🌴PTO plans and pay raises

✍🏽 What are the pros and cons of lumping all PTO together: vacation, personal and sick time?

Context: 20 People in an engineering firm.

📣 Alex Clermont, Director of People & Culture @ Steppingstone:

There are practical implications to how you document PTO as well as cultural implications:

• If your state requires you to pay out vacation time, you’ll end up paying out larger sums if you combine the buckets (as sick time doesn’t typically need to be paid out).
• Similarly, it can make accruals more complicated. Sick time is often accrued per hours worked, while vacation time is typically accrued based on how long you’ve been with the company. If your company or jurisdiction has any kind of regulations regarding when accrual starts (immediately or after x amount of time at the company), these typically aren’t the same for sick and vacation time which can also make the accounting tricky.
• There is a huge psychological effect around PTO. If people have one bucket, they are much more likely to hoard their days for personal use, meaning people will be more likely to come into work when they’re sick or otherwise neglect their health. This can mean they get other people sick, or that there are noticeable impacts on productivity and burnout. Or, it can mean that one good flu can keep an employee from taking the restorative time they otherwise would, which has similar fallout.
• On the flip side, some employees greatly appreciate the flexibility of having one bucket of PTO they can use as they see fit, and it can be seen as a benefit and give a morale boost. If it means people don’t need to justify their sick leave when they otherwise would, that can also make employees feel more independent.

The right answer will often vary based on your individual circumstances. I am personally in favor of separate buckets – it lets you see how time is being used more clearly, it communicates how much planned vs unplanned time employees are expected to take throughout the year which can lead to cleaner conversations about planning for absences, and it encourages the use of sick time. Others may say that employees plan better if they have their whole bucket of PTO to allocate themselves, that one PTO bucket is simpler for HR (YMMV), and that combining the buckets produces a larger number which may be a lure for talent acquisition. I think the best approach overall is to lay out all of this and bring it to the appropriate group for discussion to decide what makes sense for your organization.

📣 Marcie Chavez, Owner, Zia HR:

Combining vacation, personal, and sick time into a single PTO bank definitely has its advantages, and it has been what I’ve seen many small companies move towards, but it’s not without a few considerations.

Pros:

• It’s easier to manage. No juggling different types of leave or figuring out what qualifies as “sick” or “personal.”
• Employees love the flexibility. They can use PTO however they need, whether it’s a vacation or a mental health day.
• It can be a big selling point for hiring and keeping talent, especially in a competitive field like engineering.

Cons:

• Unless you have unlimited PTO, employees might use up all their PTO on vacations, leaving nothing for when they’re sick, and then what? That can lead to people coming to work unwell or end up going unpaid.

Some states have specific rules about PTO, like how it’s tracked or paid out if someone leaves the company. You’d want to check your state’s requirements.

One thing to think about is how a single PTO bank works with FMLA or state-mandated sick leave. If your company needs to track sick leave separately for compliance reasons, keeping it as its own category might make sense. That way, you’re covered legally and employees have a dedicated safety net for illness.

Overall, combining PTO works well for flexibility and simplicity, but just make sure it aligns with your state’s rules and your team’s needs.

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✍🏽 I am a party of 1 HR department for a company with 6 local locations and 150 employees. We were acquired and now have 12 locations in three states and 400 employees. I will remain the 1 person HR department and have been tasked with building out the new HRIS system with the business manager, because I have used and am familiar with the system. How should I negotiate a raise for the doubling of my workload/ job responsibilities?

Context: National Massage Therapy franchise – 12 locations in the PNW (WA, OR, and ID). I will be required to travel to all locations each quarter. I am HR, compliance, benefits and leave administrator.

📣 Morgan Stanley, Head of People @ Lithic:

You absolutely are carrying a ton and that should be recognized in your compensation. If you don’t have access to comp data in your org, you can research the average salary for where you should be that might help in your negotiation.

I recommend going in with facts and data + a list of your most recent accomplishments that have benefited the broader business + the top 3 or so projects you have to oversee next year to help justify the increase.

📣 Bridget Martin, Head of People @ Street Smarts VR:

It’s important to approach this situation with clear documentation and data to support your request. Here’s how I’d navigate the conversation:

1. Start by outlining your pre-acquisition role, responsibilities, and the accompanying market-level compensation data for similar roles in your area. This serves as a baseline to highlight how your scope of work has changed.

2. If you did not receive an updated job description post-acquisition, take the initiative to draft one based on your new responsibilities, including HRIS implementation, expanded multi-state compliance, travel requirements, and overseeing 400 employees across 12 locations. Choose a job title that reflects the elevated scope of your work. You could also use ChatGPT to analyze the job description and suggest relevant titles to validate your choice.

3. Use benchmarking tools to determine the market pay range for roles with similar scope and responsibilities! Be prepared with a range that reflects the complexity and geographical reach of your new responsibilities.

4. Once you have your documentation and research ready, request a meeting with your manager. You could say: “I’d like to schedule some time to discuss a title and compensation adjustment to reflect the significant increase in responsibilities in my role post-acquisition. When would be a good time to talk?”

This phrasing sets expectations and allows your manager to prepare for the discussion.

During the meeting, be prepared to discuss:

• How your responsibilities have grown in scope and complexity.
• The market data supporting your request.
• Your proposed new title and compensation range.
• Your dedication to the company’s success and your willingness to step up during this transitional phase.

If the initial conversation doesn’t result in an immediate adjustment, ask for clarity on the timeline and next steps. You could say: “I understand you need more time to review this change. Can we align on a timeline for finalizing the new title and comp?”

Good luck!
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