Paid time off

Crowe provides its employees with paid time off (PTO) benefits in lieu of traditional benefits of paid vacation, personal or sick leave. A tenure based plan, PTO may be taken, with prior approval, at times which best accommodates the needs of the work group as well as the individual. PTO provides you with paid time off when time away from work is needed, regardless of the reason and should be used for personal reasons including illness, emergencies such as family illness or personal appointments and personal time off for planned vacations.

Crowe's expectation is that individuals will plan for and take PTO during slow periods. Appropriate periods to utilize PTO may vary for each Business Unit (BU). Personnel should work with appropriate BU management to discuss anticipated time off to ensure our clients’ needs are met. In some instances a BU may direct personnel to take PTO when work is not available.

Personnel are eligible to accrue paid time off hours if they work a minimum of 1,248 hours annually. The PTO plan year is the same as the fiscal year, April 1 through March 31.

Personnel working less than 2,080 hours annually receive a pro-rata amount of PTO hours based on their individual work schedules. Details are confirmed at start date or at the time, the reduced schedule is implemented.

The amount of Paid Time Off hours you are eligible for is defined in the offer letter and follows these guidelines:

• 1st to 10th year of service: 160 hours
• 10th to 15th year of service: 200 hours
• 15th to 20th year of service: 240 hours
• 20th+ year of service: 280 hours

The PTO plan year is the same as the firm’s fiscal year, April 1 through March 31. Annually at April 1, personnel begin "accruing" PTO for use during the current fiscal year.

PTO is accrued in equal installments after completion of each pay-period over the course of the fiscal year. For example, if you are eligible for 240 hours annually, you will accrue 10 hours per completed pay-period. PTO is not accrued for partial pay-periods.

For individuals on any type of Flexible Work Arrangement, PTO will be accrued at a level proportional to a reduced schedule.

It is permissible to record PTO hours before they are accrued. However, doing so will result in a negative PTO balance until offset by future accruals. All personnel are expected to manage their time to prevent a negative balance at fiscal year-end. In the event of a unique situation that results in a negative balance at the end of the fiscal year, that negative balance will be carried forward to the next fiscal year.

Carryover

At the end of each fiscal year (March 31), a maximum of 40 hours of your unused accrued PTO will be automatically carried over into the next fiscal year. Any unused PTO in excess of 40 hours will be forfeited. Crowe will comply with applicable state law that is inconsistent with any of the provisions in this paragraph. No more than 280 hours of PTO (new PTO plus carry-over PTO) can be available to you at any one time. If you are eligible for 280 hours of PTO annually, no additional hours can be carried over in to the new year. Individuals on any type of flexible work arrangements are subject to these maximum hours of PTO and carry-over proportional to their work schedules.