Best Practices to develop a successful PTO accrual policy
All work and no play will make your employees dull and less productive. It is essential to give them some time off work to take that well-deserved vacation, recover from an illness, or simply recharge. However, the vacation accrual policy should work for both the employer and the employee.
Here are some of the best practices that you can consider while framing the policy:
Ask employees for feedback
The employees of your organization are the ultimate beneficiaries of the vacation accrual policy. It only makes sense to ask them how they would like to earn and accrue their PTO. Review the suggestions given by the employees and incorporate as many of them as possible into the final policy. This will create a sense of trust and satisfaction among the employees.
Keep an eye on the competition
Paid time off is one of the most important perks an organization gives to its employees. It’ll help you attract and retain top talent. Therefore, always keep an eye on the competitors’ policies and the industry standards to avoid losing talent.
Determine the eligibility to accrue time-off
A comprehensive time off accrual policy should include the entire workforce. Decide how different types of employees (part-time, full-time, contractors, interns) and from when the employees would be eligible to accrue time offs. Typically, organizations allow new employees to start accruing time off after a probationary period of 60-90 days.
Determine accrual caps and rollover policies
Framing a PTO accrual policy is complex, and it is pretty common to miss out on minute details while formulating the policy. Here are a few questions that you need to ask yourself:
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Is the accrual policy uniform for all the employees? Do experienced employees get more accrued time off?
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Is there a maximum amount of time off that an employee can accrue at a given point of time?
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Can employees carry over accrued time off to next year? If yes, then is there a limit on how much they can carry over?
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What is the accrual frequency? Are the leaves credited monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually?
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How is unused accrued time off paid out?
Use a good time-off tracking software
Using a good time-off tracking software like Freshteam can save you a lot of headaches. It tracks time offs of all the employees, allows employees to apply for leaves, manages approvals, calculates and allocates PTO accruals to your employees automatically.