I’ve been with my current job for almost four years now. I only work 18 hours a week, and get no paid time off unless one of the “major holidays” falls on a day of the week I work on (Tuesday through Friday.) No sick leave, no personal days, not even any paid bereavement leave.

I know part-time employees as a rule get the short end of the stick, but I haven’t had a vacation in almost four years (unless you count the five months that I was unemployed before that…and that’s not what I call a relaxing time off.)

So today I sent a proposal that next year, in lieu of my typical 3% yearly raise, that they provide me with two weeks paid time off (at 18 hours a week). At least one of the two weeks would be consecutive days (a whole week), while the other one could just be four personal days to be taken one or two at a time.

There’s even a retired lady there who I replaced (I work at a church), who says she would be more than willing to cover for me if I need time off. (This was mentioned by her in casual conversation with me several times, so I would have to more formally confirm with her that she is indeed willing to do so.)
Also, I did the math, and if I’m forgoing my raise next year, it basically wouldn’t even cost them any additional money.

So…is this a reasonable request? I mean, I didn’t even take time off this past February when my dad died, so I would hope they would be willing to consider this. (I was offered time off at that time, but I couldn’t afford to take unpaid leave.) I honestly am thinking of maybe finding a different job if they can’t try to accommodate me on this.

(Oh, and Maryland, where I reside, has in the past few years passed a law requiring that employers offer at least a minimum amount of paid sick time to part-time employers, at one hour for every thirty hours worked, but unfortunately, it only applies to employers with 15 or more employees, so I don’t even get that.)