Employees encouraged to take time off for well-being

Many employees have been deferring time off during the pandemic because they could not travel, spend time with family and friends, or get away from managing pandemic-related issues. Yet, time off from work at regular intervals is important to physical, mental and emotional well-being.

With the spring semester underway, UW–Madison leadership would like to encourage employees to tend to their well-being by taking the time off they have earned.

“It is important for all of us to step away from time to time and come back to work refreshed and revitalized,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank says. “I would encourage every employee to take the time off that they are entitled to and deserve.”

Employees are also reminded of the upcoming deadlines to use personal holiday hours or vacation carryover.

The UW–Madison Vacation Policy has the following provisions:

• For Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointees (i.e., employees paid monthly), if vacation is not used within the fiscal year (July 1–June 30) it is earned, any remaining vacation may be carried over until the end of the following fiscal year. Carried-over vacation remaining at the end of the following fiscal year (June 30) will be lost.
• For University Staff (i.e., employees paid bi-weekly), if vacation is not used within the calendar year it is earned, any remaining vacation may be carried over until December 31 of the following year. Carried-over vacation remaining at the end of the following calendar year (December 31) will be lost.

Under the UW-Madison Personal and Legal Holidays policy, personal holiday hours must be used by the end of the calendar or fiscal year in which they were granted.

• Faculty, Academic Staff, and Limited Appointees must use all personal holiday hours on or before June 30 of the fiscal year granted.
• University Staff must use all personal holiday hours on or before December 31 of the calendar year granted.

“Employees should review their leave balances carefully and make plans to use any paid leave time before it expires,” Chief Human Resources Officer Mark Walters says. ”We are also urging supervisors to provide employees with the flexibility to use their accumulated leave.”

In May 2020, in response to the pandemic, UW–Madison announced extended deadlines to use personal holiday hours or vacation carryover across multiple fiscal and calendar years. This extension, provided in the COVID-19 Pandemic Leave Policy, was a one-time exception to the deadlines set by other campus policies and will not continue in 2021.

Leave balances can be found under “Time and Absence” in MyUW.  Employees who wish to verify their leave balances and the corresponding deadlines should contact the human resources department in their school, college or division.

Employees who need assistance with the challenges of maintaining well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic can contact the Employee Assistance Office (EAO). Confidential counseling for employees and their families is available through EAO and is offered 24/7 through LifeMatters.

Graduate students/postdocs are not covered under the UW–Madison Vacation Policy and the deadlines to use vacation carryover or personal holiday hours do not apply. Employees in 9-month (academic year or C-basis) appointments do not qualify to earn vacation or personal holiday. Only those employees who are Faculty, Academic Staff, Limited Appointees, or University Staff with 12-month (annual basis) appointments are eligible to earn vacation or personal holiday.