Civil Service Vacation Leave

Key topics:

• Official text of the Civil Service Rules
• Eligibility for vacation leave
• Availability of vacation leave
• Vacation accrual rates
• Maximum accrued vacation leave allowed
• Unpaid leaves
• Exchanging vacation for pay
• Changing jobs or leaving the University
• Returning to the University
• Donating vacation leave

Common questions:

• I’ve used up all my vacation leave. Now what?
• When will I qualify to earn at a higher vacation accrual rate?
• How much vacation leave can I accumulate before it starts expiring

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Official text of the Civil Service Rules

Every employee has unique needs and circumstances. We’ve created this site to provide you with general guidance about University policies. The Civil Service Rules supersede all information contained on this page.

For full details about vacation leave, read Rule 11 of the Civil Service Rules and consult with your supervisor or your department’s HR team about how the Civil Service Rules apply to your situation.

Eligibility for vacation leave

You are eligible to earn vacation time if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a full- or part-time civil service employee.
• You have a continuing or temporary appointment in one administrative unit.
• You have a prearranged and assigned schedule.
• You have an appointment of at least 50 percent time.

Availability of vacation leave

Your vacation leave becomes available during the pay period in which it is earned. View your most recent pay statement.

Vacation accrual rates

You earn vacation for straight-time, paid work hours. Overtime and other additional work hours do not accrue vacation leave.

Full-time, V-class civil service employees earn an extra 1.385 minutes of vacation leave for each straight-time, paid work hour. Read the Civil Service Rules for more information about V-class vacation.

In certain situations, sick leave may be transferred to vacation. View the Civil Service Rules for more information.

Hours of service	Equivalent years of service if you work 40 hours/week	Minutes of vacation leave earned per straight-time, paid work hour	Vacation leave earned per paycheck if you work 40 hours/week
0 - 10,400	0 - 5	3.00 minutes	4 hours
10,401 - 16,640	6 - 8	3.750	5 hours
16,641 - 24,960	9 - 12	5.250	7 hours
24,961 - 41,600	13 - 20	5.650	7.5 hours
41,601 - 52,000	21 - 25	6.000	8 hours
52,001 - 62,400	26 - 30	6.375	8.5 hours
62,401 +	31 +	6.750	9 hours

This leave accumulation schedule became effective July 1, 1983.

Maximum accrued vacation leave allowed

Your accumulated vacation time may not exceed the total amount of vacation that you would earn in two years working at your current level of appointment.

For example, if you work 75-percent time (an average of 30 hours a week), you cannot have more vacation time on the books than what you would earn working two years at 30 hours a week.

Unpaid leaves

Depending on the policies of your unit, your supervisor may have the discretion to grant you unpaid time off. Contact your HR team or supervisor for more information.

Exchanging vacation for pay

If you’re about to reach the maximum amount of vacation leave you’re allowed to accrue, you have two options that will help you prevent the loss of vacation leave. If you’ve made a vacation request in accordance with your unit’s leave policy but the request was denied:

Option 1
You’re entitled to take up to one week of vacation to avoid exceeding your maximum. You must give notice to your supervisor of your plans to use this vacation time at least seven calendar days in advance.

Option 2
You may cash out up to one week of vacation leave. The amount of vacation time you cash out cannot exceed a level equal to the percentage of time of your appointment. For example, if you have a 75-percent appointment, you cannot cash out more than 30 hours of vacation time.

In addition, at your unit’s discretion, you may cash out up to one week of vacation leave every fiscal year. The amount of vacation time you cash out cannot exceed a level equal to the percentage of time of your appointment.

Changing jobs or leaving the University

If you transfer to another civil service or bargaining unit job within the University without a break in service, your unused vacation leave will transfer with you to your new position.

If you transfer to a P&A job that is vacation eligible, 80 hours of your unused vacation time is transferred as an academic vacation balance. (Balances less than 80 hours will be transferred in full.) You will be paid out at your civil service pay rate for any remaining hours over 80.

If you leave University employment, your unused vacation time will be paid out with the following exception: If you have 10 or more years of service at the University and 200 or more hours of unused vacation, the money from the payout of your vacation will be put into a Health Care Savings Plan.

Returning to the University

If you are a former University employee and are returning to work at the U, you may have your former vacation leave accumulation rate and eligibility reinstated under the following conditions:

• The University must have a record of your former employment here.
• You must have worked on a prearranged and assigned schedule at 50-percent time or higher.
• Your new job must be on a prearranged and assigned schedule at 50-percent time or higher.
• You did not negotiate a settlement agreement with the University when you left your former job here.

You may also have other types of benefits reinstated when you return to the University. Read the Civil Service Rules for more information.

Donating vacation leave

The University offers a vacation donation program that allows civil service and bargaining unit employees to donate their vacation leave to University employees in need.