If you've ever wanted to take a trip but didn't have any vacation time left, you're not the only one. In fact, some workplaces nationwide are finding ways to accommodate people in just that predicament.
Jeffe Kennedy told CBS that both she and her husband love to travel, but she runs out of vacation time every year.
It's not a problem, though, because her company offers a buy-sell vacation program that allows her to purchase an extra week of time every year.
"It's absolutely worth it to me to pay out of pocket for the extra time off," Kennedy told CBS.
A recent survey showed that 14 percent of companies currently permit employees to buy or sell their vacation days through payroll deductions or credits.
"We get very, very positive feedback about vacation buy and sell," Brian Cook of USG Corporation told CBS. "Flexibility in terms of how people work, where they work, when they work is very important to employees today."
"Buying" is more popular than "selling" at USG, though, Cook added.
"About half of employees will buy a week of vacation each year," he told CBS. "Only about 10 percent will sell a week."
Besides the buying and selling, some companies allow employees to donate unused vacation time to charity. "Employees who have extra days they can't use can give them back to the employer who converts that into a cash value and then writes a check in that amount to a charity," Julia Stich, with the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans, said to CBS.
At some businesses, employees can donate vacation time to fellow workers. "Another employee who may be suffering a personal crisis can tap that pool and have additional time off," Stich added.
If you want to sell vacation time back, this is how it works, according to CBS's report: Typically, you will receive an extra paycheck, with all normal deductions - but your company may instead offer you the option to contribute the cash to your 401k or profit-sharing plan.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
