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Syneos New Vacation Policy
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It’s like when someone says this “sucks ass” is that a good thing or a bad thing? If you’ve ever had it done, you know it’s a incredible amazing feeling. It’s certainly a good thing, yet many people use the term as a very terrible thing. I don’t understand!?!!
Q1: What is changing about our PTO policy A1: Effective January 1, 2023, we are implementing a Discretionary Paid Time Off (PTO) policy for all U.S. exempt field-based employees who are regularly scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week (this does not include temporary employees or freelancers who are currently on an accrued PTO policy). Under a Discretionary PTO policy, employees classified as exempt – who previously were not already on a discretionary plan – will no longer have a defined set of PTO days. Instead, these employees will use their discretion to take the time they need, with management approval, provided they meet the full expectations of their role in terms of performance and utilization targets. For those employees who currently are on an accrued PTO policy, this transition will go into effect as of January 1, 2023, and they will no longer accrue PTO for use during the year. You may not begin using Discretionary PTO until you have exhausted any accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy.
Q2: How much time can I reasonably take under a Discretionary PTO Policy? A2: A “Discretionary PTO Policy” does not define a set number of hours that an employee can take in a calendar year. Instead, the amount is left at the discretion of employees to be determined and scheduled with their manager. This policy also allows for better planning of time off without worrying about accruing time in advance. You may not begin using Discretionary PTO until you have exhausted any accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy.
Q3: Is there a minimum amount of time off I must take? A3: No. However, we strongly encourage everyone to take a minimum of two full weeks of vacation each year in addition to the holidays provided. Company Confidential – Discretionary PTO 10.20.2022 500 Atrium Drive Somerset, NJ 08873
Q4: Is there a maximum amount of time off I can take? A4: As noted in Question 3, the Discretionary PTO Policy does not define the number of hours an employee can take in a calendar year. However, you can use your previous time off as a guidepost. Everyone has a responsibility to meet the productivity expectations of their role in terms of sales or medical activity performance metrics, billable hours, utilization level and quality of work.
Q5: What happens to my accrued PTO balance? A5: To the extent permitted by applicable law, employees must utilize all accrued PTO by December 31, 2022, and any unused PTO will be forfeited. For employees in states that prohibit forfeiture of accrued PTO, your prior accrued time will remain active beyond December 31, 2022, and you may not begin using Discretionary PTO until you have exhausted all accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy.
Q6: Can I apply the Discretionary PTO during a Leave of Absence? A6: In certain circumstances, Employees may be eligible to receive up to 4 weeks of paid Discretionary PTO in the event of an approved leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act when they are not receiving short or long-term disability, or other state-paid benefits. This benefit is available once in a calendar year. If an employee is on any other type of leave, including a Personal Leave of Absence, Discretionary PTO will not apply. Employees who are out of the office at least 6 business days for their own illness or medical condition are required to file for short-term disability benefits through New York Life, formerly Cigna, our third-party leave administrator. Discretionary PTO is not a substitute for disability benefits. Similarly, employees who need time away to care for an ill family member, as defined by FMLA regulations, are required to file for job-protected leave under the FMLA through New York Life (Cigna).
Q7: I am currently on leave. Does the transition to Discretionary PTO apply to me? A7: Eligible employees currently on a leave of absence will transition to the Discretionary PTO plan once they have exhausted any accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy and returned to active status. Company Confidential – Discretionary PTO 10.20.2022 500 Atrium Drive Somerset, NJ 08873
Q8: Does this new program mean that I will not be paid for unused PTO if I leave the Company in the future? A8: Discretionary PTO means you will not accrue hours in the future. Therefore, there are no reimbursable hours upon termination, subject to applicable law. However, if you still have an accrued balance under a prior PTO policy, those hours will be paid out at termination.
Q9: Do I receive Flex Holidays, Floating Days or Personal Days if I am on Discretionary PTO? A9: Employees who participate in the Discretionary PTO plan are allowed to take time when needed and as such, will not be provided Flex Holidays, Floating or Personal Days. They do receive the national holidays as listed on the Company holiday calendar.
Q10: If I regularly work less than 30 hours per week, does Discretionary PTO apply to me? A10: No. Discretionary PTO only applies to employees classified as exempt who are scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week. See question 1 for a description of employee eligibility.
Q11: Am I required to record my Discretionary PTO time? A11: Yes. Discretionary PTO time must be recorded for timecard and labor costing. Employees should continue to report their time off through Oracle, or the appropriate timekeeping system, using the same PTO code. Once you exhaust your rolled over, accrued balance and transition to Discretionary PTO, your balance will reflect a negative amount since time is no longer accrued.
Q12: Why can’t non-exempt employees participate in Discretionary PTO? A12: State and federal wage and hour laws are not conducive to a discretionary time off plan for non-exempt employees. Non-exempt employees will continue to follow their current PTO accrual schedule
Q2: How much time can I reasonably take under a Discretionary PTO Policy? A2: A “Discretionary PTO Policy” does not define a set number of hours that an employee can take in a calendar year. Instead, the amount is left at the discretion of employees to be determined and scheduled with their manager. This policy also allows for better planning of time off without worrying about accruing time in advance. You may not begin using Discretionary PTO until you have exhausted any accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy.
Q3: Is there a minimum amount of time off I must take? A3: No. However, we strongly encourage everyone to take a minimum of two full weeks of vacation each year in addition to the holidays provided. Company Confidential – Discretionary PTO 10.20.2022 500 Atrium Drive Somerset, NJ 08873
Q4: Is there a maximum amount of time off I can take? A4: As noted in Question 3, the Discretionary PTO Policy does not define the number of hours an employee can take in a calendar year. However, you can use your previous time off as a guidepost. Everyone has a responsibility to meet the productivity expectations of their role in terms of sales or medical activity performance metrics, billable hours, utilization level and quality of work.
Q5: What happens to my accrued PTO balance? A5: To the extent permitted by applicable law, employees must utilize all accrued PTO by December 31, 2022, and any unused PTO will be forfeited. For employees in states that prohibit forfeiture of accrued PTO, your prior accrued time will remain active beyond December 31, 2022, and you may not begin using Discretionary PTO until you have exhausted all accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy.
Q6: Can I apply the Discretionary PTO during a Leave of Absence? A6: In certain circumstances, Employees may be eligible to receive up to 4 weeks of paid Discretionary PTO in the event of an approved leave of absence under the Family Medical Leave Act when they are not receiving short or long-term disability, or other state-paid benefits. This benefit is available once in a calendar year. If an employee is on any other type of leave, including a Personal Leave of Absence, Discretionary PTO will not apply. Employees who are out of the office at least 6 business days for their own illness or medical condition are required to file for short-term disability benefits through New York Life, formerly Cigna, our third-party leave administrator. Discretionary PTO is not a substitute for disability benefits. Similarly, employees who need time away to care for an ill family member, as defined by FMLA regulations, are required to file for job-protected leave under the FMLA through New York Life (Cigna).
Q7: I am currently on leave. Does the transition to Discretionary PTO apply to me? A7: Eligible employees currently on a leave of absence will transition to the Discretionary PTO plan once they have exhausted any accrued but unused PTO remaining from any prior policy and returned to active status. Company Confidential – Discretionary PTO 10.20.2022 500 Atrium Drive Somerset, NJ 08873
Q8: Does this new program mean that I will not be paid for unused PTO if I leave the Company in the future? A8: Discretionary PTO means you will not accrue hours in the future. Therefore, there are no reimbursable hours upon termination, subject to applicable law. However, if you still have an accrued balance under a prior PTO policy, those hours will be paid out at termination.
Q9: Do I receive Flex Holidays, Floating Days or Personal Days if I am on Discretionary PTO? A9: Employees who participate in the Discretionary PTO plan are allowed to take time when needed and as such, will not be provided Flex Holidays, Floating or Personal Days. They do receive the national holidays as listed on the Company holiday calendar.
Q10: If I regularly work less than 30 hours per week, does Discretionary PTO apply to me? A10: No. Discretionary PTO only applies to employees classified as exempt who are scheduled to work 30 or more hours per week. See question 1 for a description of employee eligibility.
Q11: Am I required to record my Discretionary PTO time? A11: Yes. Discretionary PTO time must be recorded for timecard and labor costing. Employees should continue to report their time off through Oracle, or the appropriate timekeeping system, using the same PTO code. Once you exhaust your rolled over, accrued balance and transition to Discretionary PTO, your balance will reflect a negative amount since time is no longer accrued.
Q12: Why can’t non-exempt employees participate in Discretionary PTO? A12: State and federal wage and hour laws are not conducive to a discretionary time off plan for non-exempt employees. Non-exempt employees will continue to follow their current PTO accrual schedule
Get a clue. Companies are using this new "policy" so when they have layoffs they don't need to pay out any accrued PTO. Jazz Pharmaceuticals planned and instituted it in late fall, 2021 a few months before they dumped/laid off their Sunosi salesforce.
It's absolutely a money grab. In California they have to pay out 100%. I'll never work for Syneos (or any other contract company) again.
So, if understanding this correctly:
If in 2022 allowed 15 Pto days, (and)
In 2023 based on discretion of manager IE on good terms , performance is good, I don’t cause much of a fuss, that
I could get approval for same #days (15),
OR, I get approved for 25 days,
OR I could get, say , 12 days?
If in 2022 allowed 15 Pto days, (and)
In 2023 based on discretion of manager IE on good terms , performance is good, I don’t cause much of a fuss, that
I could get approval for same #days (15),
OR, I get approved for 25 days,
OR I could get, say , 12 days?
It makes sense, saves the company time and money... Saves us aggravation. There's no point in having a tiered system for PTO based on length of service. Most people don't work for syneos longer than a year or two at a time.
I don't see the downside.
I don't see the downside.
This Discretionary Time Off Policy is followed by many companies for many reasons, with the states who have labor laws that mandate 100% payout as the incentive for companies to implement. At the end of the day, Syneos can not bill if you are not logging in to calls. There are many other companies outside of pharma who also instituted this policy, such as law firms/accounting firms / financial service companies b/c they also bill their clients for the time logged in working. Like many other Contract Sales Organizations, Syneos relies on billables. Since this is discretionary time off, your manager can reject your request. The more billing comes out of you, the happier your manager will be. It's illegal for them to say that but you are putting a target on your back if you take 25 days off... From what I understand, all levels of higher management are issued PTO ledgers on a monthly basis to monitor and ensure billing is optimum. If your name pops as one who isn't churning enough billable hours, you are looking for trouble.
I have not heard about this change. Does this apply to all Syneos field reps or only certain contracts? Haven’t seen anything about this on the Syneos site.
I have seen other companies that offer this and it’s great. As with everything it DEPENDS on your manager. A manager on the Access and Reimbursement Repatha contract side has already told his team to basically only take what was offered in 2022. He said use 2022 as “your guide”. But he’s also one that rides with reps all the time because he’s stuck in “sales manager mode”.
Bad thing. Lipstick on a pig. You now have to ask to take your deserved PTO. If you take a day more than before it will be used against you.
All Syneos Managers are like this. They are all directed to be stuck in time b/c that is the only way they can justify their jobs. Just know it doesn't matter what contract you are on, you will have problems if you request more than 2-3 days off in a row.. It's all about the billables. When you take off, Syneos can't bill for you.
Yes, we have a ledger that we MUST fill out every quarter. My manager states that they want "set expectations"....they refuse to state WHAT the expectation is for time off.