Human Resources : Leave Policies
For teaching and administrative faculty not eligible for, or not electing VSDP, the VCCS sick leave policies for 12-month and 9-month faculty will apply.
Nine- and Twelve-month teaching faculty – Sick leave shall accrue at the rate of four and one-half (4 1/2 days per academic semester (Fall and Spring) awarded on the first day of each semester. There shall be no limit on the amount of sick leave that can be accrued. The smallest unit of leave that can be used is a half day.
Administrative faculty – Sick leave shall accrue at the rate of five (5) hours per pay period. There shall be no limit on the amount of sick leave that can be accrued.
Sick leave is intended for the personal use of the faculty member. However, a portion may be used for illness or death of immediate family members. For details on use of sick leave refer to VCCS Policy, Section 3, 3.9.0 at http://www.vccs.edu/Portals/0/ContentAreas/PolicyManual/Sct3.pdf.
Annual Leave (12-month administrative faculty and classified staff)
Annual leave is earned (accrued) at the end of each completed pay period, at a rate set according to your total amount of state salaried service. Classified staff who work less than 100% but at least 50% and are in permanent part-time positions, accrue at a rate proportionate to the percentage worked. Accrual rates are as follows:
Max. Years of Service |
Max. Semi-monthly Accrual Rate |
Carryover Limits |
Payment Limits |
Up to 5 years |
4 hours |
192 hours (24 days) |
192 hours (24 days) |
5 years |
5 hours |
240 hours (30 days) |
240 hours (30 days) |
10 years |
6 hours |
288 hours (36 days) |
288 hours (36 days) |
15 years |
7 hours |
336 hours (42 days) |
336 hours (42 days) |
20 years |
8 hours |
384 hours (48 days) |
336 hours (42 days) |
25 years |
9 hours |
432 hours (54 days) |
336 hours (42 days) |
Nine month teaching faculty do not accrue annual leave
Presidents, Vice Presidents, Provosts, and faculty-rank members of the Chancellor’s Cabinet shall be given a lump sum of annual leave on January 10 of each calendar year based on years of Virginia state service as indicated above. For executive-level employees who start employment any time other than January, the amount of annual leave given will be prorated. In addition, those who are newly hired and come from a position not covered by the Commonwealth’s annual leave policy will be given 10 days (80 hours) of annual leave effective the first day of employment. Proration will not apply to the 10 days of leave.
When terminating employment or when moving from an administrative or professional position to a 9-month teaching position, an employee shall be paid for only the maximum leave allowed by policy.
All annual leave in excess of the maximum allowed shall be carried over beyond January 1 of each year with the permission of the President. However, the excess leave hours must be used by June 30 of the same calendar year. For classified staff, if the excess hours of annual leave are not used by June 30 they will be lost. For administrative faculty the remaining excess hours will be converted to sick leave on an hour-for-hour basis as of July 1, except for participants in the VSDP. Administrative faculty who are VSDP participants will lose any excess hours of annual leave not used by June 30.
Personal Leave (Nine-month Teaching Faculty)
Teaching faculty electing the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP) shall have personal leave as specified in the VSDP policy.
Teaching faculty not eligible for, or not electing to participate in VSDP, shall earn three (3) days of personal leave at the beginning of the academic year. This leave may be taken by faculty members at their discretion, provided satisfactory prior approval has been granted by the faculty members’ supervisor. Personal leave is not intended for recreational purposes. The smallest unit of leave taken can be a half-day. Unused personal leave shall be converted to sick leave accrual at the end of the summer term following the academic year for which it was granted.
The Commonwealth grants employees paid time off for certain reasons related to court proceedings (including jury duty); for some kinds of service to official state councils, boards, etc. for some activities related to employee relations processes; and reasonable time to interview for state positions. Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.05 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
The Commonwealth complies with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in providing up to 12 weeks of leave with or without pay to eligible employees in a calendar year for situations defined in that Act. State policies and procedures apply to many situations covered by FMLA. Because FMLA is a designation rather than a separate type of leave, an employee may also use other kinds of leave while in FMLA leave status. An eligible employee on FMLA leave continues to receive the state contribution to health insurance, and FMLA provides reemployment rights to employees under certain conditions. Employees may use up to 33% of their traditional sick leave or available VSDP sick leave to cover absences for family illness or disabilities covered by FMLA.
Family and medical leave may not be used for short-term conditions for which treatment and recovery are brief, such as minor illnesses and out-patient surgical procedures with expected brief recuperating periods. It does not provide for intermittent care of a child for such commonplace illnesses as colds and flu.
Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.20 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
As an employer, the Commonwealth supports employees’ responsibilities to their children and communities through Community Service Leave with up to 16 hours of paid leave per calendar year. Parents are encouraged to participate in school activities through the high school level. All employees are encouraged to volunteer though community organizations to perform direct services in child development and to provide voluntary "hands-on" services as part of an organized community service project.
Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.40 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html and in VCCS policy 3.9.9 at http://www.vccs.edu/Portals/0/ContentAreas/PolicyManual/Sct3.pdf.
Military leave is granted with or without pay to faculty and classified employees for active duty in the armed services of the United States or for employees who are former members of the armed services, or current members of the U.S. reserve forces or the Commonwealth militia, or the National Defense Executive Reserve. Requests and approvals will be made in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) policy 4.50 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
Employees with specific, needed skills may receive up to 80 hours of paid leave to give requested assistance in officially-declared disaster areas, typically in cases of large-scale flood, fire, ice storm, or a similarly destructive natural event. To qualify for this leave, the services provided must not be within the regular job duties of the called employees. In addition, employees who are the victims of major disastrous events, such as destruction of their primary residence, are sometimes eligible for paid leave under this policy.
Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.17 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
Leave to Donate Bone Marrow or Organs
Employees may use up to 30 workdays in a calendar year to donate their bone marrow or an organ and to recover from the procedure.
Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.37 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
Workers’ Compensation is the benefit provided to employees by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Act if they suffer work-related injury or disease.
Claims and decisions will be made in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Department of Human Resource Management (DHRM), policy 4.60 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html, the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP) Leave at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html and the Division of Risk Management.
Educational Leave and Educational Assistance
Employees may be allowed leave time to take courses related to their work. This may be with full, partial, or no pay, and/or tuition payment. Financial assistance for costs related to such courses is sometimes available from the employee’s agency.
A sabbatical leave is a compensated leave of absence of one or two semesters for full-time academic faculty and up to 12 months for administrative and professional faculty and the college president. The objective of sabbatical leave is to provide activities, which will improve teaching effectiveness, enhance creative and/or artistic activities, improve professional competency, and provide a renewed capacity for significant contribution of service to the college and the community at large.
In certain situations, you may ask for or need to be placed in a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status. This status preserves some benefits of employment and permits reinstatement of other benefits if you return to paid status. LWOP does not separate you from state service, and many benefits are not affected, especially if the period of LWOP is not long. In order to avoid unintentional LWOP, you should learn to manage your paid leave. Employee-initiated LWOP must be approved by the President and is reviewed on an individual case basis.
Leave Without Pay may be unconditional (reinstatement to the pre-leave position is guaranteed) or conditional (reinstatement will occur only if the pre-leave position remains available).
An explanation can be found in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.45 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
Compensatory and Overtime Leave
Some classified staff may be eligible to earn paid leave and/or additional compensatory hours for work performed overtime or during non-scheduled work times. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs application of these leave types for employees covered by the Act.
Administrative faculty and classified staff may donate annual leave hours they have accrued to help other employees who are eligible to receive the leave and who are experiencing Leave Without Pay. Employees covered by the traditional sick leave policy may request to receive Leave Sharing donations whey they are in a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status because of their own personal illness or injury or because of the illness or injury of a family member for which the employee is using Family and medical Leave (FMLA). Employees covered by the Virginia Sickness and Disability Program may request to receive Leave Sharing donations when they are in a Leave Without Pay (LWOP) status because of a family member’s illness or injury for which the employee is using Family and Medical Leave. Employees covered by VSDP are not eligible to receive donated leave for personal illness or injury. The agency continues to make its contribution to the health care premium for the time covered by FMLA leave.
Nine-month teaching faculty may only request donated leave; they can not be donors as they do not accrue annual leave
If you want to donate or request donated leave, contact the WCC Human Resource Office.
Eligibility criteria and specific conditions are explained in the Dept. of Human Resource Management (DHRM) Policy 4.35 at http://www.dhrm.virginia.gov/hrpolicy/policy.html.
To use any of the leave described above, employees are required to complete an Application for Leave of Absence form (Appendix H). The form should be completed (including signatures) prior to the leave date or as soon as possible upon returning to work.