The End of PTO During the COVID Crisis

Now that the summer months have passed and many people are working from home, we are finding that many employees have not used up paid time off benefits.

It is safe to say we can blame this on COVID-19 and the risks involved with traveling this year. Additionally, concerns over job security have made many people reluctant to use PTO, outright canceling vacations altogether. This puts an employer in a bind when it comes to addressing unused benefits, especially if they have a “use it or lose it” policy. It places everyone in a tough situation; not wanting to use their vacation days earlier in the year, employees are more than likely to begin using their allotted time all at once, leaving you with a potential staffing shortage at the end of the year.

At this point, it may be too late to come up with a plan. However, all hope is not lost. Here is one tip to consider if you are finding yourself in this type of bind.

Experts are saying that in light of the pandemic, pressing the pause button on your company’s “use it or lose it “ policy will allow your employees to hold on to their earned vacation time into the new year. The benefit is that employees will appreciate this temporary change and the flexibility it provides, thus avoiding a rush of time off requests at the end of the year.

To ward off disruptions like this next year, experts are advising organizations to consider taking a closer look at their current policies and structuring them in a way that clearly defines an organizational strategy to their employees, such as communicating time off balances regularly and redefining policies for PTO in a way that clearly communicates business decisions of your organization.

Author: Marina Benner

Agovino, Theresa. Employers Consider Changes to PTO Policies as Unused Vacation Days Accumulate. 27 May 2020, www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/pto-use-covid.aspx.

COVID-19 PTO Changes. 26 June 2020, www.shrm.org/hr-today/trends-and-forecasting/research-and-surveys/pages/covid-19-pto-changes.aspx.

Mucha, Rachel. “COVID-19 Wreaks Havoc on PTO Policies: 3 Possible Fixes.” HR Morning, 27 July 2020, www.hrmorning.com/articles/covid-19-pto-policies/.