Is there any downside or risk to using up all my vacation days that are allotted to me as a FT employee – the vacation days accrue over the year – THEN switching to part time at the same company?

22 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 17,2022 at 4:41AM UTC

   Not really unless you can't afford to go without pay if you fall sick or have other reasons to need to use your accrued time off.

   I would try and really understand how your time off and other benefits will be impacted when you switch to a part time status employee.

2. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 8:09PM UTC

   As a FT employee I accrued PTO hours & dental, vision, retirement plan, etc. When I decided to change to PT status, the company paid me out for all accrued PTO and I lost all other benefits as well. I still have my retirement plan although have no further company contributions. Now I also have no more PTO accrual. A sick day is now without pay. I knew this policy ahead of time and so I just had to make the personal decision to go ahead. Check with HR (there's a policy on all this) and then make the informed decision for what is best for you.

3. AnonymousJanuary 17,2022 at 3:05PM UTC

   Do you get separate vacation and sick days or is it all together?

   If it is separate and you have sick days to switch over with you then I wouldn't worry except knowing you might not be able to take a longer vacation for a while. If they are combined, then I would consider leaving at least a day or two just in case. You never know when you might get sick.

4. AnonymousJanuary 17,2022 at 11:32PM UTC

   Unlimited sick days and separate vacation days that accrue over the year. I'm asking because I'm really thinking of going part-time later at some point this year and wondering if it's possible to use all the FT vacation days ahead of time then go part-time.

5. AnonymousJanuary 18,2022 at 2:29PM UTC

   I guess it depends on how many you have. My decision would be based on two things. 1. Do FT vacation days roll into your PT job? Some companies do some companies don't. 2. How many vacation days I have and would it truly be possible to use them? If the FT vacation days roll into your PT ones I wouldn't use them all. If they don't, I would definitely try to use as many as possible. Every company is a little different with how they use vacation days.

6. yvette finley PHRJanuary 17,2022 at 3:33PM UTC

   check to see if other benefits are impacted like medical dental vision..life insurance, short term disability as well

7. AnonymousJanuary 17,2022 at 11:31PM UTC

   Hi! Yeah I did check so I know at which threshold those benefits are no longer offered. I'm more wondering about is there anything that my manager or his manager or HR could do if I did take all vacation days on faith but then switched to part time later in the year.

8. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 2:58PM UTC

   Best check your HR policy about that too. In some places, going part time removes access to some benefits, even at the stated threshold. For example, you may have access to a health plan, but it may be only a high deductible plan vs the couple of choices you had as a full-timer. They may not give part-timers access to a dental plan (those are easy to come by on your own), or any other of the benefits currently offered to FT employees.

9. Sarah Smith MayfieldJanuary 18,2022 at 4:59AM UTC

   I don't think you would lose the vacation days you have already earned - they accrued during your regular employment. So the only downside is that it will take you longer to earn more vacation time.

10. AnonymousJanuary 18,2022 at 7:32PM UTC

    Well the thing I am getting at is, vacation days accrue over the year, and I haven't accrued much yet, but would I be able to use all vacation days I would be accruing by the end of the year "on faith" and THEN switch to PT -- such that I've used all my FT vacation days before I even go PT?

    The purpose of this is for maximizing the number of vacation days I get this year assuming I will go PT at some point this year.

11. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 2:10PM UTC

    Most companies do not allow you to use vacation days that have not yet accrued.
    I don’t know how you could use vacation days “on faith”. If that is truly an option it should be documented in an HR policy somewhere. Otherwise you may schedule a vacation for more days than you’ve accrued and come back to a “docked” paycheck.

12. MarissaJanuary 19,2022 at 3:50PM UTC

    I worked for an org. that let us take days before we accrued them. The deal was that if you left the org., you'd have to pay it back.

    I like the other suggestions to speak with HR first if you can but the reality is, is that if you take all your days before moving to part time, then its going to take just as long to get more days in the future sine you would be accruing the days slower. If that doesn't bother you, then go for it.

13. AnonymousJanuary 21,2022 at 3:09PM UTC

    My employer of over 10 years allowed you to borrow against future PTO however if you left before you accrued the time you used, you would need to pay back your negative balance or it would be deducted from your last pay check.

14. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 11:01PM UTC

    Oh - I would think that would be bad "faith." Use vacation you haven't earned and then switch to part time? If I were your company, I would have a bad taste in my mouth over this, even if it was allowed and likely you would not be long for the company...

15. Kristie WhiteJanuary 18,2022 at 6:16AM UTC

    This scenario will be governed by an HR policy that specifically states how accrued vacation time will be treated if the employee changes status I.e., terminates, goes to part time, goes on leave, etc. Check with HR. And I’m assuming you accrue a full “vacation day” rather than PTO hours, which are typically incremental and more flexible.

16. AnonymousJanuary 18,2022 at 7:30PM UTC

    Thanks for your input Kristie! Just to confirm what you meant in the last sentence, did you mean PTO hours are typically incremental and more flexible than vacation days?

17. Kristie WhiteJanuary 19,2022 at 7:06PM UTC

    Yes. Sometimes people use vacation interchangeably with PTO. Vacation policies are structured on accrual in daily increments vs PTO which accrues in hourly increments. When taking the time off, employers still using daily time tend to be less flexible like using a half day, while PTO can be requested in hourly increments. This can impact the policy applicable to a change of status.

18. Renee HillJanuary 18,2022 at 12:01PM UTC

    Do it! That way there is no discussion whether you might lose them.

19. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 3:14PM UTC

    If you "DO IT" you risk the company docking your pay for the vacation day "overage" that was used. Best to confirm the outcome of your idea with an HR representative. Off the record, if possible. Accrued vacation is always a tricky issue and the consequences of misuse heavily relies on the generosity of your company.

20. AnonymousJanuary 19,2022 at 4:00PM UTC

    It will depend on the HR policy - whether your days are accrued regularly (for example, I accrue a certain number of hours each month which is added to my bank on the 1st of every month) or whether you have your entire bank at the beginning of the year. If it's the latter, then you may have more flexibility to use the days in advance of going part-time. I would check with HR (a trusted representative) to make sure you know the rules and if you do use up your time and then go part-time, what are the impacts?

21. Kristie WhiteJanuary 19,2022 at 7:19PM UTC

    As others have stated, many organizations do not allow an employee to let their vacation bank go into the negative and may have a minimum work requirement before you are eligible to take any time off. You’ve also used the term “on faith”, but it doesn’t sound like you are really going to fulfill that faith. Because if you take the time and then work at full time long enough to bring your vacation balance out of the negative, it’s a nonissue. So it sounds like you want to take vacation pay you haven’t qualified for yet, then switch to part time owing the employer the negative balance. That will not help your relationship with the employer since it is white collar theft and they will see that. You may be able to work it out with them though.

22. Clydene HorriganJanuary 20,2022 at 3:04AM UTC

    I agree - if a person intentionally uses all the PTO they would earn as a FT employee before going PT to scam the system, it is not what most people would call good faith. Additionally, the company would likely want those hours back because they weren’t truly earned.

    I would recommend working with HR to understand the implications on benefits and then make my plans accordingly.