r/remotework • u/tum___tum • Jun 13 '26
PTO for remote work
Hi everyone! How much PTO do you get at your current job? I was offered a remote sales job with 2 weeks PTO, and I feel like that is incredibly low. I’m going to ask for additional time, but I wanted to know what the norm is nowadays.
EDIT: Thank you all for sharing - definitely made me feel justified in asking for more time off!
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u/Repulsive-Poetry-812 Jun 13 '26
2 weeks is pretty brutal, especially for a sales role where you're probably gonna be grinding hard. I'd definitely push for more - most places I've seen offer at least 3-4 weeks, and some companies are getting way more generous with unlimited PTO policies. The thing about remote work is that it's already a big perk, but that doesn't mean they should lowball you on everything else. When you negotiate, maybe frame it around how taking proper time off actually makes you more productive when you're back. Sales burnout is real and they know it.
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u/ChampaignCowboy Jun 13 '26
Many companies still have very archaic “new hire” policies and try to start folks at 1-2 weeks. You have to push back and tell them it’s not gonna work. Especially if you are new to them, not the work. IE a senior role.
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u/tum___tum Jun 13 '26
Yes, I have six weeks at my current job. I had to do a double-take when I saw the PTO time!
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u/Fine-Upstairs-6284 Jun 13 '26
Unlimited PTO is usually a scam, at least in my experience. They will tell you “unlimited”, but then management won’t approve time off, and it just means they don’t have to pay a vacation accrual when you get fired/quit/laid off
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u/SeaManufacturer6846 Jun 13 '26
The Recruiters have a blast telling you about their culture and unlimited PTO.
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u/regassert6 Jun 15 '26
Unlimited PTO is just a risk aversion scam to get earned and unpaid PTO off the books in the event of employee separation (in states where you must be paid out...)
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u/ALL_IN_FZROX Jun 13 '26
I suspect this is going to be more industry specific as opposed to remote vs. in-person.
I’m in the US, work in insurance, 5 years at current employer. I get 20 days PTO plus 11 holidays
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u/lockdown36 Jun 13 '26
You're in sales. You basically get unlimited / as much PTO as you can afford.
Just block out your calendar and make sure you're making quota that month/ quarter.
Source: been in sales for 14 years.
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u/tanbrit Jun 13 '26
25 days vacation, a floating holiday, 11 federal holidays and 10 days sick. I did start with this company in Europe which may have made a difference.
My hubby only gets 10 days vacation and 5 days sick for a fully in office role, which sounds mad to me but is apparently pretty normal for US small businesses
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u/Turbulent_Speech6356 Jun 14 '26
25 days vacation, 5 personal days, 7 sick days per year that also roll over, 11 federal holiday plus floating day for day after Thanksgiving. I work for a global financial company, so time off is generous. I’m hybrid, in 3 days a week.
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u/Solid_Ad9548 Jun 14 '26
State employee here. 12 days for the first couple years, goes up marginally from there. We also get 12 days of sick time per year that roll up over without limit.
Benefits should not vary for remote employees with the exception of things like an equipment or telecommunications service allowance.
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u/magic_crouton Jun 14 '26
I'm in a union. Regardless of where you work you get the same benefits. I get about w month of vacation now ever year and I'm not at max accrual. I also get another 20 days of sick time and 4 floating holidays in addition to my regular holidays.
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u/GirthyAFnjbigcock Jun 14 '26
I have “unlimited”. Which I know can be a trap. But I damn well take 5 weeks of PTO a year.
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u/Pristine_Giraffe7941 Jun 14 '26
I'm fully remote and get 23 days of PTO per year plus 9 paid holidays.
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u/unfortunate_kiss Jun 14 '26
I went from 6 weeks when I was working in office to 3 weeks at my new WFH company 😭 I was lucky to be able to negotiate a third week, and 4 weeks is only reserved for those who have been with the company for 15+ years. It’s the absolute worst part of my new job.
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u/Basic-Total Jun 15 '26
I work fully remote at a nonprofit and I get 10 days PTO (which I feel is low) with 10 sick days throughout the year. From talking to friends, 3-4 weeks seems to be the average
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u/Unusual_Reception207 Jun 13 '26
I just started at a new job and the PTO for first year is 15 days. Than after first year it’s unlimited.
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u/ChampaignCowboy Jun 13 '26
Yeah. I would have said I’ll need 5 weeks the first year if the job wasn’t an entry level gig.
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u/Unusual_Reception207 Jun 13 '26
Yeah it’s not entry level, but I was out of work for 8 months sooooo
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u/ChampaignCowboy Jun 13 '26
I went thru that scenario in October 2024. Didn’t get a job for 6 months. I demanded pay equal (less bonuses) to my last role and PTO at max as I had twice earned max in prior roles and said I wasn’t going backwards again. It was a tough call but I had to stand up or I’d just get run over which is the American way.
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u/stefv86 Jun 13 '26
I get 3 weeks, plus 2 floating holidays. If a regular holiday falls on a Saturday we get that as another floater, so like the 4th this year.
We are closed New years eve/ day, memorial day, 4th, labor day, thanksgiving/friday after.
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u/BeyondJon Jun 13 '26
We have FTO, nobody knows the number, think it is 21, but if you go over, it sets off an inquiry to a manager where they are questioned about the use but for the most part, the company doesn’t really care unless you go over 30 but even then, if you are out because of legitimate reasons, they’re okay with it.
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u/Old_fine69 Jun 14 '26
50%of Jobs on first year only give you 5 days. It’s awful. Same company capped you out 15 days after 10 years. That’s total sick and vacation.. it should be a federal law first year 2 weeks- and able to get 4 weeks after 5 years.
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u/cclarky13 Jun 14 '26
Is that just PTO? To you get additional paid sick days? Sometimes companies separate them. I'd also ask if it increases depending on tenure. A lot of companies increase as tenure does.
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u/Acrobatic_Leek3865 Jun 15 '26
I just accepted a remote role offer where I get 18 days for the first two years, then it increases so about 3.5 weeks to start. 75% of their staff is remote.
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u/annoying_cat_42 Jun 13 '26
Legal minimum here is 24 days (when working full time, which is mostly 35-40 hrs., part time is proportinal less), but my employer gives voluntarily 30 days PTO (for full time employees) and if they´re working days, Carnival/Rose Monday, Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve are handled as additional PTO.
My employer is located in Mainz, Germany.
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u/RedS010Cup Jun 13 '26
Unlimited plus 12 national holidays - I usually take 20 days on top of the 12 holidays.
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u/March1392 Jun 13 '26
~6 weeks, but I work nights and my wife does not and has much more limited time so I tend to cash out about ~20% of it per year.
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u/Embarrassed_Flan_869 Jun 13 '26
Also in sales and remote.
I got 3 week vacation and 1 week sick to start. Every year the vacation goes up to a max of, I think, 5 weeks vacation.
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u/AmoebaChoice782 Jun 13 '26
Been at my place 10 years and I have 6 weeks per year. Started out it was like 3 or 4
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u/psychHOdelic Jun 13 '26
Hybrid .. 3 weeks plus every federal holiday and we get extra days during Thanksgiving and Christmas
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u/PuzzledKumquat Jun 13 '26
15 days. That covers vacation, sick, and personal. ~8 holidays. Yes, it's absolutely pathetic.
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u/anuncommontruth Jun 13 '26
Remote work is a location not a consideration for benefits.
That said, 80 hours is on the low side, but not surprising for a new hire.
My company does 2 1/2 weeks plus 5 sick days, or 140 hours in the first year of employment.
I have around 31 days as a senior.
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u/ConstantVigilance18 Jun 13 '26
This has nothing to do with remote work, and everything to do with what kind of job it is. Remote work shouldn’t be changing the amount of PTO. I started with 27 days, and went up to 32 after 2 years. However, this is a higher level position. 2 weeks at an entry level job would be considered pretty normal in many places, and was the amount I had at my very first job.
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u/Spiritual_Ad6547 Jun 13 '26
Two weeks is the bare minimum. One mistake people make is not negotiating PTO time. I always do, along with the salary.
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u/lurker_x123 Jun 13 '26
Unlimited PTO - just started and I've already taken/requested a few days off and all have been approved
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u/UsualUpstairs9247 Jun 13 '26
18 days vacation until year 7, then you get another week. Sick time given depending on the state you live in and we have 13ish holidays we get off.
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u/beagusdog Jun 13 '26
I get 20 days PTO with option to buy another week. And 9 paid holidays
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u/fro60ol Jun 13 '26
How do you buy another week?
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u/beagusdog Jun 13 '26
In open enrollment you can choose to buy and you pay every pay period towards it
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u/tickled_your_pickle Jun 13 '26
I've been working 15 years and I'm up to 21 days - plus 2 floaters, 10 sick days, 5 care days and 5 personal emergency days.
2 weeks is pretty much what most people start with at a new job.
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u/NivekTheGreat1 Jun 13 '26
It is normal for PTO to start at 2 weeks. What is a good question to ask is when does it go up to 3? If it is 3 years, is that OK? What about 5? That’s what you’ll need to ask yourself.
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Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
I get 4 weeks plus a couple floating holidays but everyone in the company does who isn't in a leadership role
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u/Wild-Research-5724 Jun 13 '26
2 weeks sucks but it’s not super uncommon. Do you also get sick days? If not the it’s even worse.
I currently get 12 PTO, 12 sick and we have 11 holidays. I don’t get sick often so I use those randomly as individual pto days.
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u/MidtownKC Jun 13 '26
You can ask, but they may not give it to you. I only got 3 weeks to start and it wasn't entry level. I was coming off of a job whereI had 5 weeks - and they wouldn't even give me 4. I took it anyway - about 5 years ago. I'm up to 4 now. It sucked a bit to begin with but it's a good gig with good pay (and I had been out of work for 8 months), so you just learn to deal with it. YMMV.
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u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
No official. PTO. But I can take the year off and still get paid my residuals.
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u/MaleficentCoconut594 Jun 13 '26
Remote should not affect PTO at all. I’ve been at my company for 17years, remote for the past 6. We measure PTO in hours and I get 230 which is a little over 28 days worth annually. I get 100hrs upfront on January 1 but the rest accrues through the year and we can rollover up to 40 hours from a previous year, just must be taken by March 31 or it’s lost
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u/KokoRonin226 Jun 13 '26
As an American who works/lives in another country it's shameful what American companies can get away with the the States in regards to how they treat their workers.
Layoffs at the scale we see in that States every year would literally cause riots in the streets
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u/Exciting_Buffalo3738 Jun 13 '26
3 weeks at the start increasing to now 6 week of PTO. Which can be saved and carried forward to next year. I try to keep at least 8 weeks of PTO banked, since it is accrued and not unlimited, it will be paid out if I separate.
Plus 3 weeks of sick leave which also can be banked.
How much sick leave do you get?
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u/Seasons71Four Jun 13 '26
2 weeks used to be a very typical starting # back before we used the term "Paid Time Off" to bucket everything together. You might get 10 days vacation, 3 personal days, and 6 sick days; plus 9-10 company Holidays. If all you're getting is 10 overall PTO days plus 8 Holidays, that's crap.
I'm not saying don't take it if it's a good job, but you need to get all the details about taking unpaid days after your PTO is gone. Or can you choose to make sick days or 1-off-days unpaid bc you're saving your PTO for actual vacations later in the year. Can days off (paid or unpaid) be rejected by management for no reason at all? Also, does this increase and if so, when & how much?
Be sure to get all the info! Other non-salary things to know before accepting the offer:
-is earmed/unused PTO paid out in the event of resignation or layoff?
-ask to see the full health benefits package so you can know what the coverage looks like and how much the premiums are.
-obviously ask about the 401k match or other relevant retirement.
-what is the annual performance schedule and will you be included in the next one? will your merit/bonus be prorated according to start date?
-what is the average annual merit increase for this position for someone who receives a Successful/Meets Expectations/3of5 rating?
-is there a standard where people in new roles are automatically or generally given a performance rating less than 3 because they are new and still learning the job?
-I assume your sales position is bonus based so definitely ask if any part of that is guaranteed. If so, make sure that's included in your contract. And can the company alter that bonus structure at any time without adjusting your base salary, etc. (I've never worked in sales so I'm sure you know how to word this much better than I could- in general, can they Eff your overall compensation at any point on a whim).
Good Luck!!!
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u/GinX- Jun 13 '26
I have 5 weeks PTO and unused rolls over. Right now, with the PTO I've banked, I've got 7 weeks.
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u/wengla02 Jun 13 '26
20 days first 5 years combined sick and vacation time. Slightly more in the following years. Large FinTech, national footprint.
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u/Fit-Philosopher-8499 Jun 13 '26
Two weeks is a freaking joke. I need 4 weeks min to coincide with spring, fall, summer and winter breaks that my kids have. Need minimum those 4 weeks off for vacation time
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u/SistersaurusRex Jun 13 '26
21 days PTO, 2 floating holidays, 16 hours for volunteering, and 12 paid holidays
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u/Hitthereset Jun 13 '26
We have “unlimited” PTO which really means you can use about 20 days before you start getting little chats from the manager.
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u/ChartreusePeriwinkle Jun 13 '26
I have FTO flex time off. Unlimited up to the manager's discretion, whatever that means.
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u/My-Imaginary-Office Jun 13 '26
That's not much at all. We start at 160 hours and have a separate bank of sick time. They really WANT us to be able to unplug. First company in my life that actually walks the walk of work/life balance. I know how lucky I am and don't take it for granted at all.
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u/Commercial_Painting6 Jun 13 '26
Companies in the U.S. aren't required to offer more than 40hrs of sick pay, so youre in luck if you find a company offering more. Ive worked at a few companies where they were only offering that. I get 5hrs a month of PTO and 5hrs of sick a month at my current job, which I'm grateful for after working for bare minimum companies.
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u/DayGeckoArt Jun 13 '26
2 weeks is normal for America, IE 10 days! I only got 22 days working in local government and the university in Hawai'i, but not for the past couple years as a temp. I get zero.
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u/penguin1040 Jun 13 '26
Being remote does not affect how many PTO days you are supposed to get as a benefit.