PIM 03: Advance Leave

Dated: March 1, 2021

Contact: Benefits Director, ext. 0649

GENERAL RULE

Vacation and sick leave should be taken only after the leave has been accrued/earned. However, if warranted by individual circumstances, there is some flexibility, subject to approval by appointed authority, to accommodate advance leave requests when an employee does not have (vacation/sick/bonus) leave or compensatory time to cover his/her time off request.

The intent of the advance leave program is to support short-term absences. If related to extended leave of absences, employees should consult with the Human Resources Benefits Office for other potential options, such as leave without pay and/or the voluntary shared leave program for prolonged medical leave situations.

If an employee does not or cannot earn the projected accruals for the advance leave granted for the remainder of the calendar year, the excess leave taken shall be entered as leave without pay (LWOP) in the next pay period.

Authority

Supervisors should consult with their department head for approval prior to advancing vacation and/or sick leave not to exceed the amount an employee can accrue/earn during the remainder of the current calendar year. The supervisor and department head must consult with Human Resources Benefits Director if advance leave requests are greater than five days, if it is related to an extended leave of absence (medical/non-medical), or it is anticipated the employee may not accrue sufficient leave the remainder of the calendar year to cover the advance leave granted. Final approval for such advance leave requests will be subject to the authority of the Associate Vice Chancellor of Human Resources.

Leave Reporting

  • Employees and supervisors have access through the University leave system to view leave balances and accrual rates for all employees who earn leave.

  • The employee shall request advance leave only if he/she does not have (vacation/sick/bonus) leave or compensatory time to cover his/her time off request.

  • The employee is responsible for entering his/her request in the University leave system.

  • The supervisor is responsible for ensuring the employee’s accrual balances are sufficient to cover any advanced leave requested/approved during the remainder of the current calendar year.

  • The supervisor is required to enter a comment to advance the specific number of leave hours for all approved requests.

  • The supervisor is responsible for entering any excess vacation/sick leave taken as LWOP in the University leave system.

References

OSHR HR Policies Section 5

Voluntary Shared Leave Program

PIM Number: 03

PIM Category: Benefits