# Paid vacations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [January 25, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368 "2013-01-25T21:24:25Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/1 "2013-01-25T21:24:25Z")
How much paid vacation time do you get each year, and do you try to use as much of it as possible?
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### Author:  [@PacifistPorcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PacifistPorcupine)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/2 "2013-01-25T21:27:44Z")
Four weeks (starting this year, used to be 3) and it’s use it or lose it, so I use it.
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### Author:  [@PaperBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaperBlob)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/3 "2013-01-25T21:28:19Z")
5 weeks (25 days) of PTO - Paid Time Off. To be used for any reason, including illness. Since I have a separate bank of sick hours I can use for sick time (long story), I can use those 25 days strictly as vacation time. I use them all.
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### Author:  [@Jersey\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jersey_Mike)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/4 "2013-01-25T21:30:30Z")
20 days (4 weeks). I don’t lose it. I’ve currently got 65 days built up.
I’ve been with the same company for 13 years. I started with 2 weeks for the first 10 years. At 10 years I would have gotten 3 weeks, but also got a promotion that bumped me to 4 weeks.
I also get 3 sick days a year that also carry over.
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### Author:  [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/5 "2013-01-25T21:31:45Z")
None. I’m a temp. It sucks.
Back when I DID have vacation time, it was two weeks and yes, I absolutely DID use it - mainly though it was used to stay home with a sick kid, or if there were car problems or something. I never really got to go “on vacation”.
My boss at the time had a TON of vacation time saved up then the company changed their policy to use it or lose it - he would have had to take almost six months of vacation to use it all up. Poor guy - that kinda hurt when he lost it.
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### Author:  [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/6 "2013-01-25T21:32:55Z")
25 days, 10 granted up front (sick days), 15 accrued (vacation days). I use 'em all every year.
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/7 "2013-01-25T21:36:30Z")
120 hours of paid vacation, plus 120 hours sick time, both of which roll over.
I don’t like my vacation to go below 40 hours, but apart from that I use it.
In May I’ll be here for 10 years, so I get 144 hours a year instead if I’m still around.
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### Author:  [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/8 "2013-01-25T21:37:34Z")
As a Fed, I earn 8 hours of leave per pay period, or every two weeks. I also earn 4 hours of sick leave. I can carry over 240 hours of annual leave , and I’m not sure how much Sick leave I can carry over.
It’s not a problem, because I use my leave. I never have a use or loose situation. And with the birth of Jr. Lebeef this year, my sick leave has been pretty well wiped out.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/9 "2013-01-25T21:39:47Z")
3 weeks, somewhat flexible use it or lose policy. I always use it. As a matter of fact I’m a week ahead of my earned vacation time. It’s a good company to work for.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/10 "2013-01-25T21:40:05Z")
The most my company allows is 40 hours of paid vacation/sick leave(no insurance). I normally work a 8 hour day, so that’s five days for me, but the poor schmucks that work 12 hour shifts get only 3 1/3 days off each year.
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### Author:  [@ChickaPicosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChickaPicosa)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/11 "2013-01-25T21:42:01Z")
I get 3 weeks paid vacation a year, plus 2 personal days, and about 10 sick days. I have to use the personal days, but I can carry over the vacation and sick days. I usually use 2 of my 3 weeks and carry over one.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/12 "2013-01-25T21:44:02Z")
I get 35 days. But that covers everything from vacations, to sick days, to holidays. If I’ve used up all 35 days by December 24th, I’m working on Christmas.
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### Author:  [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/13 "2013-01-25T21:45:41Z")
I get 4 weeks paid (starting this year), and we can carry over one week, so this year I have 5 weeks of paid vacation.
I doubt I will use even two weeks of it.
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### Author:  [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/14 "2013-01-25T21:47:09Z")
I’m a temp now, so if I don’t work, I don’t get paid. If I stay on for a year, by law, I become permanent, and I’ll negotiate vacation - I figure at least 3 weeks, considering how little I’m paid.
As a senior gummint engineer, I got 26 days of vacation a year plus sick leave and holiday leave. Towards the last few years, I hoarded my leave so I had use-or-lose on the books that they had to pay me for. Up until then, I rarely carried over more than a day or two from year to year (we could accumulate up to 30 days.)
I see no virtue in foregoing vacation. Getting away from work for a while is necessary.
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### Author:  [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/15 "2013-01-25T21:47:53Z")
6 weeks a year plus 10 public holidays. I can accumulate, or use individually, anothet 24 days in 6 day blocks each 3 months due to flexible work hours So I was off from December 21 to January 8 without taking any leave.
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### Author:  [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/16 "2013-01-25T21:48:30Z")
5 days of PTO, which our owner describes as “generous” because we get six federal holidays off, too.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/17 "2013-01-25T21:57:10Z")
> [@wmulax93](#):
>
> 5 days of PTO, which our owner describes as “generous” because we get six federal holidays off, too.
I only get Federal holidays off if they fall on a weekend. If they fall on a weekday I have to work, but I get time and a half. Not too many weekend holidays in 2013, dammit.
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/18 "2013-01-25T22:06:11Z")
Our official policy is “take what you need, within reason, and don’t fuck it up for everyone else.”
Works pretty well so far.
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### Author:  [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/19 "2013-01-25T22:06:28Z")
I get 25 days paid, and buy an additional 5 days in return for a 2% cut in salary, and I use them all. This includes sick time. I had not been sick in years but just got destroyed by this year’s flu bug and had to burn 3 of my days. ☹
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [January 25, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paid-vacations/648368/20 "2013-01-25T22:31:16Z")
30 days. In addition, I can carry over five days from one year to the next, which I have always done. So I have 35 days (technically, 280 hours) of PTO.
What I have left toward the end of the year [35 - (#days taken + #days I plan to take + 5 carryover days)], I take off a day hear and there in November and December.
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