[zapperdapper]

I'm currently on DTO (Discretionary Time Off) and it works great. Last year I took 7 weeks paid. If I'd had a decent justification I could have taken more. Some colleagues took a lot more (like 3 months). This year I have a couple of long holidays planned so think I'll take around 10 weeks, possibly more. Only breaks longer than two weeks need to be approved by my manager.

To be legal you have to take the statutory minimum holiday or the company would be in trouble (at least in the UK), so they are quite stringent about you taking at least the statutory minimum (for full-time workers that's 28 days in UK and that includes Bank Holidays), so typically 20 days minimum excluding BHs.

The downside is if you leave the company you won't get holiday pay. For example, let's say I'm entitled to 24 days annual holiday at a non-DTO company, and then leave after 6 months, without taking holiday, I'd be entitled to 12 days pay (for my paid holiday entitlement). At a DTO company you get zilch as I understand it. I've not left yet but I think that's how it works. Something to check.

I personally think it's a great perk. Depends what your priorities are though and the above is a bit UK specific.