SUU Seal (for official use only)
 

POLICY #9.2 
SUBJECT: Vacation Leave

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to provide policy for accruing and using vacation leave.

II. REFERENCES

  1. Southern Utah University Policy 9.10 Sick Leave

III. DEFINITIONS

  1. Classified Staff: Non-exempt employees who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act and whose salary is based upon the classified salary schedule. Includes service, maintenance, and clerical positions.
  2. Executive Staff: Officers of administration whose primary responsibilities are executive and administrative. Includes the President, Vice Presidents, Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents, and academic Deans.
  3. Professional Staff: Exempt employees. Employees whose primary duties and responsibilities require specialized training and/or high-level managerial skills. Often, such employees will have program, personnel, and budget management responsibilities.
  4. Full-Time Equivalent (FTE): A unit to measure employed persons or students in a way
    that makes them comparable although they may work or study a different number of
    hours per week.

IV. POLICY

  1. Vacation leave accrual rates: Following are the vacation leave accrual rates for the three employee classifications identified in Section III. These rates shall be in effect for all employees within a given classification. Non-faculty, employees working 75% to 99% time will earn vacation leave on a prorated basis.
    1. Professional and Classified Staff employees under regular University
      appointment for three-quarter time or more and for nine (9) months or
      more earn and accrue vacation leave from date of employment in
      accordance with the following schedule:

      Staff Leave Accrual Chart (Full-time 12 Month)
      Years of Service Days Earned Per Month 12 Month Annual
      1st through 5th 1 1/4 days 15 days
      6th through 10th 1 1/2 days 18 days
      11th through 15th 1 2/3 days 20 days
      16th and over 1 4/5 days 22 days
    2. Executive Staff employees accrue vacation leave at a rate of 22 days per year based on their FTE. 
    3. Head Start teaching staff employees do not accrue vacation leave; rather, those working a minimum of nine (9) months per year, will earn six (6) days of personal leave which must be used during that same year. Personal leave days are to be arranged in advance and to be authorized by the employee's immediate supervisor. Personal leave will not be carried over from year to year. Sick leave will apply to Head Start teaching staff employees as it does to other similar University employees.
  2. Additional Vacation Leave Provisions
    1. Employees shall earn and accrue vacation leave based on the number of full months worked and years of service. (For example, an employee who has worked for three [3] years on a nine-month regular appointment shall accrue nine [11.25] days of vacation or one [1 1/4] day per month worked.)
    2. Employees identified IV.1 and IV.2, in their first year of employment will be granted
      5 days of vacation leave available to use with immediate supervisor approval as of
      their start date. Employees’ accrual of vacation leave during their first year will be
      adjusted appropriately to incorporate the five (5) days granted in advance.
    3. Employees shall begin appropriate vacation accrual upon hire date.
    4. When an employee resigns or terminates from University employment and is rehired, their vacation leave credit starts from the date of rehire and is treated the same as a new hire.
    5. Employees on leave without pay status or utilizing their vacation accrual to extend their termination date shall not accrue annual leave during this period.
    6. Employees who resign or are terminated prior to completion of six (6) months of service (probationary period) are not paid for accrued vacation leave. Employees who resign or are terminated after completing six (6) months of service receive payment for unused accrued vacation leave up to a maximum of 30 days. In most cases, the effective termination date will be set to include any remaining accrued vacation leave that has not been utilized.
    7. The scheduling of vacation leave is the responsibility of each employee. Such vacation leave must be arranged and granted through the immediate supervisor and should be so scheduled as to least interfere with the department operations, but desires of employees should be considered.
    8. Each employee should plan and make appropriate arrangements to take their vacation leave each year as it is earned.
    9. The maximum accrual for vacation leave credits carried forward from one period (ending June 30) to the next period (starting July 1) is 30 days.
    10. Vacation leave must be authorized by the employee's immediate supervisor. At the end of each reporting period, the employee submits their leave report to their supervisor or to the supervisor's proxy/delegate. The supervisor or the supervisor's proxy/delegate is responsible for reviewing and approving the employee's leave report.
    11. Vacation leave shall be calculated to the nearest quarter hour.

V. RELEVANT FORMS/LINKS

N/A

VI. QUESTIONS/RESPONSIBLE OFFICE

The responsible office for this Policy is the Vice President for Finance and Administration. For questions about this Policy, contact the Office of Human Resources.

VII. POLICY ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT DATES

Date Approved: December 14, 1995

Amended: August 6, 2004; August 26, 2024