I am the office manager for a small IT start-up. The owners are from another country and when they started this company they assumed 2 weeks vacation was standard in the U.S. I told them that it really depends on the company. They would like to get a sense of the industry standard for a company of our size in the IT industry. We really need a full time off policy - vacation, sick, holiday, floating holiday, etc. The numbers are important.

Ruth -

These are exactly the type of questions we examine in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Employee Benefits Study! In 1997, the national average for vacation days provided averaged as follows:

1 yr. of service: 13 days
5 yrs. of service: 16 days
10 yrs. of service: 16 days
15 yrs. of service: 18 days
20 yrs. of service: 20 days

The 2000 Study should provide a more illuminating up-to-date set of figures in the Fall, hopefully by industry, company size, and region as well (if enough companies participate). You can receive a free copy of the report by participating in the survey. E-mail me at ebstudy@uschamber.com with your street mailing address and I will send a copy of the survey and answer any questions you have about it.

Greg

Our off duty policy is:
Holidays - 9 plus one day for community service
Vacation:
Up to 5 years - 2 weeks
6 to 15 years - 3 weeks
over 15 - 4 weeks
Carry over and pay out are options
Sick leave accrue 6 days per year, accumulate to 90 days (no pay out if terminate)
We are not a small IT start up, but an engineering firm in SE