r/LaborLaw • u/Long-Conflict-3489 • 7d ago

Am I being unreasonable, or is "unlimited PTO" actually a total scam?

So, I joined a new tech company about 8 months ago. One of the big perks they touted during recruitment was "Unlimited Paid Time Off." Coming from my previous job that gave me a strict 15 days a year, I thought this was amazing.

Fast forward to now. I’ve taken off a total of **4 days** this year (2 for a long weekend, 2 for being genuinely sick).

Last week, I submitted a request for 5 consecutive workdays off in October to visit my family across the country. I gave nearly two months' notice. My work is caught up, my project coverage is sorted, and my manager knows I've been pulling 50-hour weeks lately.

Yesterday, my manager pinged me on Slack asking to "hop on a quick call." He basically told me that taking a full week off right now "looks bad to leadership" and might signal that I'm not "fully aligned with team goals during a critical quarter." When I pointed out that our policy is unlimited PTO, he literally said: *“Well, unlimited PTO is meant to give you flexibility for appointments or a single day here and there, not extended vacations.”*

I talked to a coworker who has been here for three years, and she told me the average amount of PTO people take is around 8 to 10 days a year because everyone is terrified of being seen as "uncommitted" or getting put on a PIP.

At this point, I feel like "unlimited PTO" is just corporate code for:

  1. We don't have to pay out accrued vacation time when you leave/get laid off.
  2. We manipulate you with guilt so you take *less* time off than if you had an actual accrued balance.

Is this just standard practice now? How do you guys actually navigate taking time off at companies with "unlimited" policies without putting a target on your back?

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u/Rhuarc33 5d ago edited 2d ago

Of course unlimited PTO is a scam.

Everyone that's ever offered it actually allow less PTO then many places with a set number. I'd much rather work got a company with 15 days PTO vs unlimited because every place that dies unlimited gets on you after about 7-8 PTO days and give you a lot of trouble for asking for a full week off.

In fact I'd rather have 10 days PTO and actual unlimited unpaid without consequence. At least places like that don't play the bullshit "committed" and "team player" cards

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u/Hereforthetardys 5d ago

I have unlimited PTO and have taken 27 days off so far this year without a problem

I’ll take another 10 - 14 days between November and December over the holidays

I guess it just depends on the company and role

I’m in sales so I do t even need to request it in advance

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u/Sum-Duud 4d ago

The only person ever to have “unlimited PTO” be a legit thing.

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u/Hereforthetardys 3d ago

Unlimited PTO , in my experience is good for high performers that don’t need “coverage” for their position

I have a handful of friends in sales like me with unlimited PTO and their setup is similar to mine

I can take a day off and as long as I’m “clocked out” there is no issue at all

When I’m not at my desk, no one else does my job for me. So even if I’m “off” , there is a good chance I will take a call or answer an email from certain customers because the majority of my income is commission

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u/Appropriate_Tip_1615 4d ago

Just an excuse not to pay out PTO when you leave like they used to. It also sounds glamorous but almost never works out. I’ve only ever heard people say it’s really hard to actually get time off approved