Employee Leave: Survey Says … How Do You Compare?

Highlights of the 2014 Employee Leave Survey:

• 97% offer some type of vacation pay.
• 80% allow employees to take sick time for sick relatives.
• 30% allow some form of sharing leave.
• As for top challenges regarding employee leave, scheduling workloads around employee leave topped the list at 49.8% followed by recordkeeping and/or tracking leave at 37%,        abuse of leave at 36.5%, and FMLA intermittent leave at 33.5%.

Thanks to all 3,158 individuals who participated in the survey! Here are the detailed responses:

Leave types.

Much like last year (96%), this year’s survey shows that 98.9% of participants offer some form of time off to employees. Paid vacation time, separately or as paid time off (PTO), is available to over 97% of those responding to our survey, while paid sick leave is an option for 82.7%, and paid personal days are available for 44.7%. Vacation and sick leave are computed separately by 64.1% and as part of a PTO plan by 35.6%..

Paid bereavement leave is offered by 82.1%, and 90.1% offer six or more paid holidays per year. Extended medical leave is offered by 58.2%, and maternity/paternity leave is offered separate from other sick leave by 28.6%.

 Vacation

The first year of employment provides 2 weeks of vacation time to both exempt and nonexempt employees for the majority of our survey respondents at 59.9% and 61.7%. One week is offered to exempt employees for 18.8% (16.9% in 2013 and 20% in 2012) and to nonexempt employees for 24.2% (22.2% in 2013 and 23% in 2012). Three weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 14% compared to 19.5% last year, and 9.1% offer 3 weeks or more to nonexempt employees, compared to 9.9% in 2013.

Five years of employment provides exempt employees with 3 weeks of vacation for 55.6% (52% in 2013) of survey participants, and 56.1% (53.6% in 2013) provide nonexempt employees with 3 weeks. Four weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 15.2% (20% in 2013) and to nonexempt employees for 10% (10% in 2013). No vacation is provided to exempt employees for 1.3% of our respondents, and 2% provide zero vacation to nonexempt employees.

Ten years of employment brings exempt employees 4 weeks of vacation for 41.9% and brings nonexempt employees the same for 39.3%. Five weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 7.8% (10.2% in 2013) and to nonexempt employees for 5.6% (7.7% in 2013).

Fifteen years of service grants exempt employees 4 weeks of vacation for 53% and brings nonexempt employees the same for 52.2%. Five weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 14.7% and to nonexempt employees for 12.6%.

Exempt employees with more than 15 years of service receive 3 to 4 weeks of vacation for 56.6% who answered this question, and 57.5% provide the same for nonexempt employees. No vacation, however, is provided to exempt employees for 3.2% of our respondents, and 3.7% provide zero vacation to nonexempt employees.

How Do You Handle Sick Time?

Less than 1 week is the amount of sick leave provided to exempt employees for 13.2% of our respondents who offer this benefit, and nonexempt employees receive the same for 14.5%. Exempt employees receive 1 to 2 weeks per year for 60.8% of survey participants, and nonexempt employees receive the same for 60.4%. Exempt employees have 3 to 4 weeks per year for 9.1%, and nonexempt employees get that amount for 7.6%. More than 4 weeks per year is the norm for exempt employees at 2.5% and for nonexempt employees at 2%.

Employees may use sick time to care for a dependent for 79.7% (80.3% in 2013) who answered this question, and of this group, 98.2% allow its use to care for a sick child, while 94% allow use of employee sick time to care for a spouse. It starts to drop when employees need time off to care for a parent (82.4%) and continues to decline when employees need to care for a sibling or grandparent (45.1% and 45.9%, respectively).

What Do You Offer for Disability Leave?

Paid short-term disability (STD) leave is provided by 49.4% with leave of fewer than 30 days the rule for 10.1% of survey participants who responded to this question. STD leave of 31 to 90 days is available to 45.6%, and 91 to 180 days is allowed for 40.4%. When it comes to how much of STD leave is paid, 64.9% (59.6% in 2013) cover 51% to 75% of employees’ base pay, and 16.6% (20.4% in 2013) cover 76% to 100%.

Paid long-term disability (LTD) leave is a benefit for 47.8% with leave of more than a year available for 55.6% (51.3% in 2013) of survey participants who answered this question. LTD of 6 months to a year is an option for 16.3 (17.8% in 2013) and 4 to 6 months of paid LTD is available for 13%, while 2 to 4 months is a benefit for 10.3%. LTD pay covers 51% to 75% of base pay for 81% (75.1% in 2013) and 26% to 50% of base pay for 10.3% (11.9%in 2013).

  

PTO

The first year of employment provides 2 weeks of PTO to exempt employees for 20.8% (19.2% and 31% in 2013 and 2012, respectively) of those who offer this benefit, and nonexempt employees receive the same for 21.2% (20.6% and 32% in 2013 and 2012, respectively). One week is offered to exempt employees for 12.9% (9.6% in 2013) and to nonexempt employees for 14.9% (11.9% in 2012). Three weeks or more is offered by 27.8% (30.8% in 2013) to exempt employees, and 24.5% (25.9% in 2013) offer 3 weeks or more to nonexempt employees.

Five years of employment provides exempt employees with 3 weeks of PTO for 18.2% of survey participants, and 19.1% provide nonexempt employees with 3 weeks. Four weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 16.4% and to nonexempt employees for 15.1%. Zero PTO is provided to exempt employees for 37.9% of our respondents, and 39.2% provide no PTO to nonexempt employees.

Ten years of employment brings 4 weeks of PTO to exempt employees for 18.1% and the same to nonexempt employees for 18.3% of those who responded to this question in our survey. Five weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 24% and to nonexempt employees for 21.5%.

Fifteen years of service gets exempt employees 4 weeks of PTO for 16.1% and brings nonexempt employees the same for 15.9%. Five weeks or more is provided to exempt employees for 15.1% and to nonexempt employees for 14.7%.

Exempt employees with more than 15 years of service receive 3 to 4 weeks of vacation for 18.4% who answered this question, and 19% provide the same for nonexempt employees. Employees who are exempt receive 5 to 6 weeks of PTO, however, for 24.2%, and nonexempt receive the same for 22.5%.

Source: HR Daily Adviser