Goldman’s unlimited holidays... but only for the bosses

GOLDMAN Sachs has told senior staff to take as many holidays as they want under plans to tackle complaints about its longhours culture.

Partners and managing directors at the US investment bank were informed there will be no cap on the number of paid leave days they can take.

It hopes the plan will improve staff ‘wellbeing and resilience’, providing time off to ‘rest and recharge’.

The scheme came into effect from May 1 to allow senior staff ‘to take time off... without a fixed vacation day entitlement’, according to a memo.

Goldman now expects every employee to take a minimum of 15 days leave per year from next January, with at least one week of consecutive time off.

But the move is only for senior bankers and frazzled junior bankers will have to make do with an extra two days off a year under the new rules. Goldman is notorious for its long-hours culture.

Last year junior staff begged to work just 80 hours a week amid complaints that ‘inhumane’ expectations were leading to mental health issues.

It is one of a handful of financial institutions to get staff back in the office five days a week after the Covid pandemic, with chief executive David Solomon describing working from home as a ‘temporary aberration’. The move comes as Goldman Sachs looks to compete with the tech sector for talent.

Netflix and LinkedIn already offer unlimited holidays, while Google and Facebook kicked off the trend for offering staff free meals and snacks.

In 2015, Goldman analyst Sarvshreshth Gupta killed himself after complaining of long hours and lack of sleep. Mr Solomon said last year that the bank was taking complaints seriously and was committed to giving junior bankers Saturdays off.