Where I live taking all your days is mandatory, by law. The company gets punished if you don’t, so the HR guys actually remind you to do it. There is a small flexibility (you can take part of your days in next year Q1) but you cannot swap your days for money, nor ‘give them’ to another employee.
Did I mention we have 25 workdays of paid vacation, by the way? ;)
Tar and feathers… some ‘CEO’ make me to think about that old tradition.