More enhancements coming to PTO

Just two months after announcing most employees would earn more paid time off (PTO) each pay period during 2022, the health system has announced even more upcoming enhancements to its PTO benefit.

rest and renew

The new enhancements will give employees more flexibility in how they use their time off by providing a higher maximum for PTO banks along with the ability to sell back more PTO hours each year.

The following PTO enhancements will be effective beginning Dec. 19, 2021, for Great Bend employees and Dec. 26, 2021, for Kansas City employees.

Earn more PTO each pay period

Most employees will earn more PTO each pay period. For a detailed chart of the new accrual amounts, view the 2022 PTO chart.

Eligible full- and part-time employees with at least 0.5 FTE receive paid time off to use for vacations, personal days or sick days. With the impact of the pandemic, many staff are using less PTO.

The health system encourages employees to take PTO to take a mental and physical break from work. PTO can be used for any reason, not just the traditional one-week vacation. Consider taking a day off for guilt-free self-care or a long weekend “staycation.” Using PTO in smaller chunks at a time may be more feasible for many employees and still packs a healthy impact on mental, emotional and physical health.

Higher maximum for PTO banks

The PTO bank maximum will be 300 hours for all employees, regardless of years of service.

PTO sellback and higher maximum amount

The health system typically offers the opportunity for eligible employees to sell back PTO hours twice per year, up to 40 hours annually.

Going forward, employees will be able to sell up to 80 hours each year provided they have at least 40 hours in their banks at the time of after the sell-back. This enhancement is designed to give employees flexibility with how they benefit from their PTO time.

The following resources have more information about the PTO and other health system benefits: