Company: Novartis
Posted by Novartis_FieldRep_TX · March 24, 2026
Tags: compliance, general
Starting this month Novartis moved all leave and PTO administration to MetLife.
The rollout has been a disaster.
I submitted a PTO request 3 weeks ago, got an automated confirmation, then heard nothing.
Called MetLife and was told the claim was "in review" because PTO over 5 consecutive days requires medical documentation under the new policy.
Medical documentation for PTO.
I booked a 6-day trip to Europe.
Now I have to get a doctor's note to take vacation? HR says the policy is "consistent with our leave management standards" which is a non-answer.
My DM is sympathetic but says his hands are tied — it's now a third-party process.
Has anyone successfully gotten PTO approved under the new system, or found a workaround that doesn't involve splitting the request into two sub-5-day blocks?.
61 upvotes · 6 comments