Effectively Accommodate Employee Time Off in Your Medical Practice

by Amy Dodds •

As important as it is to have as complete a staff as possible, it’s also important to ensure that they’re able to maintain a reasonable work-life balance, which includes taking vacations. After all, added Dudley, “Employees need to rejuvenate.” To discourage staff from accumulating excessive amounts of vacation time, consider capping employees’ cumulative accrual. For example, if you allot three weeks of vacation time per year, an employee could accumulate six weeks of vacation time, and after that his or her accrual would cease until time is taken. Be sure to check with state and local legislation to ensure the legality of this practice in your area.

Ultimately, when it comes to sick and vacation time, it is crucial to remember that people are not machines and shouldn’t be treated as such. “Accommodate requests as much as possible,” said Dudley. “Employees who are not allowed time off will become former employees.”

Sick and Vacation Pay versus PTO

Many employers, especially those in the medical field, have combined sick and vacation leave into paid time off (PTO), a bank of hours from which an employee can pull as needed. Is PTO right for your practice?

PROS

  • With only one accrual to monitor, PTO can be easier for a busy practice manager to oversee.
  • PTO can make your organization more attractive to prospective employees.
  • PTO may make it easier to retain current employees, because it might increase the number of days employees can take off and still get paid, especially if your practice doesn’t pay out for unused sick days.
  • Provided that you require employees to request PTO in advance (unless the employee is truly sick), you have some control over unscheduled absences.

CONS

  • Employees tend to view PTO as a benefit and use all of the time off, which they may not have done with other types of leave.
  • Truly sick employees may view PTO as vacation pay and, reluctant to cut into that paid time off, might not stay at home.
  • When an employee leaves, you may pay out 100% of the unused benefit, whereas most states do not require the payout of sick time.

To effectively manage a PTO program, ensure that it suits the practice’s culture, establish clear guidelines and manage employees consistently and uniformly.—AD

Source: F. John Reh, partner at management consulting company The Altitude Group and author of the “About Management” website, a division of The New York Times.

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