Why?

As an organization, Hildreth Design & Associates (HDA) takes pride in the work ethic of employees and in fostering a culture of trust in which employees are given the flexibility to take time off as personal needs dictate. We want to reward that dedication with a flexible, unlimited leave policy. We recognize the need to rest and enjoy time outside of work, and we encourage the use of this time to refresh and recharge. 

Eligibility

The unlimited leave policy includes taking time off for leisure/vacation, to recharge and refresh, personal reasons (other than sick), religious observances, bereavement, voting, and volunteering. Employees should plan to use no less than 3 weeks per year. Any employee who fails to take at least 10 days of leave will be required to take that time at the end of the year. 

The policy does not apply to time off for sick or medical reasons as defined in the Sick and Safe Leave Policy or extended leaves of absence such as parental leave or medical leave. All legally established paid time off will apply under a separate appropriate policy. See Human Resources for more information. 

In the event of voluntary resignation, the employee’s termination date on file will be their last day worked. Employees are not permitted to extend their termination date by adding leave after their last day worked. Once notice is received of an employee’s voluntary resignation, leave will not be permitted in the 2-week period leading up to the employee’s last day. 

All regular full-time  employees, with contracts of at least 30 hours per week are eligible. Temporary staff employed through a staffing agency , for a specific project , and interns are not eligible for this policy. 

Appliclable Leave

Each full time employee (based on a 40 hour work week) will accrue PTO bi-weekly in hourly increments based on their length of service as defined below. PTO is added to the employee's PTO bank when the bi-weekly paycheck is issued. PTO taken will be subtracted from the employee's accrued time bank in four (4) and eight (8) hour increments. Temporary employees, part-time employees, contract employees, and interns are not eligible to accrue PTO.

Eligibility to accrue PTO is contingent on the employee either working or utilizing accrued PTO for the entire bi-weekly pay period. PTO is not earned in pay periods during which unpaid leave, short or long term disability leave or workers' compensation leave are taken.

Time that is not covered by the PTO policy, and for which separate guidelines and policies exist, include company paid holidays, compensatory time, bereavement leave, required jury duty, and military service leave.

To take PTO requires two (2) days of notice to the supervisor unless the PTO is used for legitimate, unexpected illness or emergencies. (Use the Leave Request form to request PTO.) In all instances, PTO must be approved by the employee's supervisor in advance. Employees should plan to give as much notice as possible when they expect to miss work for a scheduled absence.

Employees are responsible for monitoring and taking their PTO over the course of a year so that they do not lose time accrued when the current calendar year ends. (PTO is subject to supervisory approval and not every employee can take accumulated time in December; as this tends to be a busy time for HDaA and the company must continue to serve customers.)

Employees are paid for the PTO they have accrued at employment end. If an employee has used PTO time not yet accrued, and employment terminates, the PTO taken is deducted from the final paycheck. Employees who give two weeks notice of employment termination must work the two weeks without utilizing PTO.

Guidelines

Employees are encouraged to communicate with their supervisor and collaborate with teammates to ensure everyone has the opportunity to take leave without disrupting operations. Employees should take care of responsibilities before leaving and plan to delegate, reschedule or otherwise manage projects that will be affected by their time off. 

Employees are expected to submit a leave request through the time-off request system as far in advance of the desired time off as possible. In case of an unexpected absence, employees should notify their supervisor as soon as possible. 

At no time should an employee take more than 10 consecutive business days off unless approved by their supervisor in consultation with Human Resources. Unpaid leave will be utilized for requests exceeding 15 consecutive business days off (see Unpaid Personal Leave policy). 

HDaA will make all reasonable efforts to grant an employee’s leave requests; however, operational needs may override  leave requests to ensure adequate coverage of business operations. No leave under this plan may be taken or will be paid unless and until the request is approved by the employee’s supervisor and, where required, Human Resources.

Accummulation Rights

Under the unlimited leave policy there are no accrued annual leave hours; leave/PTO/vacation will not be carried over and accumulated in subsequent calendar years. The organization will not compensate unused leave and no leave/PTO/vacation time will be paid out upon termination of employment or otherwise. 

Reconciliation with Former Policy

Employees hired prior to January 1st 2024, day the policy was announced: 

Vacation Time: Employees who have accrued vacation under the previous vacation policy will retain their accrued vacation balance, after hours are rolled over on February 27, 2023. This accrued vacation may be used in cases of extended leave or other absences not covered under current time off policies. Any remaining vacation balance accrued prior to February 27, 2023 will be paid out upon termination of employment at the employee’s regular rate of pay, or as otherwise required by law. 

Personal Days: Employees who have accrued personal days under the previous policy will have access to the current Unlimited Time Off policy. Previously accrued personal days will not roll into/be paid out in the new year following February 27, 2023. 

Years of Service

As the job becomes more demaning and your work interwoven into HDaA’s structure, the recommended time off to ensure a correct work-life balance, increases as follows:

• 1-2 years: 96 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 1.8462 hours for each full work week in a year.

• 3-4 years: 112 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 2.1538 hours for each full work week in a year.

• 5-6: 128 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 2.4615 hours for each full work week in a year.

• 7-8: 144 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 2.7692 hours for each full work week in a year.

• 9-10: 160 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.0769 hours for each full work week in a year.

• >10: 176 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.3846 hours for each full work week in a year.

Holidays

While you are welcome to take a day off on whichever holiday you observe, the following holidays are the ones in which the office is closed, and consequently, no employee needs approval or is expected to report if there decision is to observe such holiday.

Approval for any other holiday, while approval exempt, needs to be reported, clarifying in the notes field: name of the holiday and duration.