Discretionary time off (DTO) is never truly unlimited! Just a HR gimmick.
It’s a trick. Most employees are going to be more hesitant to ask for vacation days without the hard number. They see that hard number as their right to take regardless of how their manager feels about it. Also, when you have a set number of vacation days, the company has to pay for the unused ones when you quit/get laid off. That could be an extra 2 weeks to a month of salary they have to pay you. Unlimited vacation days have a value of $0. So, the company doesn’t have to pay you anything for them when you leave.
Not a fan. At a company with unlimited PTO and everyone works even when they're "off". I've hardly taken any time off in the year I've been there because I don't feel like I can ever truly be off and disconnect.
The company saves money because they don’t need to pay out your unused PTO when they pip you. I have regular paid PTO now and am so happy I do. I can tell my boss “I have to use it or lose it” and he can’t do anything about it.
Means companies dont have to pay out for accrued vacation
It's done for accounting and finance reasons, not for your benefit.
My manager said more than 3 weeks PTO doesn’t look good optics wise and international WFH is not possible. So see if you can make this work. Me: “ But I’m meeting my family after 2 years. 2 weeks isn’t enough” Manager says in a diplomatic way, yeah, I don’t care.
It’s an accounting trick. For a limited set of vacation days the company has to accrue the $ equivalent as a liability in their books. Unlimited = 0 in accounting.
Con: you don't get paid for the days you haven't used when you leave or are let go.
Pro: you have unlimited vacation days. Con: you need manager approval.