Employees at our organization also start accruing PTO immediately upon hire, and we do not start with anything being dumped in either. I'm not sure if that is common or not either. We have considered allowing employees to donate their PTO to other employees (or put it in a 'bank' so others can use it when needed) but have not figured out how to best implement that with our current payroll system.

We do offer paid bereavement leave. 3 days for immediate family members (spouse, partner, child, parent, grandparent, etc), 1 day for any other family member. We do not offer paid bereavement for any other situation.

Hello! We also start accruing day 1, but do not provide anything up front. Our employees do have 80 hours of Unpaid PTO available annually, and we also allow them to use up to 40 hours of PTO before it is accrued... so I guess they do start with a bank of PTO (40 hours), though they'd have to pay it back if they left.

As for bereavement, we offer 3 days for immediate family of theirs or their spouse and also include anyone else in the household. Exceptions to this practice are at a manager's discretion; we are pretty employee centric and recognize that at times, 3 days is not sufficient.

Employees begin accruing PTO immediately with a beginning balance of zero (credited 1st of following month).  We allow a cash out of 40 hours annually and the maximum balance an individual can reach before PTO accrual ceases is 300 hours.  Any available PTO must be used before an employee qualifies for STD benefits (our PTO combines sick, vacation, and personal time).  We also operate in CA (required sick pay) which makes things more complicated and is a reason our policy is structured as it is.

Our bereavement allowance for immediate family members is up to five (5) days although most don't use it since the old policy granted three (3) days.

More than happy to share either of the policies with you, if interested.

Phil Brunner