Microsoft US-based salaried workers will no longer have to log their vacation or wait to accrue vacation time.
Microsoft is reportedly changing its vacation policy and giving its US employees unlimited paid time off.
As reported by The Verge, which has obtained the company's memo to employees, the unlimited vacations will be called "Discretionary Time Off" and will apply to US-based salaried workers.
Microsoft, however, said that it won't be extending the benefit of unlimited time off to hourly workers citing difficulty in complying with federal and state wage and hour laws for hourly workers. Employees working outside the US will also retain their current vacation benefits due to the different laws and regulations in those countries.
The changes will come into effect starting January 16. The company also noted that employees who have not used all their vacation days before this time will receive a one-time payout in April.
Previously, Microsoft workers got four weeks of paid time off, and an extra week every sixth year. The new policy will mean that employees will no longer have to log their vacation or wait to accrue days each month. In addition to unlimited vacations, Microsoft staff will also have 10 corporate holidays, leaves of absence, sick and mental health time off, and time away for jury duty.
"How, when, and where we do our jobs has dramatically changed," Microsoft’s chief people officer Kathleen Hogan wrote in the internal memo. "And as we’ve transformed, modernizing our vacation policy to a more flexible model was a natural next step."
While some are glad to see the changes in the company, others express their concerns that with an unlimited vacation policy, workers might take less time off than they would with a limited number of vacation days or that taking time off might be used against workers if they take more days off than their colleagues.
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