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Ask HN:untracked vacation days - what does it mean?

by berito on 5/8/13, 2:25 PM with 9 comments

• by tptacek on 5/8/13, 4:32 PM

  Be aware that there's a psychological cost to untracked vacation days. An award of vacation days with your compensation is formal compensation; your employers are obligated to make reasonable accommodations to let you spend those vacation days, and, in most cases, to reimburse you for them when you leave the company. That's not a bad chit to be holding, especially if you're not the type of person who was likely to take huge amounts of vacation anyways.

• by hbien on 5/8/13, 6:41 PM

  It could be a pro or a con, it's dependent on the company culture.

  I worked at a company with unlimited vacation days where management "trusted" you to make the right decision on how much rest you need. This is good in a culture that encourages rest. It's bad in a company that measures productivity by time spent at your desk.

  Having untracked vacation days as a benefit, I definitely prefer a known hard limit, but that's my personal preference.

• by whichdan on 5/8/13, 3:02 PM

  It depends on the company. Technically it does mean you can "reasonably" take off as much time as you want. Realistically, it depends on how much vacation everyone else takes. If you see that most people are taking off 10 days, you'll probably get 10-15 days. The main benefit for your employer is that if you had something like 20 days off and only took 15, they don't have to roll over the extra 5 days or explicitly pay you for them.

  I would try to get in touch with a couple current employees and ask them roughly how much time they take off each year - there's really no other way to know.

• by outericky on 5/8/13, 2:59 PM

  Generally it'll mean there are no set number of days, and they don't roll over. In practice, you are a responsible adult. Everyone needs time off. If you tell them you want time off, and it's not during a crucial timeframe, and there is coverage, it'll be ok. But yes... people will not like you taking months off at a time.

  It does work in the companies benefit, because people will tend to take less time, or shorter durations. If you are told you have 17 days, most people will try to take all 17. And possibly towards the end of the year when it tends to be busy.

• by dragonwriter on 5/8/13, 3:10 PM

  It means that there is no defined limit (and thus, no accruing, and nothing to pay out if unused when you leave) of vacation hours. You still have to get your assigned work done.

  What that means in practice will depend on the particular environment. It can mean that you have less stress over managing leave balances, it can mean that, because of workload, you can in practice neither take vacation nor be later compensated for not being able to take it.

• by codegeek on 5/8/13, 6:04 PM

  In theory, it is possible since this is offered by a lot of startups these days. However, it also means that they are not obligated to give you anything unless you ask for it. So I would suggest you do this :

  Ask the prospective employer one question : "Do you know on average how many days were taken off by each team member during the past 2 years ?". That will give you an idea.