Microsoft employees in the United States can take unlimited time off from next week under a new “Discretionary Time Off” policy, The Verge website reported, citing an internal memo.
Microsoft has said that it will no longer require US employees to formally record vacation thanks to a new Discretionary Time Off policy.
The new rules, which come into effect from January 16, include unlimited vacation days as well 10 corporate holidays, leaves for sickness, bereavement and even jury duty.
The announcement was made in an email to employees from Kathleen Hogan, Microsoft’s chief people officer, as reported by The Verge. Microsoft is calling its unlimited time off “Discretionary Time Off,” and it will apply to all salaried US employees.
In addition to unlimited vacation days, the employees will get 10 corporate holidays, leaves of absence, sick and mental health time off, as well as time away for jury duty or bereavement. The employees who have unused vacation balances will receive a final payout for all their collected vacation days.
In 2021, it announced a $1,500 bonus for US-based and international employees. On work-from-home policy, Microsoft said it was not committed to having every employee work from anywhere. “We believe there is value in employees being together in the workplace,” they said.
However, the unlimited time off policy is only for salaried employees in the US. Those who are working on an hourly basis or reside outside of the US will not be a part of the change.
The reason behind this, as given by the company, is that offering unlimited time off to hourly workers gets trickier due to the federal and state wage and hour laws. Employees living outside the US are not included in the policy due to different laws in all countries.
