New hires sometimes have pre-planned vacations, reserved while with their former employers. Vacations they've already paid for perhaps, e.g. non-refundable airfare, deposits, etc.

If a new hire asks to put unpaid leave for a pre-scheduled 2 week vacation in her offer letter, what should be done? With probationary periods, new hires often aren't allowed to use or even accrue vacation time during that period.

A verbal agreement would seem to be enough, but what if the candidate asks to have it put in writing for protection? Should it be put in the offer letter or can the hiring manager and the new hire do a one paragraph write up, both sign it, and deposit it in the new hire's personnel file when one is created?

How do or would you deal with this situation?

Thanks very much.

Mike

By the nature of this profession we cannot offer pre-scheduled vacation time in an offer letter. The employees first 16 - 20 weeks will be spent in an academy. They can't miss time (state requirement) and must successfully finish the intense training both academically and physically to receive a full time classified position.

Secondly there is a city wide policy that does not allow anyone to be in the negative for time off. You have to have earned or accrued the time first. Of course the exception would be FMLA. This may seem inflexible but the reasons for the stance have been brought about because of the usual 'no good deed goes unpunished' syndrome.

I've put pre approved vacation into offer letters and indicated that if no leave was available it would be unpaid.  I don't see a problem with it being the offer letter.  Our letters are essentially telling them what we have agreed upon.  I am hiring them with the understanding that they will be taking the time off during their intro period.

mikeerdas:

New hires sometimes have pre-planned vacations, reserved while with their former employers. Vacations they've already paid for perhaps, e.g. non-refundable airfare, deposits, etc.

If a new hire asks to put unpaid leave for a pre-scheduled 2 week vacation in her offer letter, what should be done? With probationary periods, new hires often aren't allowed to use or even accrue vacation time during that period.

A verbal agreement would seem to be enough, but what if the candidate asks to have it put in writing for protection? Should it be put in the offer letter or can the hiring manager and the new hire do a one paragraph write up, both sign it, and deposit it in the new hire's personnel file when one is created?

How do or would you deal with this situation?

Thanks very much.

Mike

 

A verbal agreement is never enough.  Memories get short when the planned break is not convenient for the ER.  If it truly is no problem, then why would you resist putting it in the offer letter?  In fact, if I were the candidate and I sensed hesitation to put an oral agreement of such a trivial thing in writing, I'd be inclined to reject the offer or accept it for my own best interests and line something up in case the deal went south or just because I didn't like the company's hesitance to put it's pen where its mouth is.