RIT
Human Resources

Vacation

Table of Contents

Vacation

Regular full-time employees and extended part-time employees are eligible for paid vacation upon hire. Use of vacation is subject to supervisor approval.

Beginning the July 1 after the employee’s hire date, vacation is earned during the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) on a monthly basis at a rate of 1/12 the annual rate. Vacation is earned in any month in which an eligible employee is employed for 15 or more days. The amount of vacation accrued annually is dependent upon an employee's length of service and employment category. Vacation accrual increases based on length of service beginning the July 1st nearest the anniversary date (i.e., if anniversary date is July 1 - December 31, vacation accrual increases the July 1st before anniversary date; if anniversary date is January 1 - June 30, vacation accrual increases the July 1st after the anniversary date).

For purposes of calculating vacation for non-exempt, extended part-time and part-time employees, the vacation is based on the employee’s standard hours; therefore, the number of hours of vacation per fiscal year is the number of vacation weeks as outlined below multiplied by the number of the employee's standard hours per week.

Employment Category Annual Accrual Annual Accrual Beginning July 1st Closest to
Prior to 5th Anniversary
(pro-rated if hired after July 1st) 		5th Anniversary 10th Anniversary 20th Anniversary
12-month faculty, and educational development faculty* 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks
Professional and administrative staff 3 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks
Non-exempt staff 2 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 5 weeks

* Faculty members on 10-month or 11-month contracts observe the quarter break schedule established for the academic year.

Earning Vacation

RIT’s vacation is an accrual plan. This means that an employee earns 1/12 of the annual vacation each month, provided the employee is employed 15 or more days in the month.

Non-exempt employees accrue 1/12 of the annual vacation hours the 16th of each month and they will be able to view their remaining vacation time through Oracle employee self-service on the online payslip. The accrual will take place based on the pay period end date, NOT the check date.

Any vacation that is carried over from the prior fiscal year will show in the balance amount (see the section called Vacation Carry –Over for details on how this works). As an employee takes vacation, the balance will decline. It is important to understand that a person could see a negative balance since the employee may take vacation time before actually accruing it. Therefore, at termination a repayment situation exists if the employee has used vacation before accruing, or earning the vacation time. The employee would be expected to repay RIT for any unearned used vacation.

Exempt employees also accrue 1/12 of the annual vacation each month but it is not shown in Oracle (vacation time is tracked in each department; check with your manager for details). While vacation time is earned over the course of the fiscal year, vacation time is credited as of the beginning of the fiscal year (July 1); this credit represents an advance on the vacation which will be earned during the fiscal year. Therefore, at termination a repayment situation exists if the employee has used vacation before the advanced credits have been earned. The employee would be expected to repay RIT for any unearned used vacation.

Using Vacation

Employees should schedule their vacation in advance and obtain supervisor approval. Earned, unused vacation time will be forfeited at the end of the fiscal year except as described in the Vacation Carry-Over section below.

For non-exempt employees, earned, unused vacation time may be used to extend paid sick time after an employee’s sick leave benefits are exhausted, with supervisor approval. Such credits may also be applied to supplement Workers’ Compensation or statutory disability pay.

The individual department is responsible for controlling, recording, and monitoring vacation usage and vacation carry-over (described below) for 12-month faculty, professional/administrative staff, and education development faculty. Vacation usage and carry-over credits are tracked through RIT’s time keeping system for non-exempt employees.

Vacation Carry-Over

Up to one-half of each year’s earned vacation may be carried over from one fiscal year to the next. The carry-over is based only on the current year’s earned vacation; any carry-over from the prior fiscal year is not included in determining the one-half amount.

Example: regular full-time employee earns 3 weeks per fiscal year (15 days) and carried over 5 from the prior fiscal year:

Vacation earned Carried Over Total for Year Less: Used Remaining Carry Over Forfeit (lose)
15 days 5 days 20 days 11 days 9 days 7.5 days * 1.5 days

* (1/2 of annual accrual of 15 days)

Supervisors are responsible for making sure their employees understand the expectations regarding vacation carry over (i.e., whether it is allowed). Some departments do not want employees to carry over any vacation time.

Non-Exempt Employees: Since RIT uses its HR/Payroll system for reporting and tracking vacation time, non-exempt employees and their managers do not need to take any additional steps for the vacation carry over process. It is an automatic process.

Exempt Employees: Exempt employees will enter their vacation carry over amount in RIT’s HR/Payroll system through Employee Self Service. Supervisors will approve the carry over time. The entry and approval must be completed on or before June 30 of each year.

Vacation Calculation at Termination

Staff, 12-month faculty and education development faculty employees will be paid for any accrued, unused vacation time as soon as administratively possible after termination. Employees must work through the 15th of the month in order for that month to be included in the accrual calculation.

Illness During Vacation

Generally, if an employee becomes ill or is injured during a regular scheduled vacation, the time off will be counted as vacation time, not sick time. The exception to this rule is if an employee remains incapacitated and in a doctor's care for three days or longer and the employee obtains a statement to that effect from their physician; in this case, that period of time will be treated as an absence due to illness under sick leave and short term disability rather than as vacation time.

Vacation During University/Building Closing

Generally, if the university closes or a building closes for the day, opens late, or closes early (e.g., Chase Corporate Challenge, weather-related, power outage in a building) when an employee is off for a regular scheduled vacation, the time off will be counted as vacation time.

Vacation Eligibility During Short-Term Disability

Vacation credit is earned during short-term disability periods. When a disability crosses over into a new fiscal year, the employee may not use the new year's vacation accrual until he/she physically returns to work.

Vacation Eligibility During Leave of Absence

When an employee is on leave of absence with benefits, vacation accrual will be governed by the conditions of the leave.

Vacation Credit upon Change in Status

An employee's vacation credit will be proportionally adjusted for any change in employment status (e.g., extended part-time to full-time).

Vacation Credit upon Rehire

When a former regular employee is rehired into a regular position, the employee is given vacation accrual in accordance with the adjusted date of hire. Similar to all new hires, during the first year of rehire, vacation is prorated according to the amount of time the employee will be working during the fiscal year.

Holiday/Vacation Policy

If a holiday falls during an employee's regular scheduled vacation, the day of vacation, unused on the holiday, may be taken at some other time during that particular fiscal year.

Vacation and Retirement Transition Program

Employees participating in the Retirement Transition Program are entitled to the same vacation time they would have had prior to enrolling in the Retirement Transition Program.