How Employees Benefit from a Time Off or Vacation Bank

One employee-friendly workplace benefit that doesn't cost anything extra in terms of expense (except maybe in allotted administration time) is the creation of a time off, leave or vacation time bank. This is a great way to encourage team work and create a cushion for those who may be experiencing personal crisis that require more time off from work than is available.

The way such a bank works is that employees can "donate" extra or unused accumulated hours of sick leave, vacation, or other accrued time off to the company "bank." Those hours are then available for individuals who have a personal, family or other issue come up and they need extended paid time off from work--more paid time than they may personally have.

Individuals apply for the extra hours through human resources or administration and are able to take the time they need without taking a hard hit to their income.

Companies that provide this benefit generally have a maximum number of hours that an employee can withdraw from the "bank" in a calendar or fiscal year. Employees are paid at their own pay rate, not the rate of the individual who donated the hours. Or, some companies choose to assign a flat hourly rate to time that is withdrawn from the vacation bank.

Participation in the bank is entirely voluntary. In truth, some employees may find they have an excess of sick or vacation time and the opportunity to help out fellow coworkers can be a strong motivator for some employees. The mere existence of the bank tends to encourage a feeling of teamwork and support for employees in tough or unpredictable times of stress and/or emergency.

The main cost to employers is administration. Hours in the "bank" will need to be tracked and accounted for, there will likely need to be a policy established for how the vacation time bank will be used--how employees can donate and withdraw, what sort of considerations and requirements (if any) will qualify for accessing the bank and making a withdrawal--and payroll forms and other accounting requirements will need to be established and conducted.