---

301 Vacation Leave

 

 

301.1 Definition 

Vacation Leave is an authorized paid absence from work that employees accrue as a result of their employment at Boston University. 

301.2 Eligibility 

All regular, full-time employees and regular, part-time employees (scheduled to work at least 50 percent of the regularly scheduled workweek) are eligible for vacation leave once they have been employed for at least 3 months.  

Employees are not eligible for, nor do they accrue, Vacation Leave until they have completed three (3) months of continuous service. 

301.3 Accrual/Length of Leave 

Eligible employees accrue Vacation Leave for each full calendar month of service completed at Boston University. Accruals are credited to employees on the first day of the month following each full calendar month of completed service. The following accrual rates are based on a regular, full-time workweek and a twelve-month assignment duration. They apply on a pro-rata basis to regular, part-time employees and other assignment durations. 

 

 

		Vacation Days Accrued
		Per Year	Per Month
1.	Full-time, Non-Exempt Employees (paid weekly)
	a. First twenty-four (24) months of service	10	5/6
	b. Beginning third (3rd) year to ninth (9th) year	15	1 1/4
	c. Beginning tenth (10th) year	20	1 2/3
2.	Full-Time, Exempt Employees (paid semi-monthly)
	a. First year to fourteenth (14th) year	20	1 2/3
	b. Beginning fifteenth (15th) year	25	2 1/12
3.	Regular, part-time employees accrue Vacation Leave as their full-time counterparts (see above) but on a pro-rata basis in accordance with their scheduled work week and assignment duration.

 

For tracking purposes, employees hired on or before the fifteenth (15th) of the month will be credited with a full month of service on the first day of the following month. Employees hired on or after the sixteenth (16th) of the month are not credited with a full month of service for that month and will not be credited with a vacation day for that month as vacation credits will begin the following month. Since new hires with less than three (3) months of continuous employment are not eligible for vacation under this policy, they will see a credit for future vacation after completing three (3) months of service, however, they will not be deemed to have accrued and/or earned vacation until after three (3) months of continuous employment.  

Eligible employees whose employment with the University is terminating must work through the fifteenth (15th) day of the month to be credited with a full month of service for that month. 

Employees may accrue Vacation Leave to a maximum of the number of days that they would earn over a two (2) year period of employment at their current accrual rate. For example, an employee who is eligible to accrue 25 vacation days per year may never accrue more than 50 vacation days. Once an employee reaches this overall accrual cap, no additional time will be accrued until an employee uses some of the already accrued time at which point accrual will continue subject to the annual accrual maximum and overall accrual cap. 

Employees maintain their accrued Vacation Leave when they transfer from one position within the University to another. Staff who transfer into a faculty position at the University will receive payment for any unused accrued vacation (up to the maximum accrued amount) at the time of the transfer.  

301.4  Usage 

One hour is the minimum amount of time that can be taken and charged to Vacation Leave absences. 

Employees are entitled to use Vacation Leave up to the number of Vacation Leave days that they have accrued. Vacation Leave may not be taken in advance of accrual. 

301.5 Compensation 

Vacations are paid at the employee’s base rate of pay at the time of absence. Vacation Leave is not counted as hours worked for purposes of calculating overtime. 

Employees maintain their regular pay and benefits while absent from work on approved Vacation Leave. 

301.6 Requests and Approvals 

Employees must submit requests for Vacation Leave via Employee Self-Service to their immediate supervisor at least two (2) weeks in advance of the desired Vacation Leave. The two (2) week requirement may be shortened in extenuating situations at the discretion of the supervisor.  

The University has sole decision-making authority about employee scheduling, usage, and approvals of Vacation Leave. Further, the University reserves the right to rescind prior approval of unused Vacation Leave and to mandate the use of Vacation Leave in certain instances, to the extent permitted by applicable law. 

301.7 Other Provisions 

If an observed holiday occurs during an employee’s scheduled Vacation Leave, the day of observance is taken as Holiday Leave. 

An employee who becomes ill while on an approved Vacation Leave, at the discretion of the supervisor in extenuating circumstances, may apply for Sick Leave under the Sick Leave Policy for any days previously approved as Vacation Leave.  

Eligible employees will be paid for their accrued, unused Vacation Leave at the time their employment with Boston University ends, up to a maximum of the number of days that they would accrue over a two (2) year period, or as otherwise required by applicable law. Payment will be computed using the employee’s base rate of pay at the time of termination. Since employees with less than three (3) months of continuous service are not eligible for, nor do they accrue, Vacation Leave under this policy, if an employee terminates employment prior to completing three (3) consecutive months of work, they will not receive vacation payout, unless otherwise required by law. 

---