See a Sample Employee Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy

See a Sample Employee Paid Time Off (PTO) PolicySee a Sample Employee Paid Time Off (PTO) PolicyYou need a paid time off (PTO) policy in your organization so that the employees understand your rules and expectations about the amount of time they need to spend at work. The policy assures that misunderstandings about the amount and type of PTO are minimized. The PTO policy also ensures that, as an employer, you have a published framework which provides guidance for you for making decisions that ensure the ritterlich and equitable treatment of employees. Bothof these goals are a win for both employers and employees. Following is the sample PTO policy. Purpose of Paid Time Off (PTO) The purpose of Paid Time Off (PTO) is to provide employees with flexible paid time off from work that can be used for such needs as vacation, personal or family illness, doctor appointments, school, volunteerism, and other activities of the employees choice. The companys goal is to reduce unscheduled abse nces and the need for teamberateriny oversight. The PTO days you accrue, effective (date) replace all existing vacation, sick time, and personal business days that you have been allotted under prior policies. The vacation time you accrued in the past will carry over, in excess of the PTO policy, per the companys guidelines at the time. Guidelines for PTO Use Each full-time employee will accrue PTO bi-weekly in hourly increments based on their length of service as defined below. PTO is added to the employees PTO bank when the bi-weekly paycheck is issued. PTO taken will be subtracted from the employees accrued time bank in one-hour increments. Temporary employees, contract employees, and interns are not eligible to accrue PTO. Eligibility to accrue PTO is contingent on the employee either working or utilizing accrued PTO for the entire bi-weekly pay period. PTO is not earned in pay periods during which unpaid leave, short or long term disability leave, or workers compensation lea ve are taken. Employees may use time from their PTO bank in hourly increments. The time that is not covered by the PTO policy, and for which separate guidelines and policies exist, include company paid holidays, bereavement time off, required jury duty, and military service leave. To take PTO requires two days of notice to the supervisor and Human Resources unless the PTO is used for legitimate, unexpected illness or emergencies. (Use the Paid Time Off form to request PTO.) In all instances, PTO must be approved by the employees supervisor in advance. Your Company appreciates as much notice as possible when you know you expect to miss work for a scheduled absence. Paid Time Off (PTO) Exceptions Employees who miss more than three consecutive unscheduled daysmay be required to present a doctors release to the Human Resources department that permits them to return to work.PTO taken in excess of the PTO accrued can result in progressive disciplinary action up to and including employ ment termination. This timeoff will be unpaid. The only possible exception to this policy must be granted by the company president.PTO accrued prior to the start of a requested and approved unpaid leave of absence must be used to cover hours missed before the start of the unpaid leave. Under the companys Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) policy, all accrued PTO time is taken before the start of the unpaid FMLA time.Unscheduled absences, due to illnesses of four hours or more, that result in consecutive days absent from work, are considered one absence incident in relation to potential disciplinary action.Progressive disciplinary action relative to incidents of absenteeism is administered on a rolling 12-month calendar as followsOne - three incidents No disciplinary action. Supervisory coaching.Fourth incident Verbal warning with a documented coaching sessionFifth incident Written warning in the employees fileSixth incident Employment terminationAn employee who receives a second wr itten warning in a rolling 24 month time period will have his or her employment terminated. An employee who has used all of his or her FMLA and Short Term Disability benefits, and is still unable to return to work, will have his or her employment terminated.Any employee who misses two consecutive days of work without notice to their supervisor may be considered to have voluntarily quit their job. Specific Eligibility for Paid Time Off (PTO) PTO is earned on the following schedule based on a 40 hour work week. PTO is prorated based on the number of hours worked on an employees regular schedule. (Thank you to Amy Casciotti of the TechSmith Corporation for the sample numbers.) Years of Service 1-2 144 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 2.7693 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.3-4 152 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 2.9231 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.5-6 160 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.077 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.7-8 168 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.2308 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.9-10 176 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.3847 hours for each full work week in a calendar year. 11-12 184 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.5385 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.13-14 192 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.6924 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.15-16 200 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 3.8462 hours for each full work week in a calendar year.17 208 working hours per year, earned at a rate of 4.0 hours for each full work week in a calendar year. Each employee may carry 80 hours of accrued PTO over into a new calendar year. Employees are responsible for monitoring and taking their PTO over the course of a year so that they do not lose time accrued when the current calendar year ends. (PTO is subject to supervisory approval and not every employee can t ake accumulated time in December the company must continue to serve customers.) If extenuating business circumstances prevented the employee from taking scheduled PTO, this PTO may be carried over and taken in the first half of the next calendar year with the approval of the department head and Human Resources. Employees are paid for the PTO they have accrued at employment end. If an employee has used PTO time not yet accrued, and employment terminates, the PTO taken is deducted from the final paycheck. Employees who give two weeks notice of employment termination must work the two weeks without utilizing PTO. Employees who are rehired will receive credit for former time worked and accumulate current PTO for the combined time.

Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results

Secrets for Commanding Attention and Getting ResultsSecrets for Commanding Attention and Getting ResultsSecrets for Commanding Attention and Getting Results Bates, author of Speak Like a CEO Secrets For Commanding Attention and Getting Results A great presentation requires research, preparation and practice. Use the steps below as guide.ResearchYou need new, interesting and current information to communicate effectively. Audiences want fresh ideas and cutting-edge thinking. One of the obligations of the speaker is to make the presentation worth their time. Whether speaking to a conference, a reporter, your employees, or the public, you have to be constantly looking for new material that will have an impact on your audience. Research is an ongoing activity, but you may want to set aside specific time to read or go on the internet. You might want to interview people before an event. You may assign other people to help you with research, but you will need time to review it. Its a good i dea to keep each event file ackerschnacker so you can throw in items when you find them. Even if you see something in a book, make a photocopy and put it into the file. Places where you will find information include magazines, books, newspapers, web sites, movies, brochures, comedy shows, radio programs, television programs and how-to books. I encourage people to read, watch, or listen to things they dont normally see or hear to get a fresh perspective and to stay current.PreparationPreparation is organizing, writing and editing. There is no right or wrong way to do this just have a system that works for you. Once you have gathered information in your files, you can sort through and start organizing, outlining and writing. Why create an outline? I learned a lot about that from writing this book. An outline helps you see on paper what is there, and what is missing. By writing it down, you can study it and get ideas before you begin writing or putting together slides. One mistake many people make is putting together slide presentations from the slides they already have in their computers before they think about what they want to say and create an outline. Depending on the event or project, in preparation phase, you may want to write downThe big idea Three main points Questions your audience (or the reporter) might haveA story Talking pointsElements/graphs for slidesShould you write out what you are going to say, jot down bullet points, or make note cards? That depends on two things your personal preference, and the schrift of presentation you are giving. A formal keynote is typically written out. A meeting is typically done from an agenda. An informal meeting may work best from note cards. PracticeYou have to practice to give a good presentation. The top speakers in the world practice a presentation several times before they give it. You can cheat on practice time, but as parents all over the world say, You will only be cheating yourself. Practice not only helps you perform better, it reduces anxiety because you are confident and prepared.Go into a conference room or close your office door and go over the materials sitting in your chair. Read or scan the notes out loud. Then stand up and go through it in real time. Practice out loud several times. I do not recommend practicing out loud in your car because you will be distracted, or on a plane, because you cannot speak loudly enough (unless you want to annoy your seat mate.) Here are some other tips on practiceDont wait until the last minute. Depending upon the length of the talk, you may need a completed script a week or two in advance so you can practice several times. Put it onto your calendar as an appointment with yourself.Use a mirror. Since you are your own toughest critic, you will be able to recognize distracting gestures, awkward stances and wandering eye contact right away. Dont use this technique until you have already practiced without the mirror so you already know the materia l reasonably well.Record audio and/or video. Play back a recording of your speech. This will help you identify areas that need improvement. With an audio recording, youll be able to hear annoying vocal habits, areas of hesitation or uncertainty, and awkward sentence structures. Dont memorize. You are in too much danger of forgetting what you want to say. Learn concepts, practice phrasing, but dont be a slave to saying it word-for-word the way its written. Use a script or outline. Practice enough so that the note cards or outline are so familiar, you only have to glance at them. That will make you look prepared and sound mora natural. Time your presentation. If you have a time requirement you must meet, timing your presentation will help you decide what to cut, or what to expand. One of the cardinal rules of speaking is to never take more time than youve been given. Use a friendly test audience. Asking a trusted colleague or mentor to listen will help you begin to get comfortable in front of other people. Visualize success. As you practice, learn how to see the audience in your minds eye. The more you can imagine the room, the people, the smiles, the applause, and yourself at the podium in control, the more successful you will be when the day comes.

Bookselling

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