Paid time off, or leave, across vacation days, sick days, and holidays is an important component of a company's benefit package for employers in the state of Massachusetts. The requirements, particularly those under the FMLA, differ by firm size and change from state to state. Designing the best policy for your particular employee group might have a significant impact on employee retention and competitive hiring.
If you want to provide a consolidated leave plan or non-consolidated, the first key component is whether you'll issue one time payments. A consolidated leave arrangement gives a single amount of time for vacation, illness, or personal business purposes for employees. Workers who do not have established leave plans normally maintain separate leave policies for various reasons. Over the last few years, there has been a shift toward consolidated leave packages. Consolidated leave packages are available from 39% of Massachusetts businesses.
A paid time off (PTO) plan combines both sick and personal days into one package. This provides workers more freedom while also allowing the employer greater flexibility. At five years of service, the average number of leave days in a consolidated plan is 23, with 16 vacation days. The average amount of combined plans over ten years for businesses operating in Massachusetts is 26, with 19 vacation days.
Paid vacation is available as a part of a consolidated leave or as a stand-alone plan for the most part. Employers in Massachusetts offer paid vacation about 85% of the time. This can be industry specific, such as an hourly employee at a retail shop vs. a technology firm. Our Mployer Insights report can help you compare against others in Massachusetts.
Holidays are a mandatory part of most leave packages and differ depending on the employer's size and sector. Only 33% of businesses offer six or fewer paid holidays to their workers. 55% provide between 7 and 10 paid days off, while 26% of companies give more than 10 paid holiday days off. Holidays such as New Year's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are considered core holidays because they are offered every year. It is up to the discretion of the employer.
Download your free Mployer Insights report to see how your company's paid time off plan compares to those like you in Massachusetts in the same industry and size range. Understanding how your policy compares to other firms similar to yours might be a useful recruiting and retention tool.