Dear Cindy – What are Personal Days?

I've been offered a position. I see in the offer that I would be entitled to personal days in addition to vacation days and sick days. How do personal days work? Am I supposed to book them in advance like vacation days or use them at the last minute like a sick day?

Sincerely,

DR

In practice, personal days function like a midway point between vacation days and sick days. They are paid days off, to be used at the discretion of the employee, subject to supervisory approval. This usually means that while you give notice (which can range from a day to a couple of weeks) so that your employer can make sure that there's adequate coverage, you don't have to give as much notice as if you were taking a one-week vacation to the Caribbean.

Unlike vacation days, personal days almost never carry over into the next year.

Also note that some employers attach restrictions to personal days. For example: