Each month, our Advocacy Committee answers your questions about the AD 10 polices (aka, your terms and conditions of employment.)
Here is Advocacy Committee Member, Wanda Dekleva, to answer some of your questions about vacation time.
I am a new SFU APSA employee in a full-time continuing appointment that started in December of 2018. Now that it’s January 2019, how long until I can use my vacation time?
Welcome to SFU and to APSA! The good news is that your full allotment of vacation time is available for you to use at the beginning of each year. As a new full-time continuing employee, you have 4 weeks (or 144 hours at fulltime hours) per year of vacation time.
If you are a part-time continuing employee, your vacation time will be prorated based on your FTE.
Are there any restrictions regarding when I can use my vacation time?
Supervisors will make a reasonable effort to facilitate vacation schedules that allow the maximum number of employees to take vacations on the dates of each employee’s choice.
What happens if I use up all my vacation time at the beginning of the year, but I leave the university halfway through the year?
If, for example, you use all 4 weeks of your vacation time in January and then choose to leave the University in July, you will be asked to repay half of your used vacation time.
Am I allowed to save up my vacation time?
Yes! You are allowed to save, or “roll over”, 1 years’ worth of vacation time. This means, if you only used 2 weeks of vacation in 2018, you would start 2019 with 6 weeks of vacation. However, you must use your rolled over vacation by the end of 2019, or the University will pay out the unused time.
APSA, however, discourages rolling over of vacation. It’s important for everyone to be able to get time away from work to refresh and recharge.
It’s also important that if you wish to roll over your vacation time, that you talk to your supervisor and let them know what your plans are. This allows your department to better plan for your longer than anticipated absence.
My department told me I was only allowed to roll over 5 vacation days each year, are there different rules for different departments?
No. Every APSA member is allowed to roll over up to 1 years’ worth of vacation time to the next year.
I’m about to give my notice to resign and I have unused vacation time. Can my department force me to use my vacation time instead of paying it out?
The policies (AD 10.08 – Section 5.05) state that vacation cannot be taken immediately before termination of employment, and that any earned vacation will be paid out on your final pay cheque.
My vacation time balance on myinfo.sfu.ca is different than my own accounting of my vacation time. Who should I talk to?
It’s always important to keep track of your vacation time separately from myinfo just in case! If you find a discrepancy, talk to your supervisor.
Do I still earn vacation time when I’m away on maternity or parental leave?
Yes! And because you can roll over a full year’s worth of vacation time to the next year, this can allow you to have some extra vacation available to you as you transition back to work.
I used up all of my vacation time, but I’ve found I still need time off this year. Can I request a Leave without Pay?
Yes. Though be aware that departments are not required to grant leave without pay requests. You can read more about how to request a leave without pay in AD 10.08, section 11 Personal Leave without Pay.
I am a temporary employee, do I get vacation time?
Under most circumstances, temporary employees are paid 8% in lieu of vacation time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take time off. You can request time off the same way as you would for vacation, but it would just be classified as leave without pay. Your 8% in lieu should cover you for your time off.