vacation time

Hi there,
You guys are wonderful with all the information. I have a question about vacation time with over the road drivers. We are hoping to become team drivers and wonder how and if vacation time is calculated? Is it a set per year, or paid time off that one earns per week? I am sure every company is different.

 

yes, each company is different. one company i worked for, i had to work 1 year to get 1 week off

another company i worked for, i had to work 6 months to get one week off, another 6 months, and another vacation, after that yearly time off.

some places each week you are out, you get 1 day off at home, so do enough of those, and you can have several days off per year for multiple vacations, thru the year.

 

Thank you. Coming from Europe, where the vacation time is brilliant, it has been hard to adjust. My hubby has not had one paid week off in 2 years, so as we are trying to change companies, its a big consideration for us.
We don't mind the hard work at all, but when there is so little down time, its annoying.

 

that is indeed the differences between the countries. but it is what it is here in the states.

 

I'm sure there's companies that will pay you a bit less then give you a paid week off. In the end it is the same.
Any place you have to "earn your days off" sounds like indentured servitude to me. What is this prison? Tell your employer you are going on vacation for whatever days and if they don't like it then you will find another truck to drive. If you prove yourself to be an excellent team then you can do exactly this.

 

I agree. after over 30 years here, we are used to it, but just wanted to know how some companies do it with drivers.

 

My company gives us a solid 7days after 1 year of service, our pay is based on our average over that previous 52 weeks. So if i gross 80,000 in my previous 52weeks, i would get about $1540 for my vacation pay

 

I can’t remember the breakdown as far as how many weeks per year of employment but it’s calculated on your average week and that’s what you’re paid. But we can also take about as much unpaid time off as we’d like.

 

At Swift is is based more on your time with them, than a weekly average.
I think it starts at around $400 after one year and maxes out at $1,800 after five years.
(I edited my initial post after I went back to check my first vacation pay. It was $400 after the first year, $1,000 for the second year.)

It is not vacation time, but vacation pay. It is paid the during the week after your date of hire every year as a separate check. (VS the quarterly bonus, which is added to a normal paycheck.)