Vacation Accrual Maximums
A March 2003 campus memo described the new financial leave accrual system and the campus was recently advised that as of June 30, 2004, when the system is implemented, employee leave balances could not exceed maximum accrual levels.
For more information about the Financial Leave Accrual system, please see the Payroll Office website at http://payroll.berkeley.edu.
This new system does not affect leave policies already in place and the maximum accrual limits do not change.
Here are some important questions and answers about maximum leave accruals.
- Does the 6/30/04 system implementation override policy?
- What if an employee reached the maximum on May 1 and must still be below the maximum by June 30?
- What is the maximum accrual?
- What if we have provided employees with a monthly record of their accruals but have allowed the accruals to accumulate over the stated maximum? Will employees lose what they have accrued?
- How should departments address workload issues?
- Will the new Financial Leave Accrual System be able to track the “exception period” accruals?
- What happens when someone is at maximum accrual and doesn't accrue vacation leave for the month since no vacation leave was taken in the previous month? Where's the linkage between accrual and usage?
- Will departments be charged when they make a vacation leave adjustment that pushes an employee’s balance over the maximum?
- How do I notify employees who are approaching maximum accrual?
Does
the 6/30/04 system implementation override policy?
No. This is not new. The contract and policy clauses remain as they
have been: maximum accrual levels have been in place for a long
time and have not changed. It is expected that all employees are
in compliance, and that no one has a vacation leave accrual balance
that is over the maximum allowed by contract or policy. For any
employees with a current vacation leave accrual balance in excess
of the maximum allowed, a plan should be in place to bring them
into compliance.
What
if an employee reached the maximum on May 1 and must still be below
the maximum by June 30?
In almost all cases, departments are to inform employees 60 days
in advance of when their accruals will reach the maximum. This gives
the employee the opportunity to use enough vacation to remain below
the maximum after new monthly accruals are added. The “extension
period” of four months, according to individual contracts
and Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM), is to be utilized
on a one-time-only basis only in the case of a department being
unable to let the employee take the vacation that is necessary to
bring the accrual below the maximum. The extension period is not
to be repeatedly used, nor is it to be used when an employee does
not wish to schedule and take vacation as required to bring the
balance below the maximum.
Example: Employee covered by PPSM:
A PPS employee will reach maximum on May 1. In the 60 working days prior to May 1, her department should work with her to reduce her vacation balance so that the maximum is not reached.If there is absolutely no way her department can allow her to take vacation leave during the 60 working days prior to May 1, then an employee covered by the PPSM potentially has four additional months in which to reduce the balance. The only reason an employee may be allowed an extension period is if the department cannot allow her time off due to operational demands. If an “extension period” is considered necessary due to operational reasons, the employee will continue to accrue time.
At the end of the four-month extension, however, time accrual stops. The employee will not accrue additional vacation leave until she brings her balance below the stated maximum. This means the employee must not only take enough time to get below the maximum, but also use any time accrued during the “extension period.” It is important to consult each union contract and PPSM for specifics.
What
is the maximum accrual?
The maximum or accrual cap is the amount designated for the employee’s
category, pay status, and years of qualifying service by Personnel
Policies for Staff Members, the Academic Personnel Manual, or the
union contract. In most cases the maximum allowable accrual is two
times the employee’s accrual for one year.
The maximum accruals (caps) have been set by policy for employees covered under PPSM or the APM and negotiated into union contracts for represented employees. It is a violation of the policy or contract to permit employees to accrue beyond the designated maximums.
What
if we have provided employees with a monthly record of their accruals
but have allowed the accruals to accumulate over the stated maximum?
Will employees lose what they have accrued?
While no one should ever be allowed to accrue beyond the maximum
stated in policy or negotiated in the contracts, if it has been
allowed and recorded, it may not be taken away, because it is not
legal to do so. The policies and contracts state that employees
stop accruing leave once they reach the maximum.
The PPSM, the APM, and the union contracts are available in print and on the web and are available to all employees. Employees and the department know a vacation benefit exists and both share responsibility for knowing the associated rules.
How
should departments address workload issues?
For
example, one employee is taking accrued leave to stay below the
maximum accrual, which may require that another employee is assigned
to work overtime that the work gets done.
Departments are responsible for managing their workforce with regard to leave balances and workload issues, and must take all pertinent factors into consideration when making business decisions. Sometimes managers and supervisors believe that due to workload they cannot allow employees to take time off, even when the maximum vacation accrual has been reached. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to allow the employee to take time off. The University gives vacation time as a benefit, and employees should be encouraged to use this time to their own advantage. Managers who believe they can never let employees take vacation time need to review departmental priorities and work flow.
Managers are encouraged to be proactive in communicating with employees who are approaching maximum accrual the need to use their vacation time. The policies and contracts state that employees stop accruing leave once they reach the maximum. For further help on workload issues, contact your Employee Relations Specialist.
What
if we find ourselves on an accrual reduction “merry-go-round?”
That is, some employees like to stay near the maximum and we are
always dealing with moving in and out of the four-month extension
period (where that extension is allowed by policy or contract).
This type of extension should happen rarely, or only once per employee.
The extension should only come into play when the operation cannot
allow an employee to take time off. The extension is not automatic.
Managers and supervisors have a responsibility to work with employees
to schedule time off. The key is to give the employee a range of
time during which vacation leave can be taken.
Will
the new Financial Leave Accrual System be able to track the “exception
period” accruals?
No.
What
happens when someone is at maximum accrual and doesn't accrue vacation
leave for the month since no vacation leave was taken in the previous
month? Where's the linkage between accrual and usage?
Each
leave accrual code has an associated maximum. The payroll system
will not automatically accrue leave for an employee once the maximum
has been reached. Since vacation leave is accrued at the end of
the month, and usage is reported in arrears on the 23rd of the month,
departments must process an adjustment transaction to report accrual
that was stopped by PPS. To avoid having to process such adjustments,
departments should notify employees who are approaching maximum
leave accrual and make sure leave is used in a timely manner. Departments
should manage employees’ leave accrual so that they stay at
least two months under the accrual maximum at all times.
Will
departments be charged when they make a vacation leave adjustment
that pushes an employee’s balance over the maximum?
Yes. After Financial Leave Accrual is implemented, PPS (the Payroll
Personnel System) will automatically charge the department any time
there is a vacation leave adjustment that increases the leave balance.
How
do I notify employees who are approaching maximum accrual?
Depending on the contract or policy covering the specific employee,
the department is responsible for notifying employees a specific
number of calendar or working days before they are due to reach
maximum accrual. Employees should be receiving a monthly report
showing their leave balances following the calculations on their
time sheets.
If you have other questions regarding maximum vacation accrual, please contact your Employee Relations Specialist or the Academic Personnel Office.