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I just got an offer from EY in London but considering based on what the maternity policy is which doesn’t seem to be spelt out in contract or benefits pdf. Does anyone know a) if there’s a minimum employment period to qualify and b) what the enhanced maternity pay is. I’ve read both 16 weeks and 18 weeks.
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First American Financial Corporation I have attended two rounds of interview in First American Finan Company last week and have received an email that I have been selected in their interview process. The talent acquisition team did not send me an offer letter instead have sent me a BGC form which I submitted yesterday. I found it very strange as usually first offer letter is rolled out and then BGC check happens if the candidate accepts the offer. Today there was no communication. Can anyone tell me if they faced this situation?TIA
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Unlimited PTO is culture driven, not policy driven. Without clear norms, people often take less to avoid perception risk. I advise treating it like 15–20 days and aligning early with your manager. If performance is solid and plans are clear, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Unlimited PTO is a ruse for companies to save money paying out unused PTO. Especially at a pay for performance company, you need to perform to get higher pay increases and bonuses.
Unlimited PTO is almost always bordering on a scam. It can work well in companies that respect the work life balance of employees, but how many of those companies actually exist?
We have it at our company and I would discourage it. It has a 5 week soft cap that isn’t communicated until someone reaches that, and then HR management try’s to make people feel guilty.
It’s a farce. It’s also a way of not paying for vacation entitlements annually, only statutory minimums if you don’t take them and were to receive a severance.
As an example a 5 week annual accrual policy would be clearer for both employees and managers, help with eliminating a soft cap and guilt trip, and help with any settlement of unused vacation.
Overall, we have folks tending to take less vacay. We need to remind them to take 2 weeks minimum, and folks close to the cap walk on egg shells by not wanting to “test” the limits of the policy.
But you need to remember PTO is part of total comp, use what you’re entitled to!
In reviewing the responses, I noticed that no one has really addressed the timing aspect. While unlimited PTO offers flexibility, context still matters, especially for a new employee. Taking one vacation shortly after starting, then planning another soon after, can come across as poor judgment early on. First impressions count and building credibility should be a priority. As the saying goes, just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
If unlimited PTO is a company's policy, a candidate should ask a few Qs to make a good assessment. 1- Is there a minimum requirement, if so what is it? 2- What is the longest duration of PTO I can reasonably take? 3- What does the company consider a misuse of this policy? 4- Is there a difference between planned and unplanned PTO usage? 5- Is there a demerit system attached to using my PTO?
The answers should give you a feel for whether or not the policy is meant to help employees or is a scammy corporate marketing manuever.
I do understand skepticism of corporations- probably more than most- but it's not ALWAYS a scam the way some of you desperately push. My company historically had not paid out or rolled over unused PTO because when they started out, they found that either of those strategies resulted in people NOT taking the time off. People were burning out, saving their time or taking the cash route. That's also not sustainable. So when we moved to unlimited, what it did was actually increase how much PTO could be on the table without having to overly limit their ability to meet employees where they were in their lives. We had generous PTO before this move but there were still circumstances where occasionally someone would be in a bind and the company wanted to help but it would have been outside of the policy limits.
It's insane to me that people think unlimited PTO means absolutely no rules and guidelines? How would that even work??? Imagine the people you needed to work with just never showing up, then YOU would not have a good work experience. For the love of whatever higher power you believe in, take off your horse blinders, look past yourselves and don't play dumb with semantics.
Your friend sounds like a sane and thoughtful person who doesn't want to put their new teammates in a bind. But I think they should just put on their big boy/girl pants and ask. If the timing is too soon, that's it- they've learned more about the realities of their plan. I suspect there's some HR policy doc that is pretty explicit that they could read to find out if this is fine too...
Usually for people who are getting their work done, don't cause problems and aren't abusing benefits, this isn't an issue where companies are generous with PTO.
At my current company, I would love it because I know management wouldn't try to prevent people from using it. I can't say the same about previous employers. If they ever roll out unlimited PTO, it'll be because they've got a plan in place to make sure no one takes more than like 10 days a year.
There's always fine print when it comes to unlimited PTO. I would suggest your friend have a conversation with their manager about the use of PTO. Some companies have rules on the frequency, amount, or a soft cap.