Vacation

Vacation is the common North American term for time away from work for rest or travel.

In US workplaces, vacation may be tracked as its own leave bucket or folded into a broader PTO policy alongside personal time. The practical question for a scheduler is not just whether someone is away, but whether the absence was requested early enough and approved in time to keep shifts covered.

In the UK and Australia, the usual everyday term is holiday or annual leave. In Canada, vacation is standard and often pairs with vacation pay in employment-standards language.

Related: PTO.