The three ways employers grant leave
Almost every PTO policy is one of these. Find yours before you trust any balance projection.
- Accrual per hour worked. The most common hourly-employee model, and the fairest for variable schedules — work more hours, earn more leave. A rate of 0.0385 hours of PTO per hour worked gives a full-time employee about 10 days a year.
- A fixed amount each pay period. Simple and predictable: 3.08 hours every biweekly period is also about 10 days a year, whether you worked 30 hours or 50.
- Lump-sum grant, or "front-loading". The whole year's allowance appears on 1 January or on your work anniversary. No accrual arithmetic — but if you leave mid-year, employers commonly reclaim or pro-rate the unused portion.
Common accrual rates
All based on a 2,080-hour full-time year and an 8-hour leave day.
| Days a year | Hours a year | Per hour worked | Per biweekly period | Per semi-monthly period |
|---|
| 5 | 40 | 0.0192 | 1.54 h | 1.67 h |
| 10 | 80 | 0.0385 | 3.08 h | 3.33 h |
| 12 | 96 | 0.0462 | 3.69 h | 4.00 h |
| 15 | 120 | 0.0577 | 4.62 h | 5.00 h |
| 20 | 160 | 0.0769 | 6.15 h | 6.67 h |
| 25 | 200 | 0.0962 | 7.69 h | 8.33 h |
| 30 | 240 | 0.1154 | 9.23 h | 10.00 h |
Caps, carryover and "use it or lose it"
Three different limits get confused with one another:
- An accrual cap stops you earning more once the balance reaches a ceiling. You do not lose what you have — you simply stop adding to it until you take some leave.
- A carryover limit caps how much crosses into the next leave year. Anything above it is forfeited on the reset date.
- A use-it-or-lose-it policy zeroes the balance at year end. Several states — California among them — treat accrued vacation as earned wages that cannot be forfeited, which makes outright use-it-or-lose-it unlawful there; accrual caps are generally still allowed.
There is no federal requirement in the United States to provide paid vacation at all. Whether unused leave must be paid out when you leave a job is a matter of state law and your employer's own policy, and the answer varies considerably. Check your state labour department and your handbook.
PTO, vacation and sick leave
Many employers now merge everything into a single PTO bank. Others keep vacation and sick leave separate, which matters because a growing number of states and cities mandate paid sick leave specifically — often accrued at one hour per 30 or 40 hours worked — with its own carryover rules. If your handbook lists two balances, run this calculator twice rather than adding the rates together.
Frequently asked questions
How much PTO is 0.0385 per hour?
About 10 days a year for a full-time employee: 0.0385 × 2,080 hours = 80 hours, which is ten 8-hour days.
How do I calculate my PTO accrual rate?
Divide the annual allowance in hours by the hours you work in a year. Fifteen days is 120 hours; 120 ÷ 2,080 = 0.0577 hours of PTO per hour worked.
How many hours of PTO is two weeks?
80 hours for a full-time employee on a 40-hour week — 10 working days at 8 hours each.
What happens when I hit my accrual cap?
You keep the balance but stop earning more until you take leave and drop below the cap. The hours you would have earned in the meantime are simply never credited, which is why hitting a cap quietly costs money.
Is my employer required to give me paid time off?
Not under US federal law — there is no federal paid vacation entitlement. Some states and cities do mandate paid sick leave, and many countries outside the US have statutory minimums. Your contract or handbook is the controlling document.
Do I get paid for unused PTO when I leave?
It depends on your state and your employer's policy. Some states treat accrued vacation as earned wages that must be paid out on separation; others leave it entirely to the employer.
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