Amazon UPT Policy 2024 – (Unpaid Time Off) – Meaning & How Does It Work?

By Phillip Adcock
Last updated: Dec 7, 2023
What Is UPT Amazon

Amazon employees are fortunate enough to have an impressive variety of so many interesting things at their disposal. 

Employees enjoy several benefits to help them balance their working lives.

Amazon’s unique performer target policy is something that people new to the company tend to wonder about, especially what is UPT Amazon means?

What Is Amazon UPT Policy?

Amazon has stated that beginning in 2022, they would provide their employees with 20 hours of “Unpaid Personal Time Off” each quarter.

Amazon gives its employees a lot of time off for whatever they want to do, like spending time with their family or their friends. 

This time would count as the personal, unpaid time to recharge. If an employee falls below a certain number of hours, they may be released from his duties.

How Does UPT Work at Amazon?

Unpaid personal time, or UPT, is several benefits available to Amazon employees.

From 2017

Their policy states that each tier-one employee receives twenty (20) hours at the start of every quarter to be used throughout the year.

Amazon is encouraging about letting their staff take vacations during the most hectic times of the year, including holiday seasons.

Employees may only accrue up to 80 hours of unexpected time off each year. If one attempts to bank more than their allotted time, they run out of the Amazon UPT points system, likely aborted.

New updated UPT Policy Change beginning June 7th, 2022:

Amazon UPT Policy
Source: Reddit
  • Gain UPT deposits in real-time: Associates’ UPT bank will update daily based on actual hours worked. Curently, associates receive quarterly UPT grants of 20 hours. With the new policy, associates can accrue more than 20 hours in a quarter depending on how many hours they work.
  • Voluntary Time Off (VTO) and Mandatory Time Offf (MTO) hours will also gain UPT Associates can gain more UPT by working additional hours and can bank up to 80 hours at any given time.

Join AmazonFC’s discussion on Reddit about the new UPT policy change here

Amazon employees sometimes have to pay a travel fee to take a vacation or sick days.

According to a new staff contract, abusing one’s UPT will make them lose both paid working hours and wages.

Amazon UPT PTO and vacation !! What you need to know| must watch

How Frequently Does Amazon Provide UPT?

From time to time, Amazon gives each of their employees a paid day off; it’s called an Uptime Trim and is like Christmas in July.

Employees have the freedom to use their UPT however they choose; as such, many people choose to use their UPT at the end of each quarter (Q4) or save it for later – when times are tough.

Amazon gives its employees the same amount of time off as the people who make the products that Amazon sells. It makes Amazon a great place to work for entrepreneurs.

Can I use UPT at Amazon at any time?

Many employees are permitted to spend their vacation time at any time of year.

However, some managers may be hesitant to give out all of their team members’ vacation days at once if they desire to take this extended absence.

As a staff member at Amazon.com, it’s important to know how much time off work you are allotted by law. 

Using all of your allotted paid time off in one single block can hurt your standing with your supervisors and possibly with the legal team as well, who might otherwise not approve of this sort of move.

One of the important things for Amazon employees to know is using their UPTO during the busiest times of the year. 

For example, Amazon always has big sales in the summer. That’s when a lot of people buy things online.

These include the holiday months and Prime Day. Even when times are tough and getting heavier on some people may be inevitable.

Can You Be Penalized For Just Using UPT?

Employees at Amazon cannot be fired for exceeding the amount of UPT hours permitted in a day, but they can be documented for it.

The strict policy is expected to reduce the chance that employees might be tempted to work through their allotted time and access overtime pay without being entitled to it.

Amazon wants employees to follow a certain set of rules and guidelines while at work. If they do not follow these rules, they can be fired.

These requirements include working a minimum number of hours per week according to your contracted terms. 

But supervisors can set stricter limits depending on each team’s needs.

Still, Amazon employees must make sure not to overuse their allotted time off to avoid disciplinary action by a manager or being fired.

Is Sick Days Fall Counted As UPT?

Amazon warehouse in Eastvale

UPT is an Amazon entitlement for staff that allows workers to take paid time off for any hours they work more than their standard 40 per week. 

Employees that fall ill or get injured are also eligible for a certain amount of sick days, which they can use if they need them.

Amazon employees with UPT may occasionally use their time off to enhance the number of sick days they get if they’re ill for a long period. 

However, to use sick days, an Amazon employee has to call in 24 hours or less before their scheduled shift.

Amazon staff are not supposed to use all or half of their allotted vacation time. 

In both cases, employees are less likely to be severely reprimanded for doing so if they can show that there was some emergency or extenuating circumstance that necessitated their absence from work.

What Is the Distinction Between UPT and PTO at Amazon?

Amazon’s policy for mandatory rest is twofold. All employees receive UPT (Unpaid Time Off) and are then given the option to PTO, which stands for Paid Time Off, an additional benefit granted following one’s employment contract.

Amazon grants their employees extra time off in the form of Unpaid Time Off (UPT), which is more than what they can accrue Paid Time Off (PTO). 

Overall, employees are entitled to more hours off at the end of each year than have hours available on their timesheets.

It is important to remember that staff members are still entitled to paid time off but that any cap will reduce their paycheques.

It is more beneficial for employees to take time off over unpaid time off due to its many pros.

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* Disclaimer: We do not buy, sell or provide service, we only share with you our trusted sources, and experience. In case of any changes in the products or services of the companies, all the information below is supposed to change at any time.

Phillip Adcock is the founder and Managing Director of the research agency Shopping Behaviour Xplained (SBXL), a shopping research organization using psychological consumer insight to explain and help consumers answer their questions about stores and services.

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