OT: Voluntary Time Off From work?

I just wondered if anyone else out there has heard of Voluntary Time Off From Work (aka: V.T.O)

The company I work for has used this for years even when the economy was going strong. What happens is if it gets a little slow or they want to save on man hours for the month they will ask you if you want to go home. There is nothing held against you. (also you don't have to take it you can stay and work) You can simply leave that day or take a week off or whatever they offer.. You do not get payed,but you can collect unemployment.. The thing that makes me a little confused or angry is how can a company leagally get away with this? There are days when we have plenty of work,but they want to save man hours so they let people go. There is plenty of work. It doesn't seem fair to tax payers to have to pay unemployment for people that sit at home just because it is easier to collect then to go to work. Another thing that makes me mad is if you stay you end up performing 3 to 4 peoples jobs and your over load! Are there any other companys that do this??

Sure do except they call it C time and it's the same thing you described. I don't use it for any of my employees because I don't agree with it but some of the other departments do. But you never know, budgets are getting tighter and tighter.Sent my budget in for 2009 and they sent it back wanting a 4% cut. Sent it back in and they wanted another 4% cut. Since wages are the biggest part of any budget you have to do something.

dont seem right to me,i would be off a lot unless the bird flu hits!

So............who pays for your unemployment, i.e., where does the money come from?

suppose you weren't game to cut 4% off the width of the pages and send them back!

They call it "voluntary layoff" around here. It 's obviously better for those who can afford to be off (maybe worked a ton of overtime earlier in the year or may not be the primary breadwinner) as long as your workforce is flexible enough to fill in the gaps. I'm sure in some cases they have to be careful who they let do it. You're probably seeing a lot of it now because (if you manufacture for other customers) a lot of companies have holiday/end of year shut-downs about this time and can afford gaps in production.

As for unemployment, isn't that paid into a fund by employers which would explain why employers sometimes fight to deny it? I think unemployment, because it is often times abused, is mistaken for welfare when in reality it is yours to use because essentially you (thru your employer) paid for it. Coupled with the fact that while you are out the company isn't making revenue from you and in fact has to maintain your benefits, I see nothing wrong with it. Now school me if you must lol

good luck,
Bill

Around here it is payed by your employer on a sliding scale from 1.5 to 10 % of an employee's earnings. Employers have no choice, they pay the smaller amount no matter what, larger percentage if employees are laid off...

WELL HERE IN MICH THE COMPANY'S PAY INTO A FUND
LETS CALL IT UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, AS WITH ANY INSURANCE THE MORE OR LONGER CLAIMS A COMPANY HAS
THE HIGHER THIER PAY RATE IS, WHAT I DON'T GET WITH YOUR QUESTION ;;HAS YOUR TAXES INCREASED OR DECREASED DEPENDING ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LAID OFF FROM WORK, LETS SAY YOU JUST EXPOSED A MAJOR FLAW IN THE TAX FUNDING SYSTEM, DO U ACTUALLY THINK YOUR TAXES WOULD BE ANY LESS, EVEN IF UNEMPLOYMENT [WAS] FUNDED BY THE GOV, THE $ WOULD JUST BE SPENT ON SOME OTHER CRAP;SAY LETS STUDY HOW MUCH A HORSE FART INCREASES GLOBALCOOLING LOLLLLLL, PS BUY FORD NOW!!!!

In Calif its called workshare , and I'm on it now. We haven't had much work at the shop for 6 mo's , and they started this plan 3 mo's ago. The unemployment payment is about 1/2 of regular pay. They are still paying for health coverage , and my house is paid off , so its fine with me. At least I still have a job........

There is alot of that out there. My sons company has one project that takes three months to complete the testing. Once completed there are 250 thousand units to deliver. He asked me if it made sence to lay the folks off that do the testing? Of course not, but they did anyway. Managment can't sell the parts for three months..no cash...so cut the labor force to make this last quarter look better.

As far as unemployment, you guys and your bosses pay that into a fund. And that fund is one that you don't get more dimes out of the bucket till you and the boss put them in. There are exceptions, (and the ones we hear about more often than not) Some folks are better off drawing unemployment, but the candle starts to burn down fast if you do get laid off.

As you will note I have little love for my ex-wife. She was a trouble maker at three of her jobs, she was a very good worker, and always on time etc. But as a trouble maker few coworkers got along with her and the same with her supervisors. Yet she gets a VERY HIGH recomandation when the future employer askes questions.

The sooner she gets a job the better for her last employer because if she gets the new job, unemployment collects from the new boss in the event she gets laid off (first). Once the new bosses funds are depleted they go back to the old boss and collect. Therefore good recomendations, even if she was a terrible employee.

Not right, just the way it is. By the same token if you die, our friendly government keeps every penny you and the boss paid in.

I think it would be better than just being laid off permanently. Dave

In one of the prior real estate busts our company, and others, made a deal with the State (OR): we worked part time, drew unemployment at reduced rate. Apparently was cheaper for the State than having us laid off, and better for the company as they kept trained staff. Lasted six weeks or so, as I recall.

My brother just took a similar leave for 29 days. He took it to prevent lower seniority workers from being laid off. He had to hold to 29 days to maintain his bennies.
Telephone operators used to have 'E' time where they could leave from a scheduled tour if workload was low. It was a contract item, I think, we in plant couldn't do it.

Pretty common in the auto shops. Voluntary layoffs. Generally not to exceed 30 days, or you lose your bennies. Keeps the younger guys with families working. I know several guys who came back from voluntary layoffs and retired. They found out not going to work wasn't bad. The companies pay into the state unemployment fund.

Good thing to do when its slow. Not to many companies are going to pay you to do nothing.
The alternative is permanent layoff.
That puts a good worker out of a job and looses a good worker from that company.
Not a win win by any account.
In Minnesota we have seasonal layoffs all the time. I am on that right now. But I have seen offers for layoff for others because of work load.
Bennefits still get paid and I still get my holiday pay.

Pretty common. Typically the company will lay someone off, so there would be unemployment one way or the other. The only difference is it allows some workers to choose it who want it, rather than forcing it upon folks without any choice.

Where my wife works, one of the cooworkers goes to visit her daughter a 1/2 a country away for 2-4 weeks every winter. She does it on this layoff time. Instead of 4 people getting laid off for a week each, this one gal gets 4 weeks of layoff, the other workers get to keep their full pay. All 4 are happy. Makes no difference to the comany or to unemployment - going to be the same amount of claims either way.

Lot of seasonal type of jobs around here, so unemployment for a few months with rolling layoffs, followed by overtime for the same employees for a few months is common. Here.

What you describe sounds like a normal job 'here', nothing ilegal or unusual about it. The company needs 25% reduction in workforce for a month or 3 - options are to take some vacation or layoff - if their are not enough who volinteer to do so, then it is rotated through the remaining employees who didn't volinteer. Every year. In fall, you end up working 50, 60, sometimes 70 hours a week on time & 1/2. Same job.

--->Paul

Taxpayers don,t pay unemployment. It is a fund paid by companys If don,t user it they are not taxed but if used they have to pay in.

walmart does this,save money so waltons can live better

i am on it now here its called voluntary lay off. been on since mid oct. go back mid. jan. drawing exactly same as i bring home. after drive time and having to endure know it all co-workers i am money /peace of mind ahead