In terms of company standards (personal time off may vary slightly in various teams), personal time off follows a don’t ask, do tell policy. You don’t need to ask for personal time off. You do have to give ample warning (when possible), communicate it to the right people ahead of time, make arrangements so things will get done / nothing will fall apart, write up any instructions for affected colleagues, and the like.
Basically, you say when you take time off, but do your best to make sure you’re not leaving anybody in an overly tough spot, if you can help it.
For full-time colleagues, Tofugu has an “unlimited” vacation policy. There is, of course, probably some kind of limit, though we haven’t found it yet. In fact, it’s a struggle to get most people to take enough vacation and time off, so we suggest colleagues take at least 30 days off per calendar year.
That includes vacation, holidays, personal days, mental days, appointments, and everything in-between. If you take more than 30 days in a calendar year, that’s okay too.
Part-time employees are given a limited number of PTO days. The number of days depends on the role and number of hours worked by that employee.
Contractors do not have PTO.
Employees who need to take a few hours, a morning, an afternoon, and even a day off for something can usually just do so without announcing or making arrangements. You do not need to announce that you’ll be unavailable for three hours in the afternoon because you have a doctor’s appointment.
For full-time employees, sick leave is covered under the PTO policy. Part-time employees have a number of paid sick days. Contractors do not have paid sick leave.
If you are an employee with long-term, serious medical condition and cannot work Tofugu will pay 100% of your salary for 30 days. After that, Tofugu will pay 50% of your salary for the next 60 days. If you still cannot work after 90 days, we will discuss the options on a case-by-case basis.
If you are required to do jury duty or some other government mandated commitment, Tofugu will pay your salary for 30 days at 100% pay. After that, Tofugu will pay 50% of your salary for 60 additional days. If you still cannot work after 90 days, or if you know ahead of time that you will be away for an extended period (e.g. military requirements, etc), we’ll discuss those situations on a case-by-case basis.
If you are the primary caregiver of a new child, you can take up to 180 days of paid leave at 100% paid salary. If you are the secondary caregiver of a new child, you can take up to 90 days of paid leave at 100% salary. Eligible hourly colleagues will be paid the average of their previous 12 months. Family Leave time starts from the date of birth or placement (e.g. in the case of adoption, foster care, and the like).
Secondary caregivers may spread these 90 days across 180 days. For example, you could take one month off, then work half-time for four additional months (for a total of 90 days in five months). Or you could simply take 90 full days off then come back full time. It's up to you, and there's some flexibility in changing things as you figure things out, though a little bit of a heads up would be nice.
Beyond the above paid time, primary and secondary caregivers may choose to take an additional 60 days of unpaid time off.
If standards in your country are different (i.e. better) than Tofugu’s family leave, we can discuss it on a case-by-case basis.
Please communicate with impacted colleagues regularly before and throughout the process with your plans so we can make plans ahead of time.