Time & Scheduling

Scheduling Expectations
Hourly staff are expected to work a weekly schedule approved by their supervisor, in line with business needs. This schedule may vary from week to week.

Requesting Schedule Changes
Any changes to the work schedule must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor.

Who Qualifies
All hourly employees are eligible for overtime pay based on university policies. They must submit all hours worked into Workday.

When Overtime Applies
Overtime pay applies for hours worked beyond 40 in a work week. They are paid 1.5 times their hourly rate for qualified overtime hours.

What to Do Before Working Overtime
Employees must:

• Discuss the need with their supervisor
• Receive approval from their supervisor
• Create departmental documentation of approval (an email will suffice)

Multiple Positions
Overtime pay is calculated based on cumulative hours worked across all positions. If overtime is triggered by a specific position, that position will be paid at the overtime rate.

Student hourly staff are required to stay within work hour limits the University has set. The following information covers the current policy.

During the academic quarter: Max 19.5 hours/week across all UW jobs.

Exceeding 19.5 hours is only allowed:

• During finals week
• During academic breaks
• When the student has approved “on leave” status. (Review the Student Eligibility & Enrollment Requirements section of Student Hiring & Recruiting page.)

Important Reminders:

• All hours must be paid, even if limits are exceeded
• Work-hour overages may result in policy noncompliance
• Shifts over 5 hours must include a 30-minute unpaid break

Required Meal Breaks
State law requires a minimum of a 30-minute unpaid break for any employee working a 5+ hour shift. This break must begin before the 5th hour of work.

Example: If you start work at 8:30 a.m. and work until 5:00 p.m., your break must begin no later than 1:29 p.m.

General Policy
Hourly staff typically do not receive paid vacation or sick leave. However, eligibility can vary based on the specific job.

Where to Check
Refer to your Hiring Confirmation Letter.

Requesting Time Off Around Holidays
Employees must follow department-specific guidelines. Talk to your supervisor to find out what those are.

Holiday Pay Eligibility
Hourly staff typically do not receive holiday time off, but eligibility may vary.

Refer to your Hire Confirmation Letter to determine if your position includes paid time off.

Eligibility and Process
Remote work is available to some employees based on department and job needs. Requests must be approved by a supervisor and follow unit guidelines.

Standard Hybrid Schedule

• 3 days onsite
• 2 days remote

Requirements for Remote Work

• Employee must complete a telework schedule
• The schedule must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor
• If the schedule includes more than 2 remote days per week, leadership approval is required

Standard Schedule Requirements
Salaried employees must maintain a consistent weekly schedule approved by their supervisor and aligned with the number of hours they were hired to work, as detailed in their Hiring Confirmation Letter, unless an approved, documented change has occurred.

Making Schedule Changes
If a change to the work schedule is needed, the supervisor must submit a request using the Work Schedule Change form. Once approved, the employee’s work expectations will follow the updated schedule.

Who Is Exempt
Overtime-exempt (often called “exempt”) salaried staff are not eligible for overtime pay based on university policies. They do not track their hours worked in Workday.

Work Expectations
It is expected that exempt staff work the number of hours corresponding to the FTE listed in their Hiring Confirmation Letter, or another approved document, and meet department needs. Additional hours worked are not paid.

Who Is Eligible
Some salaried employees are eligible for overtime pay. They must submit all hours worked into Workday.

When Overtime Applies
Overtime pay applies for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Their hourly rate for qualified hours may vary. Contact EOHR via the general consult form to confirm rates.

Comp Time Option
Overtime-eligible salaried employees may elect to accrue compensatory time off instead of receiving overtime pay. This option is selected when submitting time entries.

Before Working Overtime
Employees must:

• Discuss the need with their supervisor
• Receive supervisor approval
• Document approval within the department (an email will suffice)

Multiple Positions
Overtime is calculated based on cumulative hours across all positions. The position that triggers overtime will be paid at the overtime rate.

Required Meal Breaks
State law requires a 30-minute unpaid break for any employee working more than 5 hours. This break must begin before the 5th hour of work.

Example: If your shift starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5:00 p.m., your break must begin by 1:29 p.m.

General Policy
Full-time salaried staff accrue vacation and sick leave based on length of service. All other salaried employees’ vacation and sick leave may vary based on position, years of service, and other factors.

Requesting Time Off
Follow department-specific practices, including providing adequate lead time and arranging backup coverage.

Where to Check
Refer to your Hire Confirmation Letter to determine if your position includes paid time off. Review the UWHR time off webpage for accrual details to determine your accrual rate.

Department-specific Time Off
Salaried employees must follow their department’s process for requesting holiday time off. Ask your supervisor for guidance.

Eligibility
Salaried employees typically receive holiday time off. It appears in Workday as “Holiday Taken Time Off,” but eligibility and the number of hours per holiday may vary based on position.

University Holidays
Refer to the UW holiday calendar. Eligible employees may also receive up to one personal holiday per year. Personal holiday does not roll over.

Refer to your Hire Confirmation Letter to determine if your position includes paid time off.

Submitting Holiday Taken Time Off
Employees in the Executive Office organization that are eligible do not need to submit Holiday Taken Time Off (HTTO).

EOHR will submit HTTO for all eligible employees at the end of the calendar year for the upcoming calendar year. If an eligible employee is hired mid-year, EOHR will submit HTTO for the remainder of the calendar year.

Departments must email eohr@uw.edu if they have an employee that ends up working on a holiday, for time-off and hours worked to be accrued properly.

Eligibility and Process
Remote work is available to some employees based on department and job needs. Requests must be approved by a supervisor and follow unit guidelines.

Standard Hybrid Schedule

• 3 days onsite
• 2 days remote

Requirements for Remote Work

• Employee must complete a telework schedule
• The schedule must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor
• If the schedule includes more than 2 remote days per week, leadership approval is required

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:

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.