WorldatWork to Brief Congress on Corporate Practices for Paid Time Off
June 24, 2010 — Washington, D.C. — WorldatWork will hold a Congressional briefing on Wednesday, June 30, to share findings from its latest research, “Paid Time Off Programs and Practices.” Senator Christopher Dodd is the honorary co-host for the briefing which will discuss findings from the WorldatWork research report which found that U.S. employers offer paid leave to compete in the labor market.
“With the focus of the Administration and Congress on expanding access to work-life benefits such as paid leave programs, our research report shows that employers recognize the competitive advantage of offering paid time off and believe in continuing these programs, even through the recession,” said Cara Welch, director of public policy for WorldatWork.
Other Key Findings:
A majority (70 percent of those with a PTO bank-type system and 60 percent of those with a traditional system) offer paid time off as a key employee benefit when attempting to attract new employees.
In a traditional system, 21 days (12 paid vacation plus nine sick days) are allocated on average for one to two years of service; 19 days in a PTO bank system.
Employers offer an average of nine paid holidays each year.
A vast majority of employers (all organizations with a PTO bank system and 87 percent with a traditional system) provide paid sick leave.
The average number of paid sick days in a traditional system is nine. PTO bank systems do not distinguish between vacation and sick time.
“Time is the new currency and employers remain committed to providing paid time off as a key employee benefit and reward,” said Lenny Sanicola, benefits practice leader for WorldatWork.
Data for the WorldatWork Paid Time Off Programs and Practices survey was gathered from February 17–March 5, 2010, among members employed in the HR, compensation and benefits departments of mostly large U.S. corporations. Of the 1,036 responses, 37 percent came from companies with 5,000 or more employees. Media may request a complimentary copy of the survey by contacting marcia.rhodes@worldatwork.org.
About Alliance for Work-Life Progress® Alliance for Work-Life Progress (www.awlp.org) is dedicated to advancing work-life as a business strategy integrating work, family and community. An entity of WorldatWork, AWLP defines and recognizes innovation and best practices, facilitates dialogue among various sectors and promotes work-life thought leadership.
About WorldatWork®
The Total Rewards Association
WorldatWork (www.worldatwork.org) is a global human resources association focused on compensation, benefits, work-life and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. Founded in 1955, WorldatWork provides a network of more than 30,000 members and professionals in 75 countries with training, certification, research, conferences and community. It has offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Washington, D.C.
