PTO stands for "paid time off" or "personal time off". It is a human resource management policy that provides employees with a pool of bankable hours that can be used for any purpose, such as vacation, sick days, or personal days off. In a large corporation, a PTO policy typically bundles employees’ personal days off, sick days, and vacation time in a single block of hours rather than specifying separate numbers of days allowable for each reason. PTO plans are used primarily in the United States, where there are no laws for minimum vacation time. Some newer PTO models let employees decide how to use their time, whether for vacation or a sick day, and come in two flavors: a set number of days or hours in a "bank" system or an unlimited amount of time off.