Not every holiday feels like a holiday for everyone. Some people count down to Christmas. Others are just trying to keep it together through National Bring Your Dog to Work Day (which, let’s face it, should absolutely be mandatory).
That’s where a floating holiday comes in.
A floating holiday is a paid day off that employees can use at their discretion. Think of it like a wildcard in your PTO deck. It’s not tied to any specific national or public holiday. Instead, it floats, letting employees decide which day they want to take off. This offers greater flexibility and contributes to something we all desperately need: better work-life balance.
Whether it’s used to celebrate a religious or cultural holiday, take a mental health day, or just to sleep in on a random Tuesday, a floating holiday gives people breathing room without cutting into their vacation days.
So, why does this matter to employers? Especially those hiring globally? Let’s dive in.
What Floating Holiday Actually Means
It’s called a floating holiday because it “floats”, it’s not anchored to a fixed date like New Year’s Day or Independence Day.
Instead of guessing which holidays your globally distributed team might observe, floating holidays allow employees to choose the days that matter most to them.
For example, someone might want time off for Diwali, Eid, or a local cultural celebration that isn’t on your standard calendar. Others might use a floating holiday for a personal milestone, a birthday, an anniversary, or, let’s be real, recovering from a family reunion.
The best part? A floating holiday is a paid day off. Yes, it’s a type of PTO (paid time off), and it’s up to the employer to define how many are offered, how they’re tracked, and how they’re used.
Floating Holiday Policies: What Employers Need to Know
Here’s where it gets real. Not all floating holiday policies are created equal.
If you’re an employer building a benefits package or expanding into new markets through an Employer of Record (EOR) like Empleyo, having a solid floating holiday policy is more than just nice, it’s strategic.
Here’s what most companies address in their policies:
- Number of floating holidays offered (e.g., one or two per year)
- Who qualifies for floating holidays
- How to request a floating holiday
- Policy regarding carryover of floating holidays
- Whether unused floating holidays may be paid out
- Deadline to use them by (e.g., end of calendar or fiscal year)
Having clear guidelines helps employees use their floating holiday without confusion and helps employers and employees stay aligned on expectations.
Offering a Floating Holiday: Why It Matters More Than Ever
Let’s talk global teams. When you’re hiring internationally, your holiday calendar becomes a complicated patchwork quilt of national holidays, religious celebrations, and regional observances.
Offering a floating holiday (or several) allows you to standardize some flexibility across diverse cultures. It says:
“We see you. We respect your traditions. And we trust you to take the time that’s meaningful to you.”
Floating holidays also help balance busy seasons. If multiple employees request time off around the same national holiday, floating holidays can relieve some pressure by spreading those absences across the calendar.
In short, floating holidays give employees control over their time, while helping the business stay agile.
PTO vs Floating Holiday: What’s the Difference?
Here’s the quick breakdown:
- PTO (Paid Time Off): This is your umbrella policy. It usually includes vacation days, sick days, and sometimes personal days. Employees accrue PTO based on tenure or hours worked.
- Floating Holidays: These are separate. Think of them as bonus paid leave days that don’t subtract from regular PTO. They’re paid holidays, but the employee chooses when to use them.
Both floating holidays and PTO are forms of paid time off but they serve different purposes.
Offering both gives employees flexibility without forcing them to dip into vacation or save their PTO for religious or personal observances.
Why Employers Should Provide Floating Holidays
Let’s say it louder for the people in the back: floating holidays are good for business.
When employers provide floating holidays, they:
- Show cultural awareness and inclusivity
- Support employee well-being and work-life balance
- Improve retention and morale
- Create a more flexible and modern workplace
If your team spans multiple time zones and traditions, floating holidays offer a simple way to respect individual needs without having to offer 73 regional public holidays.
Implementing Floating Holidays
Not sure where to start? Implementing a floating holiday policy is easier than you think.
Here are a few practical tips:
- Decide how many floating holidays to offer. Most companies start with one or two.
- Outline eligibility. Are they only for full-time employees? Do new hires qualify immediately?
- Set the rules. How do employees request floating holidays? Can they roll them over?
- Communicate clearly. Add it to your handbook, share it during onboarding, and make it easy to request.
- Track usage. Use your HR platform or payroll system to track available floating holidays and usage.
Bonus tip: Make it clear that unused floating holidays may not roll over unless specified. This keeps things simple and encourages employees to actually take the time off.
Floating Holidays Also Say: “We Trust You.”
Trust is a two-way street in the employer-employee relationship. Giving your team the ability to choose when to take off rather than telling them when they should signals trust, maturity, and flexibility.
And let’s be honest, most people don’t really need another mandatory break during a public holiday they don’t celebrate. But they do need time for their kid’s school play, grandma’s birthday, or just a quiet day to catch their breath.
That’s the beauty of floating holidays. They flex around real life.
The Employer’s Guide to Winning the Talent War
In today’s hiring climate, a strong benefits package isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s your competitive edge.
When you offer floating holidays, you signal to candidates and employees alike:
- We respect personal choice
- We support paid time off
- We understand the global nature of work
- We want you to bring your whole self to the job
Combine floating holidays with a strong PTO policy, and you’ve got a workplace people actually want to stay in.
How Empleyo Makes It Easy
- We respect personal choice
- We support paid time off
- We understand the global nature of work
- We want you to bring your whole self to the job
So you can focus on growing your team, and we’ll handle the complexity of global employment.
Floating Holidays Are Small But Mighty
To wrap it up:
- A floating holiday is a paid day off that employees choose.
- It supports work-life balance, diversity, and trust.
- Floating holidays allow employees to take time off for what matters to them.
- Employers can use it as a strategic employee benefit.
- Whether you’re local or global, adding floating holidays is a smart, human-centered move.
So yes, your team might still argue over pineapple on pizza, but at least they’ll all agree on one thing: floating holidays provide employees with something everyone needs choice.
And that? That’s worth celebrating.
Let’s Talk About Your Global Team
If you’re thinking about how to offer floating holidays, streamline PTO policies, or design a competitive benefits package across borders, we’ve got you.
Empleyo makes it easy for you to hire, pay, and support teams in over 100 countries, with everything from compliance to custom holiday policies handled for you.
Book a quick call with us today, and let’s figure out how to build benefits your team will actually use, and love.
Because the best kind of global growth? The kind where everyone gets a day off when they need it.
Questions About Floating Holidays? We’ve Got Answers.
Let’s tackle a few of the FAQs companies ask when setting up a floating holiday benefit.
Can employees carry over unused floating holidays?
Depends on your policy. Some companies allow employees to carry over unused days for a limited time. Others go with a “use it or lose it” model. Both are fine, just be transparent.
Is a floating holiday a type of PTO?
Technically yes, it’s a form of paid leave. But unlike vacation or sick days, it’s tied to specific holiday time (chosen by the employee), and is often tracked separately from general PTO.
Should we pay for unused floating holidays?
Some companies pay for unused floating holidays at year-end or upon termination, but it’s not required unless you’ve written it into your policy. Most don’t, it encourages people to actually use floating holidays rather than hoarding them.
How do floating holidays impact scheduling?
Since floating holidays allow employees to take time off on a day of their choosing, you may get requests that fall outside standard holiday periods. Planning ahead and requiring advance notice helps manage workload, especially when multiple employees request time off around the same period.
