Do I have to approve PTO?
Q: An employee who has worked at my company for 90 days and is newly eligible for PTO asked for two weeks of time off next month for a vacation. He is still in training and that is a lot of time to miss. Do I have to approve it because the PTO is available to him?
A: No. A supervisor has the right to deny PTO or vacation requests due to business necessity. Just because someone has paid time off available does not mean they can use it whenever they want without approval. ESC recommends having a clear policy on PTO usage and also communicating clearly to employees what is expected about managing PTO appropriately.
If you are already an ESC client, contact your HR Business Partner so that they can advise on a comprehensive time off policy and handling difficult PTO situations. Not a client yet? We invite you to start a conversation.