Original Issuance Date: October 2, 2024
Effective Date: January 1, 2025
Expiration Date: June 30, 2025
1. Interim Policy Purpose
The implementation of the Administrative Transformation Program includes efforts to reduce the administrative differences between the different employee types. Among these differences is the fact that University Staff are granted Vacation and Personal Holidays on a calendar year basis, while all other employees are granted these leaves on a fiscal year basis. To eliminate this difference, upon the adoption of Workday as our Human Resource Management software, University Staff will be transitioned to a fiscal year basis for paid time off. This interim policy is created to ensure that University Staff accrue the correct amount of paid time off for the transition period running from January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025, and to ensure a clear understanding of the transition period for employees and supervisors.
2. Related Policies
UW System Administrative Policy 1210, Vacation, Paid Leave Banks, and Vacation Cash Payouts
UW System Administrative Policy 1238, Crafts Workers
3. Scope
This policy applies to the following UW System employees: University Staff, Crafts Workers.
UW-Madison employees are not included in this policy.
4. Definitions
See SYS 1225, General Terms and Definitions, for a list of general terms and definitions.
5. Interim Policy Statement
A. Duration and Effect
The provisions of this policy shall be in effect beginning January 1, 2025, until the expiration of the policy on June 30, 2025. During this time period, this policy shall supersede any inconsistent provisions of UW System Administrative Policy 1210, Vacation, Paid Leave Banks, and Vacation Cash Payouts and UW System Administrative Policy 1238, Crafts Workers. All provisions of SYS 1210 and SYS 1238 not modified by this policy remain in full force and effect. For vacation accrual purposes only, the accrual period impacted by this policy will begin on December 29, 2024 and end on June 28, 2025, based on the beginning and ending dates of the relevant pay periods.
B. Vacation Accrual for University Staff (Modifying policy SYS 1210 section 6.B.I)
I. Vacation is granted upon hire, provided eligibility requirements are met, and on January 1, 2025 for existing employees. Vacation granted to an employee hired during the effective period of the policy is prorated based on the start date of the appointment, per the Accrual Bracket Factor Table in this policy. Vacation accruals for university staff are based on years of continuous service, appointment percentage (defined as hours in pay status), and status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); however, FLSA nonexempt supervisors hired before July 31, 2022, as defined in this policy, earn vacation at the same rate as FLSA exempt university staff.
| Full-Time University Staff – Nonexempt | Full-Time University Staff – Exempt | Full-Time University Staff – Nonexempt Supervisors hired before 7/31/2022 | |
| Full Years of Service | Hours Earned 1/1/2025-6/30/2025 | Hours Earned 1/1/2025-6/30/2025 | Hours Earned 1/1/2025-6/30/2025 |
| During First 5 Years | 52 | 60 | 60 |
| 5+ to 10 Years | 72 | 80 | 80 |
| l0+ to 15 Years | 80 | 88 | 88 |
| 15+ to 20 Years | 92 | 100 | 100 |
| 20+ to 25 Years | 100 | 108 | 108 |
| 25 Years & Over | 108 | 108 | 108 |
II. If an employee has a less than full-time appointment or a full-time employee is not paid for 80 hours in a pay period, the employee will earn a prorated amount of vacation based on the number of hours in pay status.
III. If an employee terminates during the effective period of this policy, the amount of vacation accrued through the last day of employment will be prorated per the Accrual Bracket Factor Table in this policy.
IV. If an employee becomes eligible for a new vacation accrual rate part way through the effective period of this policy, the employee will earn vacation at the new rate per the Accrual Bracket Factor Table in this policy as of the employee’s anniversary date.
V. Accrual Bracket Factor Table:
The Accrual Bracket Factor is the factor that determines how many hours of vacation are earned based on the number of hours in pay status. It varies by the number of work days in the 6 month period this interim policy is effective.
| Effective Period Vacation Leave Rate | Bracket Factor – 1040 work hours/6 months |
| 52 hour rate | 0.050000 |
| 60 hour rate | 0.057692 |
| 72 hour rate | 0.069231 |
| 80 hour rate | 0.076923 |
| 88 hour rate | 0.084615 |
| 92 hour rate | 0.088462 |
| 100 hour rate | 0.096154 |
| 108 hour rate | 0.103846 |
C. Vacation Usage and Carryover for University Staff (Modifying SYS 1210 section 6.D.I.2)
I. If vacation is not used between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2025, any remaining vacation may be carried over until June 30th of the following year. Any carried over vacation remaining at the end of the following fiscal year (June 30, 2026), will be lost. An institution may further limit the amount of vacation that may be carried over. Any vacation carried over from calendar year 2024 may be carried over through June 30, 2026. Any carried over vacation from calendar year 2024 remaining as of June 30, 2026 will be lost.
D. Banking Unused Vacation and Vacation Cash Payouts (Modifying SYS 1210 section 6.E)
Employees who earn vacation are eligible to bank unused vacation once eligibility requirements, as outlined in this policy, are met. Once vacation is banked, the hours do not expire. Banked vacation can be used at any time (can be used in any circumstance where paid leave can be used) upon supervisor approval. There is a limit to how many hours may be banked per year, but there is no limit on the total hours in the employee’s banked leave account.
I. University Staff
Vacation banking and vacation cash payouts for university staff will be governed by the permanent updates to SYS 1210. The annual election period will run from 7/1/2025 through 9/30/2025, which is after the expiration date of this policy. For purposes of banking or cash payouts, any unused vacation accrued during calendar year 2024 and any unused vacation accrued from 1/1/2025 through 6/30/2025 shall be considered carried over vacation.
E. Crafts Worker Vacation (Modifying SYS 1238 section 4.C.1)
I. Crafts workers have three vacation options during the effective period of this interim policy.
a. They will be granted 50 hours of vacation for the period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025.
b. But they may elect, with a corresponding adjustment to their hourly rate, an increased vacation allocation of either 70 hours, or 90 hours.
c. If an employee wants to elect a different vacation option, the employee must submit a written request to their institution no later than December 31, 2024 If no election is made by December 31, 2024 the employee will retain the six-month equivalent of their current vacation allocation (for example, Employees who had elected 100 hours annually will be retained at the 50 hour level for the duration of this interim policy. When SYS 1238 is updated to reflect the fiscal year vacation schedule, effective July 1, 2025 the employee’s election will be retained at their most recently selected annualized allocation).
d. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30th 2026, employees will be required to maintain the vacation election they made for the period of January 1, 2025 through June 30th, 2025. This means:
1. If they elected to receive 50 hours of vacation for the period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025, they will be granted 100 hours of vacation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025.
2. If they elected to receive 70 hours of vacation for the period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025, they will be granted 140 hours of vacation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, with the corresponding adjustment to their hourly rate.
3. If they elected to receive 90 hours of vacation for the period of January 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025, they will be granted 180 hours of vacation for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, with the corresponding adjustment to their hourly rate.
4. Employees will have the option to change their vacation election through the procedure outlined in the revised draft of SYS 1238, with the effective date of that election being July 1st, 2026.
F. Vacation Advance
I. Employees subject to this policy may elect, with permission from their supervisor and local HR Department, and subject to any additional approvals required by their institution, to use additional vacation during the effective period of this policy up to the amount granted in policy sections 5.B.I or 5.E above, depending on employee type. This vacation shall be treated as an advance on the vacation they would otherwise be granted on 7/01/2025. Any amount used pursuant to this section will be deducted from the vacation balance available on 7/01/2025. Using vacation pursuant to this section does not change the rate at which vacation accrues to the employee. This is a one-time allowance and is only available during the effective dates of this policy.
II. At termination, if an employee used vacation that was not yet earned, the employee is required to repay the institution the value of the overused leave. The calculation of the value of the leave is as outlined in Section 6. L of UW System Administrative Policy 230, Salary & Fringe Benefit Calculations.
6. Supplemental Documents
Regent Policy Document 20-21, University Personnel Systems
University Staff Leave Schedule Change Calendar to Fiscal Year Frequently Asked Questions