Time Away from Work Policies
Paid Time Off (Vacation)
Accrual
Staff members accrue Paid Time Off based on their years of service in regular University positions and the date when they began continuous employment with the University. Time served in temporary or occasional positions is not counted in calculating the PTO accrual rate.
Paid Time Off is accrued monthly and is available for use the month following the month of accrual. Consult Penn's chart of accrual rates based on years of service. Accrued PTO does not expire. However, a staff member's accrued balance may not exceed 24 days. If the balance is 24 days, no additional days will accrue until the balance drops below 24 days.
Newly hired staff are credited with five days of PTO upon hire.
If a staff member who has completed their Introductory Period resigns or is terminated, the staff member will receive payment for their accrued and unused PTO based on the date of separation. If terminated on or after the 16th of the month, a full month's accrual will be credited. A staff member whose employment is terminated during their Introductory Period will not receive payment for any accrued and unused PTO.
Usage
Paid Time Off is requested and tracked in Workday@Penn. Paid Time Off should be requested well in advance to allow the supervisor time to consider the request. Supervisors maintain the discretion to approve or deny PTO requests without advance notice based on the business and operational needs of the unit.
If unforeseen circumstances require a staff member to apply PTO to an early departure, the supervisor should be notified as early in the day as possible.
When approved, planned time off should be communicated via email to colleagues who need to be aware that a co-worker will be absent from the office. Staff should also create “Out of the Office” messages for email and voicemail so that others trying to reach them will know they’re away and for how long. If possible, contact information for an alternate staff member should be included in the outgoing messages.
Please consult Penn's Paid Time Off policies for more information.
Sick Leave
Accrual
Penn’s Sick Leave policy is designed to provide position and salary continuation in the event of illness, and to promote sick leave conservation for extended protection. Sick leave is accrued based on a staff member's regularly scheduled hours of work. A full-time staff member accrues one day of sick leave for each completed month of service, up to 12 days in each fiscal year (July l-June 30). The maximum sick leave accumulation is 24 work days.
Usage
A staff member should notify their supervisor as soon as they know that they will be unable to work, but no later than the starting time of the work day. Staff must notify their supervisor on each day of absence unless other arrangements have been made. Some supervisors may require an earlier notification time, and staff should consult with their supervisor to establish a preferred call-out time and method (phone, email, text).
Sick leave may be used for illness of the staff member, for illness of a member of the household (up to five days per fiscal year), and for doctor/dentist appointments when it’s not possible to schedule them during non-working hours.
When a staff member has been on sick leave for more than three consecutive work days, they are required to submit documentation from a health care provider certifying the medical necessity for the absence and expected date of return to work. Additionally, the supervisor is expected to notify the staff member that the University is provisionally designating the use of that sick leave as Family Medical Leave in addition to sick leave.
Please consult Penn's Sick Leave policies for more information.
Family and Medical Leave (FML)
Family and Medical Leave (FML) provides eligible employees with twelve weeks of unpaid leave for qualifying events/medical reasons. Family Medical Leave protects the employment of qualifying staff members, but it is unpaid leave. The University requires that employees concurrently use available sick leave, Paid Time Off, and Short-Term Disability (STD) benefits, if available.
To be eligible for FMLA benefits, an employee must have been employed by the University for at least 12 months and have worked for at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the start of the leave.
Learn more about Penn's Family Medical Leave benefit.
New Child Policy
Employee absences due to pregnancy and related conditions, childbirth, or recovery from childbirth are covered by the University short-term disability policy, as well as Family Medical Leave. See the Family and Medical Leave policy for more information.
Medical leave resulting from pregnancy entitles employees under this policy to be paid short-term disability leave for up to eight weeks, or the length of time determined to be medically necessary as certified by the employee's physician.
Please consult Penn's New Child Policy for more information.
University Observed Holidays
Each fiscal year, the University observes the following holidays:
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Thanksgiving Day
- Friday following
- Thanksgiving Day
- Christmas Day
- New Year’s Day
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Memorial Day
- Juneteenth
Employees should consult the Almanac annually for official holiday closing dates. Staff who are absent from work either the workday before or after a holiday, or both days, will receive holiday pay if that absence is charged to pre-approved paid time off or to sick days.
Special Winter Vacation
In addition to the observed holidays listed above, the University currently provides a Special Winter Vacation between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. The University may shorten or extend the special vacation period depending on where the holidays fall in a particular year. Employees should consult the Almanac annually for official special winter vacation closing dates.
Staff members who are absent from work either the workday before or after the special winter vacation, or both days, will receive pay for the special winter vacation, provided that the absence is charged to pre-approved paid time off, or to sick time.
If an employee is required to work to continue departmental operations for part or all of the special winter vacation period, the vacation can be rescheduled for some other time (in consultation with the employee’s supervisor).