

Ask HN:untracked vacation days - what does it mean? - berito

I am considering a job offer that claims that my vacation days won't be tracked. While it sounds like I can take holidays for as long as I want, I know that can't be really true.
What does it mean?
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tptacek
Be aware that there's a psychological cost to untracked vacation days. An
award of vacation days with your compensation is formal compensation; your
employers are obligated to make reasonable accommodations to let you spend
those vacation days, and, in most cases, to reimburse you for them when you
leave the company. That's not a bad chit to be holding, especially if you're
not the type of person who was likely to take huge amounts of vacation
anyways.

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hbien
It could be a pro or a con, it's dependent on the company culture.

I worked at a company with unlimited vacation days where management "trusted"
you to make the right decision on how much rest you need. This is good in a
culture that encourages rest. It's bad in a company that measures productivity
by time spent at your desk.

Having untracked vacation days as a benefit, I definitely prefer a known hard
limit, but that's my personal preference.

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whichdan
It depends on the company. Technically it does mean you can "reasonably" take
off as much time as you want. Realistically, it depends on how much vacation
everyone else takes. If you see that most people are taking off 10 days,
you'll probably get 10-15 days. The main benefit for your employer is that if
you had something like 20 days off and only took 15, they don't have to roll
over the extra 5 days or explicitly pay you for them.

I would try to get in touch with a couple current employees and ask them
roughly how much time they take off each year - there's really no other way to
know.

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outericky
Generally it'll mean there are no set number of days, and they don't roll
over. In practice, you are a responsible adult. Everyone needs time off. If
you tell them you want time off, and it's not during a crucial timeframe, and
there is coverage, it'll be ok. But yes... people will not like you taking
months off at a time.

It does work in the companies benefit, because people will tend to take less
time, or shorter durations. If you are told you have 17 days, most people will
try to take all 17. And possibly towards the end of the year when it tends to
be busy.

~~~
berito
Then really, "unlimited vacation days" is more of a PR spin than a valuable
benefit.

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dragonwriter
It means that there is no defined limit (and thus, no accruing, and nothing to
pay out if unused when you leave) of vacation hours. You still have to get
your assigned work done.

What that means in practice will depend on the particular environment. It can
mean that you have less stress over managing leave balances, it can mean that,
because of workload, you can in practice neither take vacation nor be later
compensated for not being able to take it.

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codegeek
In theory, it is possible since this is offered by a lot of startups these
days. However, it also means that they are not obligated to give you anything
unless _you_ ask for it. So I would suggest you do this :

Ask the prospective employer one question : "Do you know on average how many
days were taken off by each team member during the past 2 years ?". That will
give you an idea.

~~~
berito
I have been apprehensive about asking that question, lest they judge me for a
slacker. I want to ask in an email, but want to learn something about how this
works before I email them

