NOTE: If you are recruiting a straight replacement of an existing position that has been recruited within the past year AND has no changes to salary grade/pay table, job code, or job duties/responsibilities, skip down to Obtaining Approval & Posting.

Consult with your Executive Office HR contact regarding your business needs and proposed staffing plan. Executive Office HR will provide consultation and guidance on appropriate employment classes and job codes. For this meeting, please come prepared to discuss the following items.

During the position development stage, you should assemble a draft position description that captures the duties and responsibilities, reporting structure, required skills and experience, and other relevant position details. Utilize the EOHR Classified Staff Position Description Template (PDF) or the UWHR Professional Staff Position Description Template (docx) to draft your position description. You may also elect to revise an existing position description for a similar position type.

Please reach out to the Executive Office HR team for examples of past/current position descriptions.

Do not include advertising language in the text of the position description form. Prior to posting, UW Total Talent Management (formerly UW Recruiting Services) will include the required UW advertising language. Please consult with the Executive Office HR team if you have specific language that you would like to include in the final posting.

Diversity is one of the six values at the University of Washington that guides institutional goals for students, staff, and faculty. In support of the UW’s commitment to inclusive excellence, we encourage all managers to regularly review Central HR’s “DEI-Related Trainings for Hiring Managers”, particularly the “Implicit Bias Training”, as you prepare for your recruitment. This toolkit offers checklists, resources, and further guidance on how to recruit and retain a diverse workforce.

Before you begin the position development process, be sure that your planned salary range has been reviewed and pre-approved by your VP-level unit approver or Kim Dinh, Senior Director for Finance, HR, and Administration. Consult the HR Hiring Approval Flow Chart to confirm who needs to approve your salary range.

Be aware that “resources” are not just limited to salary and benefits, but space assignment, operational expenses (IT, software, equipment, supplies), professional development and training, and travel.

For new or revised positions, consider any impacts on job duties/responsibilities for existing positions or if it will impact existing team structures or reporting lines.

Consult Executive Office HR if this will be an open recruitment, limited recruitment (open to UW employees only), or closed recruitment (direct hire for a fixed term or limited appointments only).

Once the position development steps are fully completed, submit a Hiring New Staff Form with all associated documentation attached.

Refer to the New Staff Hire Request Instructions page for guidance on documentation that should be uploaded with the request form. 

Refer to the EOHR Approval Flow for information on the approval and routing process.

Application materials will be received initially by Executive Office HR. Per the preferences of the search committee, the materials may be forwarded to the search committee members via email, or search committee members may be granted UWHIRES Workbench access to the hiring requisition to view the materials directly online. The vetting process is different depending on the position’s employment program:

Classified Staff positions – Applications are initially vetted by Total Talent Management. Only applicants who meet the minimum requirements will be forwarded to Executive Office HR. When considering candidates:

• Contract classified candidates (they will appear on the requisition with Promo, Lateral Transfer/Move, or Voluntary Demotion) must be considered before non-contract-classified candidates.
• At least one bargaining unit applicant per job requisition must be granted an interview for bargaining unit positions.
• The contract stipulates that “where the skills, abilities, and experience of the vacant position are considered equal, the Employer will offer the position to a bargaining unit applicant.”
• The contract also provides that “applicants from the bargaining unit who possess the essential skills but are not offered the position may request an explanation, written or oral, as to why the position was not offered.”

Professional Staff positions – Total Talent Management will complete an initial review of all applications. Applicants who meet eligibility and position requirements will be forwarded to the Executive Office HR team. Discuss with Executive Office HR team if you feel your recruitment would benefit from an additional pre-screening by the Executive Office HR team.

Prior to screening resumes, all search committee members should consult HR’s guidelines on Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry.

Screening materials

• Screening and interview documents and notes are subject to a 3-year retention period (10 years for positions at the Director level or above) following the conclusion of any search, regardless of whether a hire was completed.
• Please be aware that any discussions, meeting notes, rubrics, or ranking criteria either in paper or email form will be collected and filed and subject to public records requests within that retention period.
• Any written or typed notes should comply with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry.
• Do not take down any notes or make any comments that do not align with these guidelines.

For competitive recruitments, all applicants must be subject to the same review and interviewing process.

Each candidate should be interviewed by the same person(s)/panel and be asked the same questions. All members of the interview panel should review and be familiar with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry before conducting interviews.

Aside from inquiring about the candidate’s skills and experience, be sure to cover the expectations of the position such as the expected schedule, typical duties and responsibilities, and physical requirements (if applicable).

Allow time for the candidate to ask questions for each interview panel. In order to provide accurate information to the candidate, be sure that you are knowledgeable about the position details, including:

• Benefits Eligibility – most classified and professional positions at 50% FTE or more and for a period of 6 months or greater are eligible for some type of benefits. Provide the candidate with the UW Total Benefits PDF for further details: Classified Staff Benefits Summary (pdf), Professional Staff Benefits Summary (pdf)

• Time Off Accrual and Usage Policy
  • For Classified Staff positions, refer to the union contract for full details on time off accrual and usage: SEIU 925 Contract, All Other Labor Contracts
  • Professional Staff Program – Time Off and Holidays

Communicate with the candidate about the expected recruitment timeline and next steps. Ask how soon they would be able to start if offered the position. Well-qualified candidates may be interviewing for other positions and have other options to consider, so be open about your recruiting time frame in order to manage expectations.

Effective July 28, 2019, employers are prohibited from inquiring an applicant’s wage or salary history or requiring an applicant’s prior wage or salary to meet certain criteria. Find more information on the Washington State’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA) .

Learn about Interviewing Courtesies for Individuals with Disabilities and disability accommodations. Do not inquire about a candidate’s disabilities or whether they would require reasonable accommodation during the interview process.

Upon completing interviews, conduct reference checks for your top candidate(s). Please follow the reference check guidance which includes information on seeking references on internal employees. References should all be based on professional relationships—individuals who have worked with the finalist in a professional setting and are familiar with their day-to-day work and overall performance on the job.

Plan on conducting at least three professional reference checks, with at least one of those references being the current supervisor (or most recent supervisor if not currently employed).

Utilize the UWHR General Reference Check Form (docx) in order to document the conversation. You may ask additional questions not included on the form (such as attendance record), but be sure to ask the same ad-hoc questions for all reference checks, especially when conducting checks for multiple candidates. Once again, all inquiries must comply with the Fair Pre-Employment Inquiry guidelines.

We recommend that each reference check be conducted with at least two search committee members present in order to ensure the accuracy of notes and records of the call.

Please Note: If the finalist is a current or former UW employee, please alert Executive Office HR. They will work with central HR to request a review of the candidate’s official personnel record. UWHR will provide a summary of any documented performance or employee relations issues that occurred over the last three years of the candidate’s employment at the UW. This personnel record check is required before any offer can be extended to current or former UW employees.

Final Candidate Disclosure

Effective October 1, 2020, the UW is required to ask final candidates who are not already UW employees to sign a statement disclosing whether they:

• Are the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct in any current or former employment
• Are currently being investigated for sexual misconduct at any current employer
• Have left a position during an investigation into a violation of any sexual misconduct policy at any current or past employers

For any positive response, final candidates are required to provide an explanation of the situation and additional steps may be required. The Executive Office HR team will initiate this Sexual Misconduct Disclosure Statement process with the UWHR Recruiting Office once reference checks are completed and before the official hiring offer can be made. A hire will not be finalized until the completed and signed declaration is received.

Sexual Misconduct Verification 

Effective July 1, 2021, the UW is required to request in writing that the final candidate’s current or former Washington state postsecondary educational institution employers disclose whether the candidate:

• Is the subject of any substantiated findings of sexual misconduct
• Is currently being investigated for sexual misconduct
• Has left a position during an investigation into a violation of any sexual misconduct policy

The request must include a copy of the declaration and statement completed by the final candidate.

The UW may request all documents and information in the candidate’s current or former personnel, investigative, or other files relating to any sexual misconduct, including sexual harassment. Final candidates may be asked to execute additional forms required by their current or former employer(s) to release such information to the UW.

For full details, please consult Total Talent Management’s webpage on Sexual Misconduct Disclosure.

Once the reference checks are fully completed and you are ready to proceed with an offer, contact Executive Office HR with your planned compensation offer and proposed start date. The Executive Office HR team will submit the offer in UWHIRES for approval. Do not extend any verbal or written offers to the finalist until Executive Office HR confirms approval of the compensation offer.

The Executive Office HR team will advise you once the salary offer is approved and then you can make the offer to the finalist. Inform the finalist that the offer is contingent on satisfactorily passing a criminal background check. Once the finalist accepts, contact Executive Office HR and they will work with Total Talent Management to initiate the background check process. It is not our unit’s practice to issue formal offer letters to be signed by the new hire.

Once the background check is cleared and the hiring is completed, a hiring confirmation letter will be drafted by Executive Shared Services and forwarded to the direct supervisor of the position for final signature and delivery to the new hire.

If the finalist is a current UW employee with no break in service, consult with Executive Office HR to verify if a background check is still required. Turnaround time for background checks can vary from a few days (for new hires that have only lived in Washington State) to several weeks (for individuals who have lived abroad in recent years).

The position start date cannot come before the completion of the background check. As a result, it may be necessary to shift the proposed start date in order to accommodate the background check timeline.

Once the background check is fully cleared, the hiring will be completed in UWHIRES and routed to Workday to initiate the onboarding process.

As with Classified or Professional Staff positions, please consult with Executive Office HR on Developing Your Position before submitting any hiring requests.

In addition to the items outlined in the Position Development process, familiarize yourself with the requirements and restrictions regarding student employment, including the following.

Student must be enrolled at the UW and meet the following minimum credit requirements (not including correspondence credits) in order to be eligible for student employment:

• Undergraduate students – 6 credits
• Graduate and professional students – 5 credits
• Ph.D. candidates working on dissertations – 2 credits
• Granted “on leave” status

Academic Student Employees, which include Tutors, Readers/Graders, Staff Assistants, and Research Assistants, are in a separate employment program from hourly student assistant positions. All ASE positions are governed by the contract between the UW and the United Auto Workers (UAW) and thus follow a separate criteria for eligibility and compensation. If you plan to hire an Academic Student Employee (ASE), additional enrollment requirements may apply, depending on the nature of the position.

Please consult with Executive Shared Services for further guidance if you intend to hire an ASE.

To review the set salary schedule for an ASE, please review The UW Graduate School TA/RA salary schedules.

Students are limited to 19.5 hours per week when classes are in session. Be aware if your student is working multiple positions at UW as the 19.5 hours limit is cumulative across all UW positions. Provided that there is an urgent business need for additional hours, students are eligible to work above the limit during finals weeks, school breaks, or when “on leave”, which is defined as:

• Undergraduates – For one quarter immediately following a quarter in which the student was enrolled for at least 6 academic credits, including summer quarter unless the student has graduated.
• Graduate and Professional Students – When the student has applied for and been granted such status by the Dean of the Graduate School.

In the event that a student (whether intentionally or not) works above the 19.5-hour limit in a given week, the UW is still obligated to pay them for all hours worked. However, it puts the University out of compliance with the hourly limit policy. Be sure you are actively communicating with your student employees regarding work schedules to avoid work-hour overages.

By state law, it is mandatory that anyone working a 5+ hour work shift is given the opportunity to take a minimum of a 30-minute (unpaid) break.

Student employees have a set range for hourly rates, which may be adjusted in accordance with minimum wage requirements and pay determination guidelines set by the UW Compensation Office. Academic Student Employee positions have separate pay scales determined by the UW/UAW contract. Consult with Executive Office HR for guidance on the correct compensation rate.

Once you have consulted with Executive Office HR, complete a New Student Hire Form with all associated documentation attached.

Student job profiles typically do not require an open recruitment. If you have identified a preferred candidate, be sure to note the candidate’s name when completing your New Student Hire Form.

Departments hiring graduate students are required to request that the prospective student employee complete the sexual misconduct declaration in the Sexual Misconduct Declaration Tool prior to receiving an offer of employment. This includes all academic student employees covered by the UAW collective bargaining agreement and any prospective graduate student employee hired into a graduate student job profile.

Before you make any offer of employment, notify EOSS if your finalist is a graduate student, this includes Academic Student Employees, as well as any Graduate Student, recruited into a Student Assistant (non-ASE) job code. EOSS will reach out to the finalist to initiate the Sexual Misconduct Declaration process with UWHR. Based on the completed statement, UWHR will reach out to the Graduate School and the hiring department should there be any result necessitating further review.

For full details, please consult Total Talent Management’s webpage on Sexual Misconduct Disclosure.

Direct Hires for student assistant positions do not require an open recruitment. You may extend a conditional offer to your preferred candidate based on the position details pre-approved in your form. Once accepted, you may move to the background check stage.

Open Recruitments may be done informally via email announcements or formally via Handshake.

NOTE: ASE positions have additional requirements in accordance with the UAW contract. Please consult with Executive Office HR for guidance on how to manage those recruitments.

As with staff positions, all student hires in the Executive Office should also undergo background checks prior to officially starting work. In order to initiate the process, the student should complete and sign the Criminal Conviction and Civil Finding History Self-Disclosure and Authorization Form (pdf). The completed form along with the following information should be forwarded to Executive Office HR:

1. List of residence(s) outside of WA state, or United States, in the last 3 years (city, county, state, country)
2. Citizenship status

Turnaround time for background checks can vary from a few days (for new hires that have only lived in Washington State) to several weeks (for individuals who have lived abroad in recent years).

Position start dates cannot come before the completion of the background check. As a result, it may be necessary to shift the proposed start in order to accommodate the background check timeline.

Once the background check is fully cleared, the hiring will be completed in UWHIRES and routed to Workday to initiate the onboarding process.

All hourly staff is expected to work a weekly schedule as approved by their supervisor in accordance with business needs, and which may or may not be consistent from week to week. Modifications to the work schedule must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor.

All hourly employees are overtime-eligible, and receive 1.5 times their hourly rate for all qualified overtime hours (reference: Overtime). If an hourly employee holds multiple positions, their cumulative hours across all positions are calculated as time worked, and the last position worked (which tipped the employee into overtime) will be costed the 1.5 rate.

Student hourly

Student hourly employees may only work 19.5 hours per week when classes are in session, cumulative across all positions a student may hold. During finals week, breaks between quarters, and “on leave” quarters, students may work additional hours as business needs permit.

• “On Leave” quarter for undergraduates: For one quarter immediately following a quarter in which the student was enrolled for at least six (6) academic credits, including summer quarter, unless the student has graduated.
• “On Leave” quarter for graduate and professional students: When the student has applied for and been granted such status by the Dean of the Graduate School.

By state law, it is mandatory that anyone working a 5+ hour work shift is given the opportunity to take a minimum of a 30-minute (unpaid) break.

All salaried staff are expected to work a consistent weekly schedule approved by their supervisor, within FLSA guidelines, and congruent with their position FTE. Modifications to the work schedule must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor.

OT-Exempt Staff do not enter time worked into Workday. It is expected that OT-Exempt staff is working at least the number of hours required by their position FTE, and working a consistent weekly schedule that meets the business needs of the department. Additional hours, regardless of FTE, are not tracked in Workday or paid as additional compensation.

OT-Eligible Staff are required to report all time worked accurately and completely in Workday. They are eligible to receive overtime pay for qualified time worked, entered and approved in Workday (reference: Overtime).

OT-Eligible Staff who are eligible to accrue time off may elect to collect overtime as compensatory time off and do so by selecting compensatory time when completing their time block entry.

• Once overtime is paid, employees may not request overpayment proceedings to recover compensatory time off accrual.
• Compensatory time must be used by June 30^th of each year. Any compensatory time off balances will be deducted and paid to the employee in the first pay period of each July.

Overtime hours are paid at 1.5 times the regular calculated hourly rate for qualified hours exceeding 40 in a Monday-Sunday FLSA workweek unless the employee is within a collective bargaining unit with differing provisions. Qualified hours have different parameters for professional and classified staff. Review Overtime Calculations for additional information.

Supervisors may request that an employee work overtime hours in order to complete additional work or provide business continuity coverage. If not at the behest of the supervisor, an employee needing to work additional hours must not do so unless they have requested and received approval from their supervisor BEFORE working the additional hours.

If an employee does not request overtime in advance of working additional hours, supervisors must approve all hours worked in Workday, regardless of the employee obtaining pre-authorization. Pay may not be withheld due to unauthorized overtime, however, employees repeatedly working unauthorized overtime may be subject to corrective action.

OT-Eligible Professional Staff must enter over 40 WORK hours in a week to receive overtime pay, which excludes all non-working time off/holidays. Hours over 40 that are not qualified as overtime or accrued as comp time, will be paid as additional straight-time hours.

Classified Staff must enter over 40 TOTAL hours in a week to receive overtime pay, including all paid non-working time off/holidays; unpaid time off will not contribute toward calculated overtime. All paid hours over 40 are qualified to receive overtime pay or comp time accrual.

Classified Staff assigned a scheduled work position are also eligible for daily overtime for work performed in excess of their scheduled daily hours. Review the full SEIU 925 Contract for additional overtime considerations for Classified Staff.

Temporary & Student Hourly, as well as Overtime Eligible Salaried Staff, must enter all time worked into Workday accurately and completely at least once per pay period, or more often if directed by the supervisor. Review Time Entry and Reporting for full Workday instructions.

Supervisors and/or designated Time & Absence Approvers must approve all time entered before the payroll cut-off window. Hourly employees will not be paid for any hours left unapproved at cutoff, and will not receive sick time off accrual for that pay period. Salaried employees will continue to receive their standard salary, but will not be compensated for any overtime or straight-time hours submitted which are not approved.

Supervisors may indicate how often they would like time submitted within a pay period (weekly, daily, etc.) This requirement should be applied consistently for all direct reports unless a documented performance plan includes more frequent time entry for a particular employee.

Time Off refers to the accrued balances of paid time off, and any subsequent unpaid time off, that an employee applies to their time reporting when away from the office. All staff employees must utilize and enter time off in Workday when they do not report for work. Review Entering Time Off for Workday for additional instructions.

Paid time off eligibility is dependent on the staff member’s employment program; with the exception of sick time off, generally, salaried employees receive time off accrual and hourly employees do not. Most time off is accrued on a monthly basis, credited to the employee’s available balance on the first day of the following month, and then immediately available for usage.

Vacation time off should be discussed and communicated to the supervisor with at least 10 days notice, and subsequently entered accurately and completely in Workday.

• Before utilizing vacation time off, any holiday credit time off, discretionary time off, and compensatory time off must be exhausted.
• Vacation time off accrual is set according to the length of service and employment program. Review Vacation Time Off Accrual for exact accrual rates and additional information.

Maximum vacation time off accrual

Employees may not exceed 280 hours (effective 6/6/2024) of accrued vacation time off. Workday will provide notifications to employees who are encroaching on this limit, however, supervisors should also proactively review employee accrual balances and work with high-balance employees to schedule time off and mitigate balance exceptions.

Please note recent policy change:
On June 6, 2024, a change in Washington state law increases the vacation accrual maximum from 240 hours to 280 hours for classified employees. This change means classified employees whose time off service date occurs before June 6, 2024, will have their vacation time off balance capped at 240 hours. Classified employees whose time off service date occurs on or after June 6 will have their vacation time off balance capped at 280 hours.

Consistent with the intent of the change in state law for classified employees, the vacation separation pay maximum for professional staff will also increase from 240 hours to 280 hours on June 6, 2024.

For further than here and below regarding current vacation time off accrual, balance maximums, separation payout and transfer of balances for classified and professional staff, refer to the Vacation Time Off webpage.

Classified Staff

Vacation time off that exceeds 280 hours (effective 6/6/24) will be forfeited, except as prohibited by the contract. In the event that an employee exceeds 280 hours of accrued time voluntarily, the excess must be used before the employee’s anniversary date.

If a supervisor denies time off requests due to business needs, causing an employee to involuntarily exceed the limit, the supervisor must notify Executive Shared Services immediately so that additional steps can be taken to request an extension from Human Resources.

Please note recent policy change:
On June 6, 2024, a change in Washington state law increases the vacation accrual maximum from 240 hours to 280 hours for classified employees. This change means classified employees whose time off service date occurs before June 6, 2024, will have their vacation time off balance capped at 240 hours. Classified employees whose time off service date occurs on or after June 6 will have their vacation time off balance capped at 280 hours.

Professional Staff

Hours are not forfeited while a professional staff member remains employed with the University, however, only 280 hours will be paid out to an employee upon termination from the University, regardless of the reason for separation. There is no exception or waiver available to exceed this maximum.

Additionally, to allow for prompt recruitment of the departing employee’s position, minimal disruption while maintaining business continuity, and support of the remaining team members on staff in the affected department, the policy of the President and Provost is that professional staff members may take up to two weeks (80 hours; or appropriate hours for FTE) of vacation time off between their final day in-office and their final date of employment.

In summary, a professional staff member may take up to two weeks of vacation time off from their last day in the office until their last day on the payroll; followed by a payout of remaining unused vacation time off, up to 280 hours, upon termination.

Please note recent policy change:
Consistent with the intent of the change in state law for classified employees, the vacation separation pay maximum for professional staff will also increase from 240 hours to 280 hours on June 6, 2024.

Sick time off should be requested and entered at least 10 days in advance for planned absences, such as scheduled medical appointments or procedures. For unanticipated sick time off, advance requests are not required. However, employees are still required to notify their supervisor and team as soon as possible when they will be out due to an unanticipated illness.

• Utilization of other time off balances (holiday credit, discretionary, compensatory) is not required before requesting sick time off.
• Sick time off may be used for an employee’s own medical or preventative care reason; for the medical needs or preventative care of eligible family members; public official ordered closure of the UW or child’s school/place of care for health-related reasons; or domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking covered absences.
• For all salaried staff, regardless of service length or employment program, sick time off accrual is 8 hours per month for full-time employees or prorated to FTE. Review Salaried Sick Time Off for additional information.
• For all temporary and student hourly positions, sick time off accrual is 1 hour for every 40 hours worked and paid. Review Hourly Sick Time Off for additional information.
• There is no maximum accrual of sick time off; payout and transferability of sick time off is dependent upon the following circumstances:
  • Employees have the opportunity to participate in the annual Attendance Incentive Program once they reach an accrued balance above 480 hours.
  • Employees who retire from the UW with sick time off balances will receive 25% of the cash value deposited into a Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) medical expense account.
  • Employees who separate from the University do not receive a payout of sick time off hours but may have their balance reinstated upon return to UW or another qualified state agency. Review Leaving UW Employment for additional details.
  • Employees who transfer from one position to another within Washington State service may be eligible to transfer some or their entire balance to their new position. Review Job Changes for additional details.
• Verification of medical need (e.g. a doctor’s note) may only be requested from employees for absences that extend beyond three consecutive scheduled workdays. Supervisors should request verification fairly and with consistency if employees meet the criteria, and consult with Executive Shared Services if they intend to request a sick time off verification. Employees that meet the verification criteria should also be provided their rights under FMLA protection (reference: FMLA). Employees are authorized to request a review from their Human Resources Consultant if providing verification would create an undue financial burden. Review Supervisor Responsibilities for additional details of the verification policy.

Personal holiday

A personal holiday valued at 8 hours for full-time, or prorated to FTE, is awarded to all salaried, time-off-eligible employees at the beginning of each calendar year. New employees are awarded this time off after 4 months of employment. It must be used as a single, full balance request during the calendar year in which is awarded. Review Personal Holiday for additional information.

Note: Supervisors cannot require employees to use a personal holiday instead of other time off types. However, it is best practice to remind employees that their personal holiday is available to them as they submit vacation time off requests. While usage of the personal holiday is at the discretion of the employee, supervisors are not required to approve last-minute personal holiday time off requests at the end of the year if doing so will impact business continuity.

Holiday credit is applied to Workday time off balances for eligible employees to utilize on official, UW-recognized holidays, prorated to FTE. Employees are expected to request their Holiday absences using “Holiday Taken Time Off” as the time off pay type. This request will auto-approve in Workday and apply the holiday credit to the holiday.

• Employees working alternate schedules will not be required to utilize holiday credit if the holiday falls on their normally scheduled day off. The holiday credit will remain in their balances for use on the employee’s next requested day off.
• Conversely, if the employee’s regular schedule calls for more hours than provided as holiday credit, the employee must use an additional time off type (vacation, unless additional holiday credit, compensatory or discretionary time off is available) to cover the difference.
• Employees are expected to work a consistent schedule, and should not “flex” their hours during the week of a holiday to benefit from additional holiday credit accrual or avoid utilizing additional balances. Supervisors requiring employees to work holidays due to extraordinary circumstances should reach out to Executive Shared Services for assistance.
• As a best practice, holidays may be requested in Workday for the entire calendar year. This will prevent Workday errors as employees request vacation time off throughout the year. Review Holidays for additional information.

Unpaid time off may be approved by a supervisor to utilize only after all other eligible time off balances have been exhausted. The guidelines for unpaid time off below may vary for employees on FMLA or other protected Leaves of Absence. Always consult Executive Shared Services when managing an employee request for unpaid time off. Review Unpaid Time Off for additional information.

• When taking time off for illness, sick time off balances must be exhausted, as well as all holiday credit (including personal holiday), compensatory, discretionary, and vacation time off balances before entering unpaid time off.
• When taking time off for vacation, employees should explicitly notify their supervisors that their requested vacation will include unpaid time off. Holiday credit (including personal holiday), compensatory, discretionary, and all vacation time off must be utilized before entering unpaid time off. For approved vacations, sick time off does NOT need to be exhausted as the time off type is not applicable to the reason for absence.
• Unpaid time off must be entered and approved in Workday within the current pay period window to be accounted for correctly on the applicable paycheck. Late submissions of unpaid time off will result in an overpayment and subsequent proceedings managed by Executive Shared Services.
• Employees utilizing more than 10 unpaid times off days in a calendar month will forfeit accrual of all time off types for that month, except sick time off. Sick time off will instead be calculated at the hourly rate of 1 hour for 40 hours worked and paid, until the employee returns to claiming less than 10 unpaid time off days in a calendar month.
• Employees in unpaid time off status the last workday before a holiday will not receive pay for that holiday. Professional and Contract Classified employees must work or utilize at least 4 hours (8 hours/full shift for classified non-union) of paid time off the workday preceding the holiday in order to be considered in pay status and qualify for holiday pay.

Discretionary time off

Supervisors can request discretionary time off to be awarded to professional staff employees for “a noteworthy achievement or effort that contributes to the unit’s mission, goals, or objectives.”

Supervisors must complete the Discretionary Leave Form to be routed to the department or division head for approval. EOSS encourages supervisors to communicate the request with the department or division head before submitting the form. Supervisors must outline the reasoning which discretionary leave is to be awarded for and the number of days of discretionary time off that are recommended (maximum of six days per calendar year).

Discretionary time off use

1. Discretionary time off may be taken in partial or full days of time off work.
2. Discretionary time off must be used before vacation time off.
3. Discretionary time off must be used by March 31 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which it was awarded. Discretionary time off from the prior calendar year that is not used by the March 31 deadline will be lost and deducted from the employee’s time off record. The March 31 deadline for discretionary time off use cannot be extended under any circumstances.
4. Unused discretionary time off has no cash value and cannot be paid.
5. Discretionary time off may only be used while the employee works in the unit that awarded it. Unused discretionary time off is lost when an employee moves to a different organizational unit, or when an employee leaves University employment.
6. Discretionary time off may not be donated as shared leave.

Bereavement, civil duty, faith or conscience, and shared time off

These time-off types occur less frequently and may require additional review, consideration, and consultation from Executive Shared Services to award. Review Additional Time Off Types for additional information. Please consult with Executive Shared Services whenever you have employees requesting utilization of these time-off types.

Partial day absence (Overtime-Exempt Professional Staff only)

As a Professional Staff member, Overtime-Exempt, there is a clear understanding and demonstration of managing work time to fulfill the obligations of one’s job duties and working a standard 40-hour work week (or appropriate hours for FTE).

However, it has been acknowledged that there are times when there are personal appointments and matters that may require employees to be away from the office during scheduled work hours. As such, for OT-Exempt Professional Staff only, the President and Provost units will allow up to two (2) hours of partial day absence on an infrequent basis when a personal appointment or matter occurs within scheduled work hours and is unavoidable.

If a personal appointment or need extends beyond two (2) hours, please account, or have your eligible staff member account, for this time away from the office with an appropriate paid time off type. Employees should continue to work with their supervisor to provide advance notification of all planned time away from the office, whether utilizing the partial day or accrued time off.

Leave of Absence refers to a temporary vacancy of an employee’s position for a period of time due to medical, personal, military, or family reasons. The requirements for review and approval of Leave of Absence are dependent upon the type of leave, however, all require the submission of a Leave of Absence request in Workday to initiate the process.

A Leave of Absence is not a paid absence, however, employees may concurrently utilize their paid time off balances to receive pay during their LOA. Employees with time off balances may be required to exhaust their balances before transitioning to unpaid time off. Some LOA types allow interspersing of time off types across the duration of the leave to balance paycheck amounts and maintain eligibility for benefits and time off accrual. Review Leave Without Pay for additional information about LOA.

The Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law protecting employees who need leave from work for personal medical reasons – including prenatal medical care and childbirth/adoption, to care for a family member for medical reasons, and for qualifying activities related to military active duty.

• To qualify for FMLA, an employee must have worked for a Washington State agency for at least 12 months and worked 1250 hours in the last 12 months. All Leave of Absence requests submitted through Workday noted as FMLA will be reviewed by HR Leave for these qualifiers.
• FMLA may be a single, continuous period of leave or intermittent. Healthcare Provider documentation determines the duration and frequency of the leave that is approved, though FMLA protections are exhausted at 12 weeks (480 hours, or prorated to FTE) of usage within a rolling 12-month period (balances will reset on a 12-month basis, not based on a calendar year).
• Medical documentation and associated information should always be sent directly to Campus HR Operations by the requesting employee or the Health Care Provider. Supervisors, departments, and Executive Shared Services maintain no documentation related to an employee’s medical condition, nor should be made aware of the specifics of an employee’s medical condition.
• Health Care Provider Certifications are considered null after 6 months, regardless of the dates provided on the request form. Employees with chronic conditions or ongoing needs for intermittent leave must submit new documentation at least every 6 months, being sure to submit that documentation in advance of the LOA expiration to ensure continuity of coverage.
• As a supervisor, if an employee discloses that they or a family member have a medical condition; if you identify that an employee has frequent unscheduled absences; or if an employee is out of the office longer than 3 days on sick time off, you are obligated to notify Executive Shared Services so that Executive Shared Services can send the FMLA Employee Rights Notification to the employee.
• Below is a standard workflow for requesting an FMLA Leave of Absence. FMLA is unique for each individual employee and can be complex; any employees with questions about this process or FMLA eligibility, in general, should escalate to Executive Shared Services for consultation as soon as is reasonable. Employees needing assistance regarding specifics of their medical information should always direct their questions to Campus HR Operations for a confidential consultation.

Parental Leave is an entitlement provided by the UW to all professional and classified staff employees (mothers/fathers; birth and non-birth parents). An employee does not need to reach a specified duration of employment to qualify for this entitlement. Review Parental Leave for additional information. The So you’re going to be a parent PDF includes parental leave planning frequently asked questions followed by six mini case studies that illustrate a variety of leave and time off scenarios.

• Professional and contract classified staff are allotted 4 months of parental leave, and classified non-union staff are allotted 6 months. This time is awarded as a continuous, unpaid period of time, and does not break down into days or hours. Employees may intersperse their paid time off to remain benefits-eligible, using not more than 30 days of sick time off. Employees may also work intermittently or with a modified work schedule with the approval of their department.
• While most employees take this leave at the birth of their child, the Parental Leave period can be initiated any time during the 12 months following the birth/placement of the child.

Postpartum disability

In addition to Parental Leave, birth mothers are entitled to a 6-8 week postpartum recovery/temporary disability period. The duration of this disability period is ultimately determined by healthcare provider certification. This entitlement is offered regardless of the duration of employment or FMLA eligibility.

• During the disability period, depending upon the applicable bargaining agreement/employment program, employees may use a combination of any of their available paid time off types, or utilize unpaid time off. Sick time off usage is unlimited during the recovery period.

FMLA coverage

If an employee’s Leave of Absence to become a parent is FMLA eligible, FMLA will run concurrently with the postpartum recovery period (if applicable), and the subsequent Parental Leave period, until FMLA is exhausted:

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Benefits

During the recovery and Parental Leave periods covered by FMLA, employees will continue to receive UW employer-paid benefits regardless of their paid/unpaid time off usage, remaining responsible for the employee-paid portion.

Once FMLA is exhausted, or if an employee is ineligible for FMLA, the employee must remain in pay status for at least 8 hours in a calendar month, by working 8 hours or utilizing a paid time off type, in order to receive UW employer-paid benefits. Employees will remain responsible for the employee-paid portion. Employees with no paid time off may elect to self-pay the full employer and employee benefits to maintain eligibility. Review Self Pay for additional information.

Executive Shared Services will provide time off counseling to employees in advance of their planned time off to develop an interspersing plan to maximize benefits. Supervisors should refer employees to their Executive Shared Services lead once the LOA is approved in Workday if Executive Shared Services is not already working with the employee on their leave planning.

A Leave of Absence may be provided to an employee as a disability accommodation based upon the recommendation of a Health Care Provider that an employee is not able to perform the requirements of their job due to medical reasons.

The duration of Disability Leave as an accommodation will be the total amount of the employee’s accrued time off, or nine months of any combination of paid and unpaid time off; whichever is greater.

Often, FMLA covers some or all of an employee’s Disability Leave. FMLA will run concurrent to the Disability Leave, and cover up to 12 weeks (480 hours FTE equivalent) of the Leave of Absence.

While on FMLA, employees will continue to receive UW employer-paid benefits regardless of paid or unpaid time off utilized. During the FMLA period, employees will remain responsible for paying the employee-paid portion of their benefits and will need to coordinate payment with the Payroll office if their reduced paycheck will not cover the deductions.

Once FMLA is exhausted, the employee will need to intersperse paid time off hours to achieve at least 8 pay-status hours in a calendar month to receive UW employer-paid benefits. Employees with no paid time off may elect to self-pay the full employer and employee benefits to maintain eligibility. Review Self Pay for additional information.

Disability leave and accommodations can be complex and are unique to every employee. Supervisors made aware of an employee’s need for disability accommodation, up to and including a full Leave of Absence should reach out to Executive Shared Services as soon as reasonable to initiate preliminary communication to the employee and referral to the Disability Services Office and Campus HR Operations.

Suspended operations are when the UW is formally closed and all classes/activities are canceled). Suspended operations notifications are communicated via the UW Alert system and posted on the UW homepage. All employees of the Executive Office organization should sign up for UW Alerts to ensure timely notification of suspended operations and other important alerts.

Manager/Supervisor responsibilities

Once an official Suspended Operations notification has gone out, Managers should send a follow-up communication to all direct reports to confirm expectations during the period of the closure. Supervisors should confirm that all hourly employees, including student workers, should not be reporting to work or logging hours.

• For all salaried employees, supervisors should confirm whether the employee will be a) telecommuting, b) utilizing paid time off, or c) a combination of both.
• For salaried overtime eligible employees, there is the additional option for the employee to make up the hours in lieu of taking paid time off. Employees must make up the work time within 90 days of the date that the suspended operations ended. As this process is fully managed in Workday, please refer to the Suspended Operations User Guide for full details.
• Professional staff overtime exempt employees, at the supervisor’s discretion, do not have to utilize paid time off for approved partial day absences.

Employee responsibilities

Employees are responsible for communicating directly with their supervisor to confirm approval to tele-work, use paid time off, or makeup hours (for salaried overtime-eligible employees only). Once approval is obtained, their Workday time entry/time off entries should be updated accordingly. If an overtime-exempt employee tele-worked throughout the closure or—with the supervisor’s approval—took a partial day absence, there is no action needed in Workday.

NOTE: The Suspended Operations notification makes reference to “essential staff” needing to report to work during suspended operations. Based on current position data, there are NO employees within the Executive Office organization that are designated as “essential staff”. Therefore, no Manager should require any employee to report to work during suspended operations.

In inclement weather situations, the UW remains open, but severe weather may be causing transportation problems or hazardous conditions for employees. For these situations, the following protocol should be followed:
Inclement Weather Policies

Employees are responsible for communicating directly with their supervisor as soon as possible if inclement weather is preventing them from reporting to work on time or at all.

Managers should work directly with their employees to discuss possible options for tele-working, utilizing paid time off, or—for Professional staff overtime exempt employees only—approving partial day absences. During inclement weather, make-up hours are not an option for overtime-eligible staff.

Leaves of Absence requests for educational pursuit, government service, or personal reasons must be submitted by an employee in writing to request approval from their supervisor and the Executive Head (e.g. President, Provost, Vice Provost) who preside over the employee’s department. Supervisors receiving a request for these reasons should consult with the Executive Shared Services before approving and escalating to senior leadership.