Leave Reporting
Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited Appointees
Every Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited appointee in a leave-eligible position is required to submit a leave report on a monthly basis, whether or not leave is used1. This report may be submitted either electronically or via paper leave report.
Contact your human resources office for instructions on how to submit your leave report.
A Faculty, Academic Staff or Limited appointee who fails to file a report on leave usage as required by UW System policy in one or more months of any fiscal year shall not be permitted to accrue sick leave for that year in an amount exceeding 8.5 days for annual employees and 6.4 days for academic year employees1.
1In 1987, the state legislature imposed a cap on the amount of sick leave faculty , academic staff and limited appointees could use to pay for health insurance upon retirement, layoff, or death. With the cap, accrued sick leave would be limited to 8.5 days per year for annual employees and 6.4 days per year for academic-year employees, instead of the 12 days per year they’d be able to accrue without the cap.
In order to obtain a waiver to this cap, each UW institution independently agreed to identify a standard 40-hour work week for reporting purposes, distribute a monthly statement, and collect monthly reports, even if no leave has been used.
University Staff Employees
Every University Staff employee in a leave-eligible position is required to submit both time worked and leave taken on a biweekly basis either on electronically or on a paper timesheet. Contact your human resources office for for instructions on how to access your electronic timesheet or for your institution’s paper timesheet.
Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited, and University Staff Employees
Employees who are considered non-exempt or less than full time, will report time worked and leave in 15 minute increments.
Employees who are considered exempt and are full time, will report leave in full day and half day increments, using the following guidelines based on an 8-hour work day:
- Less than 1 hr 59 minutes = report 0
- Between 2 hrs and 5 hrs 59 minutes = report 4 hours (half day)
- More than 6 hours = report 8 hours (full day)
Designated Work Week
For the purpose of reporting leave, every full-time leave-eligible employee will designate a work week consisting of 40 hours. The work week will be pro-rated for a less than full-time appointment.
A normal work week is considered to consist of 40 hours worked within a fixed and regularly recurring period of seven consecutive days1. Hours worked per day may vary.
For Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited appointees, the work week will include all scheduled classes, office hours, and research, as well as other regular University meetings and professional activities.
The work week will be defined either by:
- Automatic consent to the standard business week Monday through Friday from 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM; or
- By mutual agreement, in writing, with the department chair or other designated supervisor.
1Salaried professionals are exempt from overtime regulations and are not accountable for a 40-hour week schedule. Many exempt University Staff and Faculty, Academic Staff and Limited Appointees work more than forty hours per week. However, in order to simply and fairly report sick leave usage, it is necessary to identify a work schedule that uses a generally acceptable standard. This does not imply that employees only work 40 hours per week; it merely is a way to establish a workable means of recording the use of paid leave.
Therefore, a 40-hour work week must be established for each individual against which he or she will report the use of sick leave. The specific schedule may change as needed to reflect changes in one’s regular work schedule. With the approval of your department chair or supervisor, you may file a 40-hour work schedule that meets your needs, and you may change your official schedule whenever necessary. If you choose not to file a specific 40-hour work week schedule your sick leave reporting will be based on the standard state work schedule Monday - Friday 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Good documentation of your eligibility for accurate leave reporting and sick leave credits are part of our responsibility to the state and to the public. It is important to remember that you are part of a larger community and your actions can affect not only you but also your colleagues and your institution. Accountability for proper leave use and reporting are essential to ensure the on-going availability of these valuable benefits.
Summer Work
If you are Faculty or Academic Staff on an academic year appointment you are required to report any sick leave used if you work during the summer months.
- Only one leave report needs to be completed for the entire summer and it will be available to you at the end of the summer.
- Sick leave used during the summer months may be reported in 15 minute increments.
Resources
Tipsheets for entering time, leave use, viewing absence balances can be accessed on the Time and Absence web page.
Every effort has been made to ensure this information is current and correct. Information on this page does not guarantee enrollment, benefits and/or the ability to make changes to your benefits.
Updated: 06/19/2024