The federal government offers generous vacation, sick leave and holiday policies.
When you first enter the federal workforce, you will receive 13 days of paid vacation per year, and your number of vacation days increases with your length of service. You can also carry over up to 30 days of vacation time for the following year.
Length of service |
Vacation days per year |
1 to 3 years |
13 days |
3 to 15 years |
20 days |
15 or more years |
26 days |
Federal employees accumulate 13 days of paid sick leave each year regardless of length of service. You are not limited to the amount of sick leave that can add up over time. Sick leave can count for any of your own medical needs, if you need to take care of anyone in your family, are having a child or are going through an adoption process.
All federal employees receive 10 days of paid holidays per year. See the 2019 federal holiday schedule.
Do you despise the idea of working a traditional eight to five job? Are you worried about being in a stuffy office all day long? Or maybe you want to lessen your carbon footprint through reduced travel? No matter the case, one advantage of working in the federal government is the opportunity to have an alternative work schedule. Alternative work schedules help keep life balanced and, therefore, keep both agencies and employees happy and engaged.
Alternative Work Schedules allow you to balance work and personal responsibilities. There are two main types of Alternative Work Schedules: Flexible Work Schedules and Compressed Work Schedules.
Part-time work or job sharing allows you to facilitate the lifestyle you need while still progressing in your career.
Telework is a benefit of federal employment that allows you to work from home or another convenient location. By law, each agency must establish a telework policy, so eligible employees can have the opportunity to utilize this advantage. For more information, see A guide to telework in the federal government.
Please be advised that not all agencies utilize the alternative work schedule. If this is a benefit that is important to you, make sure to do research ahead of time to verify that this is something the agency you are pursuing participates in.