaining area covered by DA/LO, to be implemented during the period up to 2003. The sixth week of annual leave is thus a reality - without being holiday in the sense of the Holiday Act.
May 2000	New Holiday Act is passed. It introduces a higher degree of flexibility, in the form of the possibility to enter into agreements to transfer one week of annual leave to the following holiday year.

A little more info: http://www.working-in-denmark.com/La...ions-1036.aspx

[pomtzu]

With the economy and job market what it is now in the U.S, a lot of people will take whatever job they can find, regardless of the benefits. Some 10-15 years ago, you could shop around and be somewhat choosy, and take a job not only based on salary, but what benefits it had to offer. I wasn't overly happy with my job and I had considered finding a job elsewhere for more money, but that also involved finding a job with good benefits and within reasonable travel distance. I made decent money where I was, had great benefits, and only had to drive about 7 minutes to get there. I had job offers with more money, but traveling an hour each way would have defeated the purpose, and in the end, I would be losing, considering gas prices, tolls, wear and tear on my car, so it wasn't worth a change. And I sure wouldn't start a new job with 4 weeks vacation either. Money is a short term motivator in a lot of instances, and you really have to weigh all the options. I hope that somehow this economy will turn around in time for my grandkids to not have the struggle that so many people have today.

Sorry - I got a little off topic.........

[Suki Wingy]

Last year I got about 130 hours of paid time off. I use almost all of it between "home base" being 270 miles away, my conventions, and simply having days where my shift is canceled because I have no dogs on my schedule. I should say I work for the same company as wolf_Q but I currently don't make commission at all, just hourly for now.

And Glacier, I dogsit and I have several references!

[Queen of Poop]

I get 25 paid vacation days a year and 2 flex days one to be used in the first half of the year, one in the second half. We also close the office the Friday before every long weekend from May to September. And we close the office between Christmas and New Years. With the divorce and having no funds for vacation I currently have 55 vacation days to use up. Not sure how I'm going to manage that.

[Suki Wingy]

I forgot, when my dad was being laid off (they gave him a heads up several months in advance, he worked for a university) they let him use up all the vacation days he had accumulated so he kept taking days off whenever it was nice out to go looking for snakes or birds and when I came to visit he took the entire time off.

[Randi]

Here's a new list of how much vacation the boss in various countries take. Twelve days for the US bosses certainly isn't much.

[Jessika]

I get 5 days of vacation a year (get another 5 after I've been there 5 years...), no sick days, and I haven't taken any yet this year because they encourage us to switch shifts with other employees instead of taking a day of vacation... oh, forgot to mention, if I do take vacation, I also have to plan out who is going to cover my shifts...

[snakemama]

My vacation is earned based on hours worked and it does not roll over. I have about 60 hours accumulated right now and I'll be using them next month. I guess maybe I'm lucky that I don't like to travel, I haven't had a vacation in awhile and I don't have a strong desire to take one. I am such a homebody.

[catnapper]

I get 13 days and don't go anywhere. I use them to just have the day off at home