Policies

Vacation Time

Overview

Central College awards vacation time to staff based on their eligibility and role at the college.  This policy outlines the details around the vacation benefit and the usage of that benefit by employees.

Definitions

Vacation: paid time away from work.  Employees are awarded vacation time in hours that can be used to cover time they request or need to be away from work throughout the year.

Unscheduled absence/time off: employee notified their supervisor they will not be able to work with less than 24 hours notice.  Unscheduled absences can be paid time if vacation or sick time is available.

Scheduled absence/time off: employee requested time off more than 24 hours in advance and that request was approved by their supervisor.  Scheduled absences are typically paid time using vacation or sick hours for the time away from work.

Fiscal year: defined as July 1 – June 30 for exempt employees.  For non-exempt employees, the fiscal year is determined by how the pay periods fall but are roughly in the same time frame.

Years of service: calculated at the end of each fiscal year for the next year’s vacation schedule.

Responsibilities

Employee: to use awarded vacation time for scheduled time away from work.  Employee is responsible to notify their supervisor and responsibly use the time awarded for each fiscal year.

Supervisor: responsible for monitoring time worked and time away from work for employees they supervise and to consistently apply the policies.

Talent, Equity and Engagement Office: calculates vacation leave benefit for employees as they are hired and if transitions take place.  Annually manages the awarding of vacation time for employees and answers questions on application of this policy.

Policy Details

Vacation leave is awarded in hour increments to employees that meet the eligibility requirements for the benefit.  This policy is in place to support consistent tracking, usage, and reporting of time away from work.

1.Eligibility

1. 1. 1. All employees (other than faculty) at .50 FTE or more per year are eligible for paid vacation leave.
         1. Note: exception is made for staff in academic affairs that work 20 hours per week through the academic year. They are considered eligible for vacation and their totals are based on actual FTE hours worked (.42 in most cases).
      2. Employees who are at less than .50 FTE, flex, interns, seasonal employees, and faculty are not eligible for paid vacation leave.

2. Availability of hours and calculations for awarded hours

1. 1. 1. Full-time (with an FTE of 1.00) employees will be given the appropriate amount of paid vacation per the following schedule. Employees less than 1.00 FTE, or less than a 12 month full-time appointment will be prorated based on their specific FTE designation.

Years of Service	Hours per fiscal year
Less than 1 year	Prorated for hire date
1-4 years	80 hours
5-9 years	100 hours
10-14 years	120 hours
15-19 years	140 hours
20-24 years	160 hours
25 + years	200 hours

3. Prior years of related professional experience may be used to calculate service eligibility for the vacation leave benefit upon hire. This would be done in coordination with the hiring manager, VP, and TEEO.

4. Unused vacation hours remaining in the employee account will be forfeited at the end of each fiscal year.

5. Guidelines for scheduling and use of hours

1. 1. 1. All vacation must be scheduled with the employee’s supervisor and is subject to approval based on department staffing needs. The supervisor will work to balance requests for time off with the needs of the department and may have to deny requests if adequate staffing is not available.
      2. Employees are responsible for recording their vacation usage in the college time reporting system accurately and in a timely fashion for tracking purposes.
      3. Vacation hours used will be deducted from their balance at the conclusion of the pay period in which it was used for non-exempt employees and after the monthly salaried payroll for exempt employees.
      4. Unscheduled absences and last minute requests for time off will be monitored by the supervisor. If frequent unplanned absences are affecting the department operations and/or impacting the performance of the employee, disciplinary action may result, up to and including termination. (See discipline policy for details.)
      5. Vacation hours should be requested to cover the regularly scheduled hours for the employee. For example, if an employee works a six-hour day, he or she would request six hours of vacation when taking that day off.
      6. If, due to lack of work or through the scheduling of college events, a non-exempt employee is not scheduled to work their regularly scheduled hours in a week, the employee may use vacation to fill out their regular hours, but it is not required.
      7. Vacation may not be used for missed time because an employee reports to work late.

6. Payment of vacation hours

1. 1. 1. Vacation is paid at the employee’s regular rate and is not part of any overtime calculation for non-exempt employees.
      2. Vacation hours are not considered hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime.
      3. Employees who have vacation hours available may not opt to take time off without pay for purposes of saving accrued vacation.
      4. Vacation time off also can not exceed allocated hours.
      5. In the case of special circumstances, employees with insufficient vacation balances may be granted time off without pay at the discretion of the supervisor in consultation with the Chief Talent, Equity and Engagement Officer.
      6. Unscheduled absences that take place when there is insufficient vacation balance to cover the absence may be subject to corrective action up to and including termination.

7. Use of vacation hours for leave

1. 1. 1. Employees may use vacation hours for a leave associated with a work-related injury provided the leave is not otherwise paid by workers’ compensation carrier/system. Vacation benefits will not be paid for absences covered by workers’ compensation.
      2. Employees may use vacation hours to cover time that is not paid under any type of leave (FML, STD, etc.) if hours are available. This is the choice of the employee and will be based on the specific leave policy that applies.

8. Ending employment

1. 1. 1. Vacation hours are not paid out upon ending employment from the college. With approval of the supervisor, in consultation with the area Vice President, an employee may use vacation time after giving notice of their resignation.
      2. Vacation cannot be used in lieu of proper notice.
      3. If desired, unused vacation hours at time of voluntary separation can be donated for use of other employees due to medical or unique needs for time off. This requires supervisor approval for donation to take place. Contact TEEO for details.

Last Revision Date: 4/12/2024

Policy Owner: Talent, Equity and Engagement Office