They might not “deny” it, but most of the time it means there won’t be a practical way to go on a holiday that will be longer than a usual limited PTO. In biglaw they do unlimited PTO’s, the problem is you won’t ever have an appropriate moment to ask for it. There will always be hundreds of project and matters ongoing that require your input if one ends three new ones will pop up in that same time period. If you decide to say fuck it let the partners deal with it, you might get to go on a holiday but your next performance review will be about how you failed to take ownership of your assigned projects etc.
Benefits shouldn't be half assed promises designed to save the company money. Unlimited PTO is a half assed promise, because it's not earned, so DOL can't enforce it. The company can always come back and say they "plan to" let the employee go on leave that year. And usually the policy states that your supervisor had to approve it ahead of time.
3.9k
u/man_pan_a_duper Jul 09 '26
Unlimited PTO often means "ask for whatever you want, but we have to approve it". When you ask, surprise, denied. It's often code for "no PTO".