Policy 401 - Vacation Time

Section: Time Off
Policy Number: 401
Responsible Office: HR/HR Services
Effective Date: 4/1/01
Clarified: 10/29/15; 3/20/23
Revised: 1/1/06; 1/1/09; 4/30/12

Vacation Policy for Administrators

Regular full-time administrators are awarded 22 days of vacation annually, commencing January 1 of each year. This vacation accrues at the rate of 1.83 days each calendar month. During an employee’s first year of employment, vacation is prorated based on the number of months worked in the calendar year. Ordinarily, unused vacation may not be carried over from one year to the next. Exceptions to this policy may be made only with the written approval of the appropriate department’s Vice President. 

New employees accrue vacation but are not permitted to take vacation until the end of their three-month Orientation Period. Employees on a Reduced Schedule accrue vacation on a prorated basis, depending on their schedule. Part-time employees are not eligible for paid vacation time. Vacation time does not accrue during any period of unpaid leave, nor during absences from work (paid or unpaid) of one calendar month or longer.  

Vacation requests require supervisor approval, and it is the responsibility of supervisors to maintain a record of the accumulation and use of vacation days for their employees. Online vacation request forms are available on the HR Forms page of the Human Resources website.  Supervisors shall schedule their employees’ vacations in such a way as to ensure continuity of operations, giving due consideration to the preferences of the employees. 

Vacation Calculations for Administrators 

To calculate accrued vacation time during the year, full-time administrators should multiply the monthly accrual rate (1.83) by the number of months worked. Use the 50% rule to round up or down to the nearest half day.   

Example: An administrator who worked three months would have accrued 1.83 x 3 = 5.49 or rounded up to 5 ½ days of vacation. An administrator who worked two months would have 1.83 x 2 = 3.66 or rounded down to 3 ½ days. 

If an administrator works during any part of a calendar month, the administrator accrues vacation for the entire month.  

Example: An employee who is out on an approved sick leave from March 6 to May 20 would accrue vacation for March and May, but not for April. 

To calculate the amount of vacation payable to an administrator upon separation from employment, multiply the number of months worked in the calendar year by 1.83 to get the number of days accrued, and then subtract any vacation time the administrator already used that year. 

Vacation Policy for Staff

Staff employees accrue vacation time in hours at a rate determined by their employment classification and their length of employment. For all regular full-time staff, the normal vacation period begins January 1 and ends December 31. Employees should make an effort to submit vacation requests to their department supervisor by January 1 of the calendar year in which the vacation is to be taken. Any changes in requests should be submitted to the department supervisor at least two weeks prior to the time requested. All vacations are subject to the approval of the department supervisor.

Employees on a Reduced Schedule accrue vacation on a prorated basis, depending on their schedule. Part-time employees are not eligible for paid vacation time.

Vacation time does not accrue during any period of unpaid leave. If a staff employee works during any part of a month, he/she accrues vacation for the entire month. Ordinarily, unused vacation time may not be carried over to the following calendar year. Staff who have exceeded sick or vacation should be marked as leave without pay on their time-sheets.

VACATION CALCULATIONS FOR STAFF

Staff employees accrue vacation time in hours at a rate determined by their employment classification and their length of employment. For all regular full-time staff, the normal vacation period begins January 1 and ends December 31. Employees should make an effort to submit vacation requests to their department supervisor by January 1 of the calendar year in which the vacation is to be taken. Any changes in requests should be submitted to the department supervisor at least two weeks prior to the time requested. All vacations are subject to the approval of the department supervisor. 

Employees on a Reduced Schedule accrue vacation on a prorated basis, depending on their schedule. Part-time employees are not eligible for paid vacation time. 

Vacation time does not accrue during any period of unpaid leave. If a staff employee works during any part of a month, he/she accrues vacation for the entire month. Ordinarily, unused vacation time may not be carried over to the following calendar year. Staff who have exceeded sick or vacation should be marked as leave without pay on their timesheets.  

Vacation Calculations for Staff 

Exact calculations will depend on employee classification and length of employment as shown below: 

First Five Years of Service: Employees accrue a maximum of ten (10) vacation days per year, prorated for each month worked. New employees accrue vacation but are not permitted to take vacation until the end of their three-month Orientation Period.  

• Clerical staff who work 35 hours per week accrue 5.83 hours of vacation time per month or 70 hours per year for the first five years of employment. 

• Public Safety Officers who work 37.5 hours per week accrue 6.25 hours per month or 75 hours per year for the first five years of employment. 

• Technical staff who work 40 hours per week accrue 6.67 hours of vacation time per month or 80 hours per year for the first five years of employment. 

After Five Years of Service: Beginning with the month in which the fifth anniversary of continuous full-time employment occurs, employees begin to accrue vacation time at a rate of fifteen (15) days per year. 

• Clerical staff who work 35 hours per week accrue 8.75 hours of vacation time per month or 105 hours per year after five years of employment. 

• Public Safety Officers who work 37.5 hours per week accrue 9.38 hours per month or 112.5 hours per year after five years of employment. 

• Technical staff who work 40 hours per week accrue 10 hours of vacation time per month or 120 hours per year after five years of employment. 

After Ten Years of Service: Beginning with the month in which the tenth anniversary of continuous full-time employment occurs, employees begin to accrue vacation time at a rate of twenty (20) days per year. No more than twenty (20) vacation days can be accrued. 

• Clerical staff who work 35 hours per week accrue 11.66 hours of vacation time per month or 140 hours per year after ten years of employment. 

• Public Safety Officers who work 37.5 hours per week accrue 12.5 hours per month or 150 hours per year after ten years of employment. 

• Technical staff who work 40 hours per week accrue 13.34 hours of vacation time per month or 160 hours per year after ten years of employment. 

Annual Vacation Schedule for Staff 

How to read the above schedule: The above schedule shows vacation in days, and is approximate, as staff accrue vacation time in hours as determined by their employment classification and length of employment. As an example, a full-time staff employee who is hired in the month of August 2015 accrues 4 days of vacation through December 2015, the end of the first calendar year. Beginning in January 2016, the employee accrues 10 days per calendar year through the fourth calendar year. In the employee’s fifth calendar year of employment (2019), he/she accrues 12 days (prorated due to the August anniversary month of hire). In the sixth calendar year (2020), the employee accrues a full 15 days and continues at a rate of 15 days per year through the ninth calendar year of employment. In the tenth calendar year (2024), the employee accrues 17 days (prorated due to the August anniversary month of hire). In the 11^th year (2025) and onward, the employee accrues a full 20 days per calendar year.

Selection Criteria

In offices where conflicts pertaining to the selection of vacation arise, selection will be made on the basis of years of continuous full-time service. The employee with the greatest length of continuous service will be permitted to select two weeks’ vacation. Selection will then pass to the employee with the second most continuous service, and so on, until every employee has selected two weeks. Under no circumstances shall an employee apply the service criteria in the selection of more than two weeks of vacation, until all employees in the department have had an opportunity to make a vacation selection. 

Vacation and sick time taken are monitored within an employee’s department. Supervisors are responsible for maintaining accurate vacation and sick leave balances.

St. John's University, New York
Human Resources Policy Manual