Walmart Inc. is making sweeping changes to its employment policies this month, granting paid sick leave to hourly workers in the U.S., and, at the same time, possibly making it easier to fire those who miss too many shifts.
Effective Feb. 2, the revamp standardizes a patchwork of local and regional policies crafted to comply with the growing number of states and municipalities requiring businesses to offer paid sick leave. Now all of Walmart’s store and warehouse workers will be able to earn as many as 48 hours of what it calls “Protected Paid Time Off,” which is classified separately from their regular vacation time and can be used for any reason.
It’s the latest step in Walmart’s attempt to burnish its reputation as an employer. Last year, the company raised wages, expanded parental-leave policies and relaxed its dress code—moves that, Walmart says, have lowered employee turnover rates in the U.S. by more than 10 percentage points, though it won’t be more specific.
Related: Walmart employees embrace on-demand paycheck app
“We’re thrilled that the company has stepped up and appears to be making major improvements to its policy,” said Dina Bakst, co-president of A Better Balance and, historically, a harsh critic of Walmart’s employment practices. “At the same time, we urge Walmart to reconsider aspects of the policy that may be even more harsh on workers.”
Walmart’s new sick-leave benefit is the carrot in its policy overhaul. The retailer has also cut by nearly half the number of attendance infractions allowed over a six-month period before a worker is fired. In addition, quarterly bonus payments, which were previously based only on a store’s performance, are now partially tied to attendance. A worker who bails on a couple of shifts, for example, could see his or her bonus cut by as much as half. Those with no violations, meanwhile, can receive 25 percent more. (Workers who use their protected leave won’t get penalized for absences, no matter the reason.)
Drew Holler, a vice president of associate experience at Walmart, said paid sick leave was a “complicated issue” due to the various state and local regulations, and the new policy will “simplify the approach.” He said attendance over the most recent holiday period was better than during the same period a year ago.
Walmart’s workers will start Feb. 2 with a clean slate, attendance-wise. Even so, at least one Walmart worker wasn’t happy about the change in bonus policy. “Our attendance has nothing to do with it,” said Sherry Koska, 68, who works at a Walmart in Rialto, California and is involved with OUR Walmart, a labor activist group. Koska, though, said she had zero absence points, so she would qualify for the additional bonus.
She’s not alone: About 300,000 U.S. hourly workers have perfect attendance, Walmart said. That’s less than a third of its 1.1 million-strong hourly workforce.
“There’s also a subset that have good, but not spotless attendance, and a subset on the other end of the spectrum,” said Holler, who spent one hour explaining the program to Walmart store managers at a meeting in Houston on Thursday. “Our goal is to address both ends.”
By state law, Koska already gets paid sick time, along with Walmart workers in Illinois, Philadelphia and other jurisdictions that require it. Other big chains are in the same boat; overall, a little less than half of retailers surveyed by consultant firm Mercer said hourly employees get paid sick days on top of regular paid time off. At Starbucks Corp., baristas accrue paid sick leave from the date they’re hired, at the same rate Walmart plans to offer—one hour for every 30 hours worked. At that rate, a full-time employee working 40 hours a week would be able to cover one eight-hour shift after six weeks.
From Walmart’s perspective, the new policies are designed to combat absenteeism both by making it easier for workers to take the time they need and discouraging no-shows. According to Mercer, measuring and reducing the impact of absences is among the top workforce priorities for companies with 5,000 or more employees.
“What’s really happening is they are concerned about people abusing paid time off,” said Jennie Romich, an associate professor at the University of Washington whose research focuses on low-income workers.
Whether it reduces absenteeism or not depends on how it’s implemented, according to workplace experts. “It’s really about what happens in the actual stores,” said Anna Haley, an associate professor at Rutgers University. “The proof is in that pudding.”
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Hey guys, I was hired without having an orientation so I wasn’t explained a few things, one of those being the difference between PTO and PPTO. I was wondering if someone could explain it for me? Thank you so much!
PPTO refers to Protected Paid Time Off while PTO refers to paid time off, and people often mistake them to mean the same thing. Both of refer imply taking absences from work, but they differ as one is protected and the other is regular.
As we go further in this article, you will learn why one is protected and the other is regular, and you will see it in their uses.
Understandably, workers will always need a break. So, it is inevitable that one would not utilize using their PPTO or PTO as a Walmart employee. However, you also need to note that it is earned, and we will also talk about that in this article.
Difference Between PPTO And PTO
As earlier mentioned PPTO stands for Protected Paid Time Off, and PTO stands for Paid Time Off. You can use PTO when you will be out of the office for any reason. It could be that you were running late, or you have an emergency. Whatever the reason, you can always use your PTO as it allows you to be out of the office and still get paid.
However, you will need to get approval when you will be out of the office for any reason. Therefore, you need to talk with your manager if you plan not to be at the office. So, you will use PTO as a Walmart employee when you get approved to be absent.
So, how does PPTO differ from PTO at Walmart? After all, both of them allow us to be absent from work.
PPTO is used for emergency cases only at Walmart. An employee uses their PPTO when they cannot get their leave request approved. For example, you were rushed to the hospital and you need to be out of work for some time. In such a case, there is no way you could have gotten approval from your manager before going to the hospital. Thus, you can use your PPTO to ensure that you do not earn occurrences.
Earning occurrences in Walmart entails getting absence strikes and it could lead to the loss of your job. Therefore, PTO is used for regular leave and absence cases, while PPTO is used for emergency absence situations.
How To Earn PPTO And PTO
Earning PTO is automatic for every Walmart employee as it is based on every hour you work. Therefore, you are sure to be increasing your PTO based on your hourly work.
However, it differs with PPTO as you earn one hour of PPTO based on every 30 hours you work for a total of 48 hours yearly.
Earning both PTO and PPTO depends on your number of months or years as a Walmart employee. Understandably, those who have been employees of Walmart for longer will have more PTO and PPTO than someone who recently started working with the organization.
Benefits Of PTO And PPTO
So, PTO and PPTO allow you to take time off work. But more benefits of these structures include:
1. It Gives You Time To Recoup: Some people say that all work and no play will make you dull, and we agree with this claim. As a Walmart employee, PTO and PPTO allows you take breaks from work without fear as you are sure that you will still be paid for your break periods.
It doesn’t make sense for someone to work around the clock all year without breaks as it reduces their productivity. You will notice that a person loses focus and acts slower when they are steadily working without taking breaks. However, when you take time away from work, you can do relaxing things that make you happy. By the time you are back to the office, you will see that you feel refreshed and you will have more zeal towards work.
But, you might feel negative energies while working if you do not take regular breaks. Therefore, we advise Walmart employees to always utilize their PTO and PPTO systems to ensure that they enjoy their work. After all, many people will love to work at Walmart and enjoy this benefit.
The goal is to be happy and lively while working and you can only get it when you can recoup, which is possible through PTO and PPTO.
2. Personal Development: We can say that one of the reasons why Walmart has PTO and PPTO is to allow its employees have time for personal development. After all, it cant happen if the employees are always working. Thus, PTO and PPTO gives you time off to do various personal activities that can elevate your growth.
For example, you can use your off periods to take online courses that can boost your career. Sometimes, you would want to have maximum concentration while taking such courses but it cannot happen when you are always working. But it can happen when you are away from work as you can rest adequately and take your courses.
In addition, these courses might be helpful even while working at Walmart. Typically, employers love it when their employee engages in activities that lead to growth and development. So, if the manager notices that you are engaging in personal development, you might get a promotion. However, we are not saying that this will always be the situation, but it is a possibility.
Asides from taking classes, there are also various personal development activities like learning a skill. In addition, even clearing your head to have mental clarity classifies as engaging in personal development.
3. Family Bonding: Family emergencies are one of the reasons why Walmart employees apply for leaves and use either their PTO or PPTO. However, allow us to tell you that family situations do not always have to be emergencies as you can also use your leave or absences periods to engage in family bonding.
For example, you will need time away from work if you just adopted a new family member. The break will allow us to bond with the new member of your family and make memories. In addition, it could be that it was a long time since the family got together, so you all plan to take a vacation. Therefore, your PTO or PPTO can cover your absence from work. We see that people usually happen when they engage in family bonding time.
Unfortunately, some organizations do not allow their employees to take breaks from work. Therefore, such people cannot bond with their families and it creates a disconnect. It is almost as if such a person is not a member of the family.
Walmart understands the essence of family bonding, so it lets you take breaks from work to attend to family issues as they know that it leads to wholeness and makes people happy.
3. It Allows You Attend To Emergencies: We see that many people use their PPTO to attend to emergencies as it does not require approval. Different individuals usually experience various emergencies, and Walmart employees are not an exception. Therefore, they do not need to worry when such emergencies happen as they know that they are covered with their PPTO.
For people working in some other organizations, we see that they cannot attend to emergency situations that need their attention. These people complain that their company will not let them be away from work without a penalty. So, they could have a critical health condition and keep postponing the treatment because they are scared of being away from work.
However, a Walmart employee cannot experience such as Walmart has ensured to present a healthy working environment for all its employees. So, you can always rise to the occasion and be present if an emergency situation that needs your presence happens.
4. Work-Life Balance: The availability of PTO and PPTO has enabled Walmart employees to strike a perfect work-life balance. Now, they know that they can have time to carry out their personal activities and also be efficient at their work as the need arises.
For example, a male Walmart employee would not bother about missing the birth of his first child. Suppose he got an emergency call that his wife has just been rushed into the delivery theater. This man can quickly dash to the hospital to experience the childbirth without any issue as he knows that he is covered by his PTO and PPTO. Therefore, it should not be surprising to see that Walmart employees do not undergo mental stress as the organization has systems in place to ensure that they have a stress-free working environment.
In addition, if your car breaks down when going to work, you can focus on getting it fixed and not worry about earning occurrences.
FAQs
Below are some of the frequently asked questions:
The duration it takes to earn PPTO at Walmart depends on how long you have been working at the organization.
The difference between PTO and PPTO is that you can use PTO for regular approved absences. However, you get to use PPTO for unapproved absences when emergencies occur.
PPTO means Protected Paid Time Off.
Conclusion
PTO and PPTO both allow a Walmart employee to be absent from work. However, PTO is for approved absences while PPTO can be used for unapproved absences.
Sources
WALMART WILL PAY BONUSES FOR GOOD ATTENDANCE
What is the protected paid time off of Walmart?
Hourly PTO
Last Updated on April 4, 2022 by
Magalie D. is a Diploma holder in Public Administration & Management from McGill University of Canada. She shares management tips here in MGTBlog when she has nothing to do and gets some free time after working in a multinational company at Toronto.