'No, you can't use your vacation time': Worker takes 7,200 hours of vacation time after job insists he work on holidays for decades

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 9, 2023 11:00 AM EDT

Workplaces love to advertise their great benefits, especially if they offer generous amounts of vacation days. This guy played the long game with his own workplace's plan, and it seems like he got the outcome he was hoping for. 

U/Yetshi shared that their dad started working at a manufacturing company in 1983, and stayed there for three decades. That's an incredibly long time to stay at one place. Back in the day, people would take a job and were expected to stay there for life, or at least for years. These days, companies offer fewer benefits to employees, plus lower pay. There just isn't as much incentive for an employee to stay at the same company for decades if they aren't getting regular raises and barely have any benefits. 

Still, this guy put in hard work to rise through the ranks, only to be consistently told that he couldn't take any time off for the holidays. He put up with that treatment for decades! At least he got the last laugh, as you can read about in this story below. 

Up next, these high schoolers had the funniest ideas for a senior "anti prank" — and it went so well that news outlets started reporting on it. 

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  • 01
    Cooking - امانه -
    via Ahsanization on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - No you cant use your vacation time, put it in the time bank. S Not my malicious complinace, it's my dad's. TL;DR at bottom. My father started working for a manufacturing company in North Carolina starting in 1983. Moving from general floor worker up into maintainence after going to college in the late 80s and has now moved up to salaried senior technician for the entire plant.
    via u/yetshi
  • 03
    Font - When he first started with the company they provided many benefits, dental, vision, health, 401k and paid vacations most of which are no longer offered but because of his time on the job he still receives the health and vacation time.
    via u/yetshi
  • 04
    Font - We used to go on vacations every year but after my parents divorce we stopped and he worked year round. After he became salaried his hours changed to weekends and holidays so the bulk of his work week was only 24 to 32 hours in total (2 12 hour days, 8 hour days during the holiday season)
    via u/yetshi
  • 05
    Font - The company recently announced the end of paid vacations for all employees including the legacy ones which is where his malicious compliance comes in. Every year Dad would request off for Christmas and New year's and would be told no, put the time in his time bank which he would dutifully complete.
    via u/yetshi
  • 06
    Font - Now with the end of paid vacations he's emptying out his time bank, 240 hours paid per year for 30 years, he's not going to work until the middle of 2023 just in time for him to retire at 68.
    via u/yetshi
  • 07
    Font - TL;DR dad was told to save his vacation time, did so until he had enough to take nearly 6 years off all paid. Edit: to answer all the questions, his vacation time was approved by HR so hes good to go on that account. for those saying it is illegal to not give him his vacation days he only worked Saturday and Sunday and holiday days, christmas day and new years day, thats it otherwise he had 5 days a week off.
    via u/yetshi
  • 08
    Font - the only days available for use as far as vacation time were week days as the plant is on maintenance shutdown on weekends, his schedule is incompatible with vacation time. hes was not the only one rolling time over, but as far as he knows he was the only one who ever rolled that much time over. the reason he didn't take the cashout is the fact in my parents divorce my mother gets half of his pensions value earned from 83 to 91 which would cost him a sizeable chunk. while hes on vacation
    via u/yetshi
  • 09
    Font - xtracrispy26 My grandfather did something like this. He had almost 6 months of paid vacation and they wouldn't give it to him unless he worked his last day.
    via u/xtracrispy26
  • 10
    Font - Anna_Namoose. My dad did too. Called off his shift for a year and a half until he hit full pension. Still cashed in 4 years sick time as a bulk payment
    via u/Anna_Namoose
  • 11
    Font - o SUND3VIL A lot of places lock out the holidays for vacation, but that's awesome that he got to keep accruing time. Now, most places put a cap on the number of hours you can bank. Edit: Although fake internet points are fun, it's comments like this one that spark a lot of commentary about people's personal experiences that mean the most. I learned a lot today. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories, opinions and knowledge.
    via u/SUND3VIL
  • 12
    Font - ahobel95 The USAF combats this by only letting you accumulate 60 days. Any more and at the start of the next fiscal year, you lose it and it gets truncated to 60 days again. So, at max 'use or lose' you could have 90 days (we get 30 days of off time a year), but youd lose it all. Edit: as a plus this also forces supervision to grant leave, otherwise use/lose piles up. If you lose your use/lose, then that gets sent to the squadron commander who'll get pretty ped someone just lost leave day
    via u/ahobel95
  • 13
    Font - JoeTheImpaler Assuming he doesn't have a do not compete... He should set himself up as an independent contractor and offer his company's services to his old employer while he's on vacation. Charge them a ridiculous amount because they're hiring an outside consultant to do the work, of course it'll cost more! He'd pull in the vacation pay and his new revenue.
    via u/JoeTheImpaler
  • 14
    Font - yetshi OP right now hes doing volunteer work for a historic town as a blacksmith and carpenter, both of which he loves to do.
    via u/yetshi
  • 15
    Font - ulyssesphilemon I see this company going out of business soon. There's only so much you can cut benefits and expect to retain anyone useful. Not to mention, anyone staying there just because they need a paycheck will only put in bare-minimum effort, just enough to not get fired.
    via u/ulyssesphilemon
  • 16
    Font - leviathynx This happened in a school district in which I used to teach. Teachers accrued 1.25/month up to 180 days (a full contract school year). Anything over could be used liberally. Many teachers were able to use that extra year saved up to add to their retirement until the year that's Supernintendo Genius took over. He declared that the school district wouldn't honor those saved days for retirement. And like a
    via u/leviathynx
  • 17
    Font - wave of ped off overl educated dominoes, teachers took the entire school year off throwing many schools in a panic and putting a massive strain on the substitute system. Needless to say, they quickly reinstated the old policy in the next year's contracts.
    via u/leviathynx
  • 18
    Font - [deleted] And the employer in a way fted himself, for 6 years he hasn't got an employee with a lot of experience at work for him, but he is still on his payroll. Hire someone else for 6 years, will cost him a lot whole more, while he had an experienced employee who could do that..
    via u/deleted
  • 19
    Font - Jkirek In the end it doesn't matter: you're paying him for the hours he's worked and for his vacation no matter what. The only difference is that in one scenario he works during the holidays but stops 6 years earlier, while in the other he doesn't work during the holidays. The end cost is the same
    via u/Jkirek
  • 20
    Happy - a filth_and_flarn Is this in the US? Crazy that an employer is allowed to deny you paid vacation.
    via u/filth_and_flarn
  • 21
    Font - + [deleted] They let him bank time indefinitely? That's crazy. I can bank 15% of mine, pay out the next 15% (of total accrued for the year) and I lose anything beyond that.
    via u/deleted
  • 22
    Font - jalif That's brilliant. He should be able to pick up a part time job and really add to his retirement nest egg. On another note, what third world country doesn't regulate paid vacation?
    via u/jalif
  • 23
    Font - jrs1980 That's crazy, my old job capped banked PTO at 252 hours. Then they lowered the max amount banked to 168, effective one year later. I was at 248 when I left, 8 months after that. It wasn't the main reason, but it was definitely one of the reasons I left. "I'm never going to be able to get down to 168 in time. ...I think I'll just leave." At the same time, they changed PTO payout upon separation to 50%, effective immediately, grrr. But it was still three weeks (instead of 6 weeks ug
    via u/jrs1980

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vacations jobs work stories malicious compliance work malicious-compliance-reddit workplace summer vacation vacation christmas employee new years hours dad holidays Father
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