Julia Judish on Factors to Consider Before Enacting an Unlimited Vacation Policy

“These policies are adopted with the best of intentions,” Judish told Associations Now. “Employers have a paradigm in mind of employees who have a good work ethic and are healthy. The association wants to signal, ‘We trust you, and we’re not going to nitpick and micromanage when you take a day off because you’re going to be getting the work done.’ And that’s a great message to send.”

However, she said, "My experiences with some clients who have had these types of policies is that it’s not until the absences become productivity or performance problems that the employer starts paying attention to the fact that these absences are for legally protected reasons.”

Additionally, she noted that many jurisdictions have their own rules regarding leave. "At first blush, you may think, 'We have unlimited leave; surely we are satisfying every requirement that could be for paid leave.' That’s not necessarily the case depending on how you administer it. It’s more complicated than just saying, ‘We have an unlimited leave policy.’”

To read more, please see Five Factors to Consider Before Moving Toward an Unlimited Vacation Policy | Associations Now.