Company Offers Woman A Full-Time Job Without Any Vacation Time ForThe First 2 Years — Then Rescinds It When She Asks For PTO
Everyone is deserving of a break.
fizkes / Shutterstock The toxic, misguided, and torturous state of Corporate America has only been growing more tumultuous every year. Wages are staying stagnant, paid time off is decreasing, and leadership seems to be getting progressively more comfortable dehumanizing their employees.
Particularly post-pandemic, when employees are battling more than just sickness, but a number of other financial and sociopolitical burdens, they need more grace. But, for many — they’re receiving the exact opposite from their employers.
One woman had a job offer rescinded after asking for PTO benefits.
After receiving a job offer from a company she’d interviewed with, the woman, known as @raeren3617 on TikTok, quickly realized that she needed to make a counteroffer, in part because the initial job offer did not include any PTO for the first two years.
"It didn't sound great, but it had promise," she said of the starting offer.
The woman explained that she had her own insurance through a third-party carrier, taking that responsibility away from the employer. She felt that she was in a position to ask for a higher salary.
“They offered me $22 an hour, and I countered for $24,” she said, “because you’re not going to have to worry about paying the exorbitant amount of benefits for me as part of my benefits package.”
Especially in today’s job market, experts urge job searches to negotiate salaries — especially for women in the workplace — because often it’s successful. Studies show that 85% of people who negotiate after receiving a job offer are successful. So, why not try?
However, while she was drafting her negotiation, the woman noticed another strange addition to the benefits package — they were only offering her a week of PTO after the first two years of working. Not only did they expect her not to take a break during the first two years of work, but they’d also failed to set up an accrual system.
“I’d have to go two years without any time off," she explained. "You get six holidays a year. I kept thinking, ‘I can’t go two years without a break.’ I’m a [expletive] adult, and I need to have doctor’s appointments and take care of things normal adults do.”
Despite 72% of employees in the U.S. having access to some kind of paid time off, the shocking reality is that thousands—if not millions—do not. They’re forced to work to the point of burnout and sometimes sickness, and even then, their job security is threatened in order to heal.
It’s not something that this woman was willing to tolerate, so she made a counteroffer to advocate for her well-being and health.
After asking for an increased salary and a week of PTO after the first year, the company ‘ghosted’ her before rescinding her job offer.
After she had sent the email, she became concerned because they hadn't responded in several days. When she followed up on her email, they sent her a short message letting her know they were taking her job offer away.
“We’ve discussed this further and have decided that your request is beyond what we can offer you,” the email started. “This email will serve as a confirmation that the offer letter sent … is rescinded.”
“This company really showed its true colors,” she added. “People sit there and say, ‘Nobody wants to work!’ but nobody wants to work for [crap] like this!"
Many commenters suggested it was a good thing that this woman noticed a “red flag” before it got too out of hand, sharing that their similar experiences were dreadful.
“They probably don’t want to pay the PTO at all,” one user wrote. “They know that they suck and most employees will leave before they make it to three years.”
Despite all of the back and forth, the woman admitted that she was lucky enough to have a couple of other job offers to sift through and feels grateful she was able to catch this red flag. However, she found it ludicrous that a company is offering this benefits package to people — “Everyone deserves a break.”
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories.