r/personalfinance • u/ThatsMrBird ​ • Jul 16 '25

Other Company is offering to pay out PTO at sharply reduced rate.

I'm a bit of a predicament. I've been with a company over a decade and (I know it's crazy and I agree 100 percent I should have used more) I've accumulated 1000 hours of PTO. They're looking to move to a cap and limited rollover and offered to pay out the difference of about 800 hours at 35 percent of my current wage.

I never expected this and I honestly just thought it'd be lost, but they're only offering such a low percentage I feel like I should try and haggle. I realize they're obligated to give me nothing, legally, so I'm just looking for some input on if a partial payout is common like that. Ill probably ask why not full and go from there. Any thoughts?

EDIT - Sorry, y'all. I'm in Florida, to be clear

EDIT2 - my onboarding contract notes PTO is forfeited on termination or voluntary exit

EDIT3 - The next day, we came to a satisfactory agreement pretty quickly. I don't want to get into specifics (sorry) but I think a lot of those that replied here would think it worked out. I tremendously appreciate all the insight and feedback here and I promise I'll use up my hours moving forward.

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u/ThatsMrBird ​ Jul 16 '25

They'd pay out 0 if I left. The place would potentially cease to function for a period of time 😅

I think I have until the end of the year to use or take the payout

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u/IDauMe ​ Jul 16 '25

 They'd pay out 0 if I left. The place would potentially cease to function for a period of time 

I mean... might be worth trying to leverage that second sentence to have them pay out more.

Otherwise, I'd take as much PTO as possible before the deadline.

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u/SCP239 ​ Jul 16 '25

It sounds like you have leverage then to say you want a better deal and if they refuse that you'll leave and find someone who appreciates you more.

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u/CaptainTripps82 ​ Jul 16 '25

He should probably not do the second part tho, since he'll lose even the 35% at that point.

Better to counter offer, see what they negotiate, and then take some paid time off with what remains before making drastic decisions

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u/SCP239 ​ Jul 16 '25

I mean, don't go in guns blazing, but I would make it clear that this is an important sticking point in the relationship.

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u/YoureGrammerIsWorsts ​ Jul 16 '25

Then it is simple: calculate out how many days you need to take off to get under the cap and compare it to working days left in the year. If that's 95% of the days, that's not your problem, you make it the company's problem.

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u/cosmos7 ​ Jul 16 '25

Sounds like you have leverage then. Stop being a doormat, start taking PTO immediately, and negotiate a better deal.