University Staff Leave

The University Staff Leave Plan combines three types of leave - annual, sick, and family/personal - into a consolidated leave program, giving employees more flexibility in how they use their time off. In many cases, University Staff will be able to use their accumulated leave bank for more vacation days. No one will lose time already accrued. Classified staff who switch to University Staff status can bring their accrued annual leave into the new system. For A&P Faculty who switch to University Staff status, the number of annual leave days could be higher than their current allotment, depending on the years of employment.

Important: Employees hire effective July 1, 2006 and after are considered University Staff (excluding Faculty appointments). University Leave is allotted at the beginning of each new plan year (begins with the first day of the pay period which includes January 1 (known as Pay Period 1) and ends on the last day of the pay period preceding Pay Period 1 of the following year). New hires or re-hires will receive leave for the leave plan year in which they are (re)hired at a pro-rated rate based on the date of hire or re-hire. Part-time salaried employees earn leave at a rate proportionate to their part-time status (hours worked).

Leave Accrual and Carry-over

Years of Service	Accrual Days per year	Maximum Annual Leave Carry Forward/ Cash out after leaving
< 3	22	22
3-6	24	24
7-9	26	26
10-19	28	28
20+	30	30

(The above tables do not include paid holidays, which range from 11 to 15 per year.)

Information for Employees Converting in October 2011

Employees who converted to University Staff in the fall of 2011will receive a prorated allotment of University Leave on 10/10/11 based on their years of service and the 5 remaining pay periods in the leave year, for use in the remainder of 2011 and beyond. This prorated allotment will vary from approximately 33 hours to 46 hours depending on years of service. Please note that part-time salaried employees earn leave at a rate proportionate to their part-time status.

Pro-rated 2011 Leave Accrual

Years of Service	Hours of Leave in 2011
< 3	33.845
3-6	36.92
7-9	40
10-19	43.075
20+	46.15

For those who converted in October 2011, Annual Leave balances less than the University Leave carry forward amount (determined by length of service), will automatically convert to University Leave as of Oct. 10. Those who converted in October 2011 have until December 18, 2011, to use existing "use or lose" annual leave from their old Classified Annual Leave plan. As long as an employee has taken at least 80 hours of leave in 2011 (annual, family/personal, or comp special, but not sick), any remaining "use or lose" will be cashed out at 50% at the end of the leave year.

Any annual leave above the University Staff carry forward maximum but below the Annual Leave carry forward maximum will be preserved in a special Annual Leave bank, which remains with the employee for the rest of their UVa career. The leave can be used at any time or cashed out at 100% of value upon resignation or retirement.

General Leave Details

For each employee, the entire annual accrual will be available for use at the start of each leave year, prior to actually accruing the hours. This provides employees with maximum flexibility in their use of leave time. If an employee leaves the University during the course of the year, the time used and the time accrued are reconciled. Leave accrued, but not used, is paid to the employee in the pay period following the last day of employment. Leave used but not accrued is either subtracted from the employee's final paycheck, or invoiced through Accounts Receivable if the amount owed to the University exceeds the net amount of the final paycheck.

There is only one type of leave, so all leave is available for carry forward.

In the University Staff Leave Plan the maximum number of days that could be carried forward is equal to one year’s accrual amount. The carry-forward hours serve as the beginning balance on to which the next year's annual leave time is added.

For those Classified staff who move into the University Staff HR Plan with annual leave balances in excess of the employee’s carryover limit in the new leave plan, the excess amount will not be lost. The excess balance will be retained in a separate leave bank that will remain available for use or for payout upon termination.

The new leave program will pay University Staff for those "use-or-lose" hours at 50 percent of their value once the amount of annual leave goes beyond the maximum hours allowed for carry forward. To receive this cash-out, employees must have used a minimum of 10 days during the leave year. This minimum usage requirement is intended to encourage employees to take some time off to relax and rejuvenate.

Cash-out payment may be received as taxable income or it may be deposited into a tax-deferred savings plan.

The University Staff Leave Plan will continue other categories of leave from the State system, including: Compensatory & "Comp Special" Leave, Recognition Leave, Civil and Work-Related Leave (was Administrative Leave), Educational Leave, Emergency/Disaster Leave, Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs, School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave, Leave Without Pay, and Military Leave. These types of leave do not "accrue" an as employee entitlement but are available for use as needed. For example, if an employee must serve on jury duty or volunteers for the Day of Caring, that time is allowed in addition to the University Staff Leave Plan and is not deducted from leave.

Holidays are awarded separately and are not included in the annual leave accrual.