85% Of ECPs Do Offer PTO but the Way They Structured It Varies Wildly

Question:

Do you or don’t you offer paid time off? If yes, what is the standard for new hires? Can they accumulate more? If no, what arrangements do you make for employees’ time off?

Yes: 85%

• It’s earned time off, based on our monthly deposits and it’s only earned in three-hour increments. — Katie Billman, Meridian Family Eyecare, Meridian, ID
• 60 hours of PTO for the first year on an accrual basis. After a year, you retain 60 hours of PTO plus we offer 80 hours of vacation. — Justin Tenczar, Berkshire Eye Center, Pittsfield, MA
• One week vacation and five days PTO. — Scott Thielen, North Country Eye Care, West Lebanon, NH
• After one year, seven days annually. — Emily Kincaid-Smith, Sports Optical, Denver, CO
• Eight paid holidays plus 12 hours of PTO per year. New hires are grandfathered into that starting on the 91st day. — Amy Ward, Aloma Eye Associates, Winter Park, FL
• Paid time off starts after 90 days, accumulating with number of hours worked. — Mickey Bradley, Patrick Optical, Fort Worth, TX
• Even new hires get three weeks of vacation prorated over the first year. You simply MUST give employees time off to rest and forget about work and it CANNOT be at their expense. It is healthy, expected and plain and simple and the right thing to do! Shame on anyone in this day and age that does not provide paid vacation. — Steve Nelson, Eye Candy Optical, Cleveland, OH
• After 90 days we offer three weeks PTO that accumulates over the year. You can carry over one full week into the next year or we pay you at the end of the year for whatever is left over that week at half. Most of the time we allow for employees to take whatever time they need off if they are sick or have to be gone with no pay if they don’t have PTO. — Caitlin Wicka, San Juan Eye Center, Montrose, CO
• Revamping this now. Used to be two weeks first year, changing it to one week first year because of high national turnover and it accumulates based on hours worked. — Joanne Larson, OD, Palmer Family Eye Care, Easton , PA
• New hires don’t get paid time off, they’ve got to earn it. Because we have a very small staff (and cross-train the heck out of our employees) retention is key. We have to recoup our training costs before they’ve “earned” their benefits. That being said, employees get sick leave at the one-year mark and begin enjoying paid vacation days off after they’ve been with us at their three-year anniversary (they get other perks at the 2-year mark). Sick leave doesn’t roll over but, any remnants they didn’t use gets paid out to them as a cash bonus at the end of each calendar year. Needless to say, it’s a popular benefit. Paid vacation time is “use it or lose it.” We don’t let it roll over across years because, by the time someone’s been with us that long, we WANT our employees to take a break! Qualified paid vacation days get upped each year after that first year and reset at their anniversary-of-hire date. That way it feels like a celebration with each year they’ve been here. — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• Yes, after being here for so long. — Anna Brown, Family Eyecare, Campbellsville, KY
• You accumulate PTO based on hours worked. After five years it jumps and after 10 years it jumps again. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• Full time (32+ hours weekly) get one week vacation and 24 hours sick/PTO after their first year. — Samantha Hornberger, OD, Bright Family Eye Care, Lawrenceburg, IN
• We are mandated to as far as I know. My payroll company handles it but I think my staff takes so many days off anyway that they don’t earn many paid days off. — Marc Ullman, OD, Academy Vision, Pine Beach, NJ
• We’re presently looking for a first employee and yes we will offer paid vacation. — Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL
• Vacation starts accumulating at their one-year anniversary. — Heather LeClaire, Binyon Vision Center, Bellingham, WA
• They accumulate PTO two days a month and are given seven personal days a year immediately. — Mallory Haun, MetroSpecs Optical Shop, Fayetteville, NC
• After a specific time frame and good standing with the company, they are awarded 40 hours. — Colby Spivey, Vision Center South, Dothan AL
• One week the first year, two weeks the second year and it increases from there. We pay for any unused days at the end of the year. Unpaid time can be taken if we have office coverage. — Scott Mann, OD, INVISION, Christiansburg VA
• The longer you are with us the more time you achieve. We pay on an accrual method. Say for example you have 10 days (80 hours) PTO at the beginning of the year, you will accrue 20 hours every quarter. This way if an employee decides to leave three months into the new year, they will not get their full 80 hours, only 20. If they leave our employment after just one month, then they will receive only 6.7 hours. — Mark Perry, OD, Vision Health Institute, Orlando, FL
• Our “full-timers” only work 32 hours per week. They get one-week paid vacation after one year, at three years they get 2 weeks, and four years three weeks. All employees get just about as much unpaid time off as they want and we have not had any issues with abuse (yet). — Sarah Brozzo, Harrison Eye Care, Harrison, MI
• New hires have paid time off after year. The time renews on their work anniversary. They cannot accumulate more at this time. — Danielle Doniver Heritage Optical, Detroit, MI
• Two weeks on January 1. No pay after that but time off is available. — Jason Klepfisz, OD, Urban Eye Care, Phoenix, AZ
• Used to start after one year. Changing it to after 90 days to get better quality applicants. — Kristina Jordan, OD, The Eye Site, Mishawaka, IN
• After 90 days, they get seven paid holidays per year and PTO after a year starting with five days increasing two days per year to a maximum of 15. — Pam Peters, Midwest Eye, Downers Grove, IL
• Staff is eligible for time off after 90 days. Vacation is accrued on a monthly basis. After five years of employment, staff is eligible for three weeks of vacation. — Sonja Franklin, OD, Modern Eyes, Austin, TX
• They accrue PTO after 90 days. Each year they work for me they can acquire more. — Laura Miller, OD, Northwest Hills Eye Care, Austin, TX
• PTO will be made available to any employee after a 90-day probation period. If the request is warranted for time off five days a year will be allotted to the employee. — William Chancellor, Best Chance Optical, Forsyth, GA
• One year = one week. — Kathryn Collins, OD, Kissel Eye Care, Lititz, PA
• Every new hire begins with two weeks PTO after their initial 90-day trial period. An additional day will be added each year of continuous employment. — Tiffany Firer, Lifetime Eyecare, Jenison, MI
• PTO is offered to full-time employees and starts accumulating after three months employment. We start planning summer vacations at the beginning of the year based on seniority. Shorter periods are planned at least two weeks in advance. — Dave Schultz, OD, Urban Optics, San Luis Obispo, CA
• Begin at 90 days. — Steve Burek, Metro Eye, Milwaukee, WI
• New hires have 0 in the first 90 days, three in the first six months and then five more after that. — Frances Ann Layton, Eye Associates of South Georgia, Valdosta, GA
• Available after the 90 probationary period: six days the first year; 10 the second, 11 the third, 12 the fourth and it caps at 15 the fifth year. Can be taken before it is accrued but if they take it and then leave right after they have to pay back what was not accrued. — Stephanie Crowley, Sie Eyecare, Charlotte, NC
• New hires accumulate PTO from day one but cannot use any until after the 90-day probationary period. Our office also has mini games where staff can win extra PTO time. — Ann-Marie Weaver, Optimal Eye Care, Lewis Center, OH
• One year, you earn one week, three years you earn two weeks, five years you earn three weeks (not to be used at the same time). At 10 years you earn four weeks. — Heather Aites, Family Vision Center, Westminster, CO
• New hires get two weeks and three days sick leave . All regular holidays are paid. My office manager has been in the office 49 years and gets six weeks paid vacation. — Texas L. Smith, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• One week vacation for the first year and can’t be used for six months. — Janet Cole, Dr. Pattison Family Eyecare Center, Roseville, CA
• Two weeks PTO every year. But on top of that, we don’t have a limit for time off outside of PTO (within reason obviously) and that’s something we push quite a bit while hiring. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision, Logan, UT
• One week vacation after the first year and three sick days which we separate out of PTO. They can’t accumulate more during this period, but we do allow unpaid time off as long as others are not off at the same time. — Amber Fritsch, OD, Precision Eye Care, Mt. Juliet, TN
• You accrue PTO but it’s not available until after your 90 days. The more years you work the more you can accrue up to five weeks. First one on the calendar with their request gets time off, were a small office so not really an issue with everyone wanting off at the same time. — Lindsey Pulford, Insights Eyecare, Manhattan, KS
• One day per month accrued, one week sick for full-time. Hourly accrual for part-time. — K Elizabeth Bouravnev, Bergh White Opticians, Springfield IL
• We offer pro-rated for the year PTO after 90 days. We do allow more time off then PTO if approved and try to be as flexible as possible. PTO does not role over from year to year. We do this so we are not short staffed for weeks at a time as we only have 14 staff. The office does buy back un-used PTO at the end of the year at a slightly reduced rate but staff is encouraged to use their PTO. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• New hires generally get two weeks. But those with experience can negotiate more based how much they had with a previous employer or how many years they’ve been in the business. — Paula Hornbeck, Eye Candy & Eye Candy Kids, Delafield, WI
• One week of pay after their one-year anniversary. — Jeffrey Safarik, OD, Newport Mesa Optometry, Costa Mesa, CA
• We offer one week vacation paid after one year of employment. After three years of employment, we offer two weeks’ vacation paid. We do not pay for sick days. It’s amazing how healthy our practice is. — Robert M Easton Jr OD FAAO, Oakland Park, FL
• We usually offer two weeks of paid time off for part-time employees that have been with us for two years. That same two weeks kicks in right away for full-time employees. — Harris Decker, Eye Designs Of Westchester, Scarsdale, NY
• A percentage of the hours worked after the 90 introductory period. — Carol Marx, The Eye Care Center , Canandaigua, NY
• 80 hours PTO and 40 hours sick time. — Adam Ramsey, OD, Socialite Vision, Palm Beach Gardens, FL

No: 15%

• I am a one-person operation so if no one’s working no one’s getting a holiday vacation pay. — Julie Uram, Optical Oasis, Jupiter, FL
• I currently have no employees. — Dorothy Reynolds, Eyes on Fairfield, Fairfield CT