It's better to give a generous fixed vacation allotment - then everyone knows where they stand and what's expected of them. Maybe even combine it with conferenc

It's better to give a generous fixed vacation allotment - then everyone knows where they stand and what's expected of them. Maybe even combine it with conference allotment, if there are conferences your employees really want to go to, but not to staff your company's booth. I get six weeks vacation per year, and therefore don't mind spending one of them helping out with a conference I love. However, there are no rollover days, and my manager would catch hell from the works council if I hit November with four weeks still available for the year - unless I already had approval to take December off from earlier in the year. Edited to add: I live in Germany, and my employer has a contract with IG Metall, the big metalworkers union, and six weeks vacation was part of that deal.