[themagician]

This is both true and mind boggling to me.

I employ 5-10 unskilled people at any given time. Mostly for assembly and packing. They get two weeks PTO, and at least a week of paid vacation throughout the year when we close for holidays, mostly more.

At the end of the day the total annual cost to provide this is well worth the drama it keeps out of the workplace.

Sick days? Take as many as you need. I don’t want sick people at the office.

[thatfrenchguy]

“Two weeks PTO”, like it’s a godsend, when the EU basic law, not known for being worker-friendly, guarantees everyone in the EU at least four weeks.

[roenxi]

> This is both true and mind boggling to me.

We all come into this with a lot of context. However, America has I think something like the highest average and median wages outside the Nordics [0, 1]. And the Nordics are potentially a statistical aberration.

If somebody "gets" 2 weeks of paid time off, but at the end of the year their average salary is (50/52)% of someone who gets no PTO, are they really being paid for time off? It doesn't look paid to me.

The real benefit would be a culture where you can take unpaid time off then return to the same job later on. The per-hour pay is likely to correct quietly via ye olde market forces, and everyone enjoys the best of all worlds. High pay if they want it, time off if they want it.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_average_w...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_income

[bosie]

> If somebody "gets" 2 weeks of paid time off, but at the end of the year their average salary is (50/52)% of someone who gets no PTO, are they really being paid for time off? It doesn't look paid to me.

How much does it cost an american worker to take 2 weeks off? If that means unemployment, new job search and your own health care payments, it might be much more expensive than that.

> median wage ... OECD

any idea how they calculated the purchasing power for the US?

[themagician]

I pay hourly employees between $14-$20/hr. The standard is to let people accrue two weeks. I just give it all up front. It's easier this way, honestly, because people spend the time more evenly throughout the year. I guess I could reverse it so they are "earning" the PTO over time, but everyone seems happy with it the way things are, and that's fine by me.

For salaried employees I just give them an FTO policy instead. As long as things are getting done I just don't care. I'm not interesting in creating a hostile work environment to save a few thousand dollars a year.

[sockpuppet999]

What happens to the PTO at the rollover date? Or if an employee accrues more PTO time than the employer will pay. I'm not being caustic here im just wondering what happens to those funds?

[themagician]

It’s use it or lose it. After 60 days I just give two weeks up front and let people use it however they want. Every year I just rebank them up to two weeks. You can’t accrue more than that. Some people wait to get the rebank then quit and take the two week payout. Seems fair to me though.

[eikenberry]

And you'll attract and keep a better level of employee because you do this. IMO this is particularly important with unskilled labor as your pool of employees is so large with very little to differentiate quality people.

[sharkweek]

Costco does this and it has worked, at least it seems, really well for them.

Always maintained an above average hourly salary and benefits offering for retail staff. Their turnover is considerably lower than other big box retail (Walmart around 40%, Costco around 17%).

Not to mention the cost reduction of not having to retrain someone who is only going to quit/get fired in six months.

Source: https://hbr.org/2006/12/the-high-cost-of-low-wages

[Fjolsvith]

> Sick days? Take as many as you need. I don’t want sick people at the office.

I hire people trained or untrained for my shed manufacturing business. Younger (under 25 years) people try to pull the "my stomach is hurting" and take the rest of the day off. I tell them they need to go see the doctor and bring a note from the doctor excusing the time off they need for their sickness. Otherwise, I don't get decent workweeks out of them younglings.

[SauciestGNU]

If you're demanding they see a doctor then you should be paying for them to do it. Otherwise the employees are losing wages and paying additional fees for the privilege.

Unless an employee has demonstrated that they can't take leave appropriately, you really should get out of their business and let them use the benefits they're entitled to.

[Fjolsvith]

What you call a privilege and entitlement is not at all such.

I spent 6 years in the Air Force and the military sends you to sick call for you to be excused from duty. If an employee at MY business doesn't want to follow my policy for sick time, they are at liberty to work elsewhere or not at all.