How PTO accrual and balances work

Last updated: August 27, 2026

Applies to: Workers whose assignment includes paid time off. PTO is not part of every assignment, and the accrual rate and any carry-over or payout rules depend on your assignment and your work location. If you are not sure whether your assignment includes PTO, email support@ascen.com.

Summary: If paid time off (PTO) is offered on your assignment, you earn it gradually as you work — this is called accrual. This article explains what accrual means, how to read your balance in the portal, and why you sometimes cannot use time you have earned yet.

Paid time off (PTO) is paid time you can take away from work for things like vacation or personal days. Not every assignment includes PTO, and the amount you earn can differ from one assignment to another. Whether PTO is offered, and how much, depends on your employer and your work location.

What "accrual" means

PTO is generally earned over time rather than provided in full upfront. As you work, you accrue a small amount of PTO, allowing your balance to grow gradually up to any maximum that applies to your assignment. For example, you may accrue 1 hour of PTO for every 30 hours worked.

Paid sick leave, when available, is typically earned in a similar way but is tracked separately from your PTO balance.

How to read your balance

Open the Time Off Requests page in your portal. If you have earned any time, you will see summary cards near the top — a PTO Information card and a separate Sick Leave Information card. These will only be visible if they apply to you. If your assignment does not have PTO or you are in a state that does not require sick leave, these cards will not be visible.

Each card shows:

  • Total Hours Accrued — how much time you have earned so far.

  • Total Hours Used — how much you have already taken.

  • Total Hours Remaining — your current balance (accrued minus used).

  • Total Available to use this Year — how much you can still request this year. This can be lower than your remaining balance, because it also accounts for any yearly usage limit and any requests you have that are still pending.

  • State — the work state your balance is tied to.

If you do not see these cards at all, it usually means no time has accrued for you yet, or paid time off is not offered on your assignment.

Why you might not be able to use time you have earned

There are a few normal reasons a request can be limited even when you have hours on your card:

  • You have not worked enough yet. You may not yet be eligible to use your accrued time. Some assignments require you to complete a certain amount of work before PTO or Sick Leave becomes available for use. This is known as a waiting period. During this time, you may see a message such as, “Contractor has not worked long enough yet to use PTO time.”

  • Your request is larger than your available balance. If you ask for more hours than you have, you will see a message that you do not have enough time remaining. Check your Total Hours Remaining and reduce the request.

  • Pending requests are already reserved. Time off you have requested but that has not yet been approved is held against your available total, which lowers your Total Available to use this Year.

PTO and Sick Leave are tracked separately

Your PTO balance and your sick leave balance are different pools with different rules. Sick leave in particular is governed by state and local law and may be available even when PTO is not — see How paid sick leave works for details.

Requesting time off

To actually submit a request against your balance, follow the steps in How to request time off. If your balance does not look right, or you are unsure whether PTO applies to your assignment, contact Ascen support.

  • How to request time off

  • How paid sick leave works

  • How do I enter sick time?