The purpose of Paid Time Off (PTO) is to provide employees with flexible paid time off from work that can be used for such needs as vacation, personal or family illness, doctor appointments, school, volunteerism, and other activities of the employee's choice. The company's goal is to reduce unscheduled absences and the need for supervisory oversight.

The PTO days begin accruing on the first day of employment and reset annually on January 1. Employees will be permitted to carry over up to two (2) PTO days from year to year.

PTO use guidelines

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 HEL 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.

Exceptions

• Employees who miss more than three consecutive unscheduled days, may be required to present a doctor'srelease to their supervisor that permits them to return to work

• PTO taken in excess of the PTO accrued can result in progressive disciplinary action up to and includingemployment termination. Pending approval of the supervisor, employees will be permitted to use up to two (2)days of PTO before the time has actually accrued. Any time taken beyond these two days will beunpaid. The only possible exception to this policy must be granted by the company president.

• PTO accrued prior to the start of a requested and approved unpaid leave of absence must be used to coverhours missed before the start of the unpaid leave.

• Unscheduled absences, due to illnesses of four hours or more, that result in consecutive days absent fromwork, are considered one absence incident in relationship to potential disciplinary action.Progressive disciplinary action relative to incidents of absenteeism is administered on a rolling 12 month calendar as follows:

  • One - three incidents: No disciplinary action - Supervisory coaching

  • Fourth incident: Verbal warning with a documented coaching session

  • Fifth incident: Written warning in the employee's file

  • Sixth incident: Employment termination An employee who receives a second written warning in a rolling 24 month time period will have his or her employment terminated. .

• An employee who has used all of his or her PTO benefits, and is still unable to return to work, may have hisor her employment terminated.

• Any employee who misses two consecutive days of work without notice to their supervisor may beconsidered to have voluntarily quit their job.

  or is impossible or unreasonable under the circumstances.

Years of Service

• 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.

Employees who are rehired may be eligible to receive credit for former time worked and accumulate current PTO for the combined time.

Paid Holidays

Full and part time permanent employees are entitled to the following paid holidays if they are normally scheduled to work on these days where the HEL offices are officially closed for business. When a paid holiday falls on a Saturday, then the preceding Friday is observed as a holiday and HEL offices are closed. When a holiday falls on a Sunday, then the following Monday is observed as a holiday and HEL offices are closed.