PTO - Paid Time Off

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PTO, or "Paid Time Off", is a feature of the employee agreement in some companies. PTO refers to a bank of hours that an employee can draw from to take time off from work, without having to specify a reason.

Generally PTO hours cover everything from planned vacations to sick days. Unlike more traditional leave plans, companies with PTO plans do not separate time off from work between "vacation days" and "sick days"

For healthy employees, PTO can be an attractive benefit because, in general, they are offered more vacation time under a PTO plan than they would be under a plan that differentiates sick leave and vacation. The corrolary to this is that employees tend to be out more frequently, which can be seen as a drawback for the employers.

Suggested Reading:

Sick Leave vs. Paid Time Off (PTO)

Pleasures and Perils of Paid Time-Off Plans