While the majority of Employee Services staff will work remotely until April 16 to do our part to reduce community spread of the COVID-19 virus, our services will continue without interruption. We're dedicated to providing excellent service to every CU employee and every HCM user. You can still reach us by phone or email. If you have questions or need assistance, reach out at 303-860-4200, option 2, or email hcm_community@cu.edu.
The university provides vacation and sick leave for officers, university staff and 12-month faculty paid monthly through Human Capital Management (HCM). (Read the Board of Regents policy for more information.)
Faculty appointed on an academic-year basis on contract pay do not accrue vacation and sick hours. However, they may be eligible for a sick leave benefit. For more information on faculty accrual eligibility, contact the chairperson or head of your department. Review faculty vacation and sick leave benefit eligibility, based on job code.
Vacation and sick leave usage must be recorded in HCM for university staff. Accruals are based on job code, leave eligibility and percentage of appointment. Faculty in the 1300 job class series on 12-month appointments do not need this box checked to accrue leave correctly. (Note: Faculty members appointed on an academic-year basis who are paid by contract in HCM do not accrue vacation and sick leave.)
Accruals for University Staff
Vacation Accruals:
The vacation leave accrual rate for 100-percent-time regular employees is 22 days per year (14.67 hours per month). If the employee's appointment is less than full time, the amount of vacation leave accrued is pro-rated based on the total number of hours worked each month. The maximum vacation leave accrual is 44 days (352 hours) as of June 30 each fiscal year*. Employees annually forfeit amounts that exceed the maximum accrual. On some campuses, these hours may be donated to the Leave Bank before forfeiture. For more information, contact your human resources department.
*Some campus departments may have a reduced maximum accrual provision. Please check with your department chair, dean or director.
Sick Accruals:
The sick leave accrual rate is 15 days per year (10 hours per month). If the employee's appointment is less than full time, the amount of sick leave accrued is pro-rated. There is no maximum sick leave accrual.
Calculation for University Staff Vacation and Sick Leave
Full-time employees who work or are on paid leave (approved usage of vacation or sick) for 100 percent of the month, receive 100 percent accrual for vacation and sick leave. For employees who work or are on paid leave (approved usage of vacation or sick) less than a full month**, leave accrual is calculated by dividing the number of hours the employee worked or was on paid leave by the total number of work hours in month. (See FORMULA below.)
**The total physical work time, plus vacation and sick usage is less than 100 percent of time for the month. These employees are considered to be part time, but they must be regular employees, not temporary employees.
FORMULA:
Hours worked (including paid leave) during the month
Divided by total number of work hours in month
EXAMPLE - 22 working days in the month:
140 hours worked
Divided by 176 total work hours in month (22 x 8)
= .795454 (pro-ration factor)
In this example, an employee whose vacation leave accrual rate is 14.67 hours would earn 11.67 hours vacation accrual for the month. The same employee, whose sick leave accrual rate is 10 hours would earn 7.95 hours sick leave accrual for the month. (14.67 x .795454 = 11.67 hours vacation and 10 x .795454 = 7.95 hours sick leave)
Recording University Staff Vacation and Sick Leave – Usage, Adjustments, Payout
Recording Usage: Leave usage (vacation and sick leave) is entered in Time Collection for hours used during the prior month by employing the following calculation (both online and with department records). Usage is recorded using the quarter-hour calculation to be consistent with recording work and overtime hours. For example, if an employee is on vacation or sick leave from 2 - 3:08 p.m., round to the closest quarter-hour and report 1.25 hours of usage. If an employee is on vacation or sick leave from 2 - 3:07 p.m., round to the closest quarter-hour and report 1.00 hours of usage.
Recording Adjustments: If at any time leave balances shown in HCM appear to be incorrect, they may be corrected through Time Collection. The department must make this adjustment in HCM. (Use earnings code VAA for vacation balance adjustments and SCA for sick balance adjustments.)
Note: When an employee is transferred to another department/unit/campus, the transferring department must provide the receiving department a copy of the employee's internal work record in a timely manner. Some campuses require payout of vacation when an employee transfers and is paid by non-general funds. Please check with your department chair, dean or director.
Recording Payout: Unused, accrued leave for eligible employees upon retirement or termination is recorded and paid by entering VCT and SKS in Time Collection. See the Entering Separations Guide for specific procedures and eligibility criteria.
Note: Transfers from professional exempt employment to a nine-month, academic-year faculty appointment are eligible to receive a vacation and/or sick payout (if eligible).
The vacation and sick leave buyouts are governed by Regents Policy # 11-E. Per this policy, when a university staff employee transfers to a nine-month faculty appointment, he/she is eligible to receive a buyout for 25 percent of unused sick leave only if the employee meets the age and service requirements for retirement at the time of transfer. This is because the employee would be considered to have resigned, retired or been laid off (based on the situation) from his/her university staff job. If the employee does not meet the age and service requirements for retirement, he/she forfeits existing sick balances and is only paid for unused vacation.
Vacation/Sick Conversion for University Staff
You will lose any vacation leave balances that exceed the maximum accrual rates on July 1 of each fiscal year. In most cases, the maximum allowed is 352 hours, or 44 days*. On some campuses, hours above the maximum accrual may be donated to the Sick Leave Bank before this reduction. Please contact your campus human resources department for Leave Bank information.
*Some campus departments may have a reduced maximum accrual provision. Please check with your department chair, dean or director.
There is no provision for converting excess sick leave hours to vacation hours for professional exempt employees. (The 5-to-1 conversion for excess sick hours only applies to state classified employees.)
Vacation and sick leave benefits are provided to all state classified employees hired into a regular appointment. Temporary state classified employees do not receive vacation and sick leave benefits. Please visit the Colorado Division of Human Resources for details.
Accruals for Classified Staff
Employees must be at work or on paid leave to earn full, monthly accruals. Time taken away from work when paid leave is not available will result in prorated (reduced) leave accruals for the timeframe in question. Leave is not available for use until the beginning of the month following that in which the leave was earned.
Vacation Accruals
Regular, full-time appointed state classified employees accrue vacation at the following rates, based on years of state service. See State of Colorado Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director’s Administrative Procedures, chapter 5, section 5-7 for the applicable year.
| Years of Service* | Length of State Service in Months** |
Accrual/Month | Maximum Accrual |
| 1 – 5 | 0 to 60 | 8 hours | 192 hours (24 days) |
| 6 – 10 | 61 to 120 | 10 hours | 240 hours (30 days) |
| 11 – 15 | 121 to 180 | 12 hours | 288 hours (36 days) |
| 16 – more | 181 and up | 14 hours | 336 hours (42 days) |
*The amount of leave that part-time employees earn is based on the pro-rated hours worked during the pay period month.
Permanent part-time employees should be advanced to the next higher annual leave earnings rate based strictly on length of state service.
For example, a permanent, part-time employee who began state employment on June 1, 2010, and who works 40 percent time would earn 3.2 hours for the first through the fifth year (40 percent of 8 hours per month). The employee should be advanced to the next higher annual leave earnings rate as of June 1, 2015. The employee in this example would then earn 4 hours of leave per month for the sixth through the 10th year of service (40 percent of 10 hours per month).
**Please contact your campus human resources department with questions regarding length of state service and accrual rates.
Sick Accruals
The sick leave accrual rate for regular, full-time appointed classified staff is 6.66 hours per month. The maximum accrual allowed is 360 hours (more for some employees with frozen sick leave balances; their allowed maximum accrual will be based upon the employee’s June 30, 1988, unused sick leave balance, plus an additional 360 hours).
*The amount of leave that part-time employees earn is based on the pro-rated hours worked during the pay period month.
Leave Accrual in Human Capital Management (HCM)
Leave accrual is processed automatically in HCM during monthly payroll processing for all monthly/regular employees in an eligible job code series.
Calculation for Classified Staff Vacation and Sick Leave
Full-time employees who work or are on paid leave for 100 percent of the month will accrue 100 percent vacation and sick leave.
Part-time employees who work regular, non-fluctuating schedules earn leave on a pro-rated basis based on the number of hours worked during the month, rounded to the nearest 1/100 of an hour.
Full-time or part-time employees who work less than a full month***, due to docks or unpaid leave taken, earn leave on a pro-rated basis. Docks in pay and taking unpaid leave reduce an employee's accrual rate. Leave is calculated by dividing the number of hours the employee worked or was on paid leave by the total number of work hours in the month. (See FORMULA below.)
***The total physical work time, plus approved vacation and sick usage is less than 100 percent of time of their appointment for the month.
FORMULA:
Hours worked (including paid leave) during the month, divided by total number of work hours in the month.
EXAMPLE FOR MAY:
140 hours worked in April
Divided by 168 total work hours in April
=0.833333 (pro-ration factor)
In this example, an employee whose vacation leave accrual rate is 8 hours would earn 6.67 hours vacation accrual for the month. The same employee, whose sick leave accrual rate is 6.66 hours, would earn 5.55 sick leave hours for the month. (8 x .833333 = 6.67 hours vacation and 6.66 x .833333 = 5.55 hours sick leave.)
Recording Classified Staff Vacation and Sick Leave – Usage, Adjustments, Payout
Recording Usage: Leave usage (vacation and sick leave) is entered in Time Collection for hours used during the prior month. Usage can be recorded using the quarter-hour calculation to be consistent with recording work and overtime hours.
For example, if an employee is on vacation or sick leave from 2 - 3:08 p.m., you will round to the closest quarter-hour and report 1.25 hours of usage. If an employee is on vacation or sick leave from 2 - 3:07 p.m., you will round to the closest quarter-hour and report 1.00 hours of usage. Use this calculation when updating an employee's work record, vacation and sick leave balances.
Recording Adjustments: Departmental manual leave balance records are considered the official record of an employee's leave balance, and departments should reconcile their paper records to HCM on a periodic basis. If at any time leave balances shown in HCM appear to be incorrect, they may be corrected through Time Collection. The department must make leave balance adjustments in HCM using earnings code VAA for vacation balance adjustments, and SCA for sick hours balance adjustments. These adjustments can be entered in Time Collection as positive or negative, depending upon whether the system balances should be increased or decreased.
Note: When an employee is transferred to another department, unit, campus or state agency, the transferring department is responsible for providing the receiving department a current and accurate copy of the employee's internal work record in a timely manner.
Recording Payout: Upon retirement or termination, unused, accrued leave for eligible employees can be recorded in Time Collection by entering VCT and SKS. See Separation of Employment - Termination for specific information and eligibility criteria.
Vacation/Sick Conversion for Classified Staff
You will lose any vacation and sick leave balances that exceed the maximum accrual rates on July 1 of each fiscal year. This annual leave sweep takes place after the July monthly payroll closes. For more information, see Time-off Technical Guidance or State of Colorado Personnel Board Rules and Personnel Director's Administrative Procedures, section 5-11.
On some campuses, vacation hours over the maximum accrual may be donated to the Leave-Sharing Program before this balance reduction. Please contact your campus human resources department for leave-sharing information.
After the July monthly payroll closes, Employee Services will automatically convert sick leave balances that exceed the maximum accrual allowed to vacation leave hours, using a 5-to-1 ratio (5 sick hours become one vacation hour). Maximum accrual for both full-time and part-time employees hired after July 30, 1988, is 360 hours. For employees with a sick balance as of July 30, 1988 (referred to as frozen sick balance), the maximum accrual is the frozen sick balance, plus 360 hours. Regardless of the employee’s accrual balance, no more than 80 hours of sick leave can annually be converted to vacation (equal to16 hours).
Note: If an employee has exceeded his/her maximum vacation leave accrual AND sick leave, we will reduce the vacation leave to the maximum amount before converting his/her sick leave into vacation leave. Following that conversion, we will NOT again reduce the employee's vacation leave.