Title
Bonus Leave
Purpose
Bonus leave is provided on occasion by the N.C. General Assembly. Please see below for details.
Amount
The NC General Assembly has provided bonus leave as follows:
Amount of Leave and Effective Date Table
| Amount of Leave |
Effective Date |
| 80 hours |
September 30, 2002 |
| 80 hours |
July 1, 2003 |
| 40 hours |
September 1, 2005 |
| 40 hours |
September 1, 2014 |
| 40 hours |
July 1, 2018 |
Eligibility
- SHRA full-time employees (permanent, probationary, trainee or time-limited) shall receive bonus leave at the rates indicated above if employed on the dates indicated above.
- SHRA part-time employees regularly scheduled half-time or more (permanent, probationary, trainee or time-limited) shall receive a pro rata amount.
- SHRA permanent employees regularly scheduled less than half-time and all SHRA temporary employees are not eligible to receive bonus leave.
- EHRA permanent employees who earn leave are eligible for bonus leave if employed on the dates indicated above (see the EHRA Bonus Leave policy for more information).
- Eligible employees on leave without pay, other than workers’ compensation leave and leave for reserve active duty, shall be credited with the bonus leave upon their return based on their type of appointment at the time of leave without pay. If they do not return, they are not eligible for the leave.
- Eligible employees on workers’ compensation leave and leave for reserve active duty shall be credited with bonus leave for use upon their return to work. If the employee does not return, the bonus leave shall be paid in addition to any other leave, in accordance with the leave policies.
- Eligibility to earn bonus leave is contingent upon employment status on the dates indicated above.
Example: An employee began permanent full-time employment on June 30, 2003 and ended employment on August 31, 2005.
- The employee is NOT eligible for the September 30, 2002 bonus leave.
- The employee IS eligible for the July 1, 2003 bonus leave.
- The employee is NOT eligible for the September 1, 2005 bonus leave.
Example: An employee began permanent part-time employment on September 1, 2005 and ended employment the same day, September 1, 2005.
- The employee is eligible ONLY for the September 1, 2005 bonus leave.
Use of Bonus Leave
- Bonus leave shall be taken only upon authorization by management.
- Bonus leave may be used for any purpose for which regular vacation leave is used.
- Bonus leave shall be charged in units of time consistent with regular vacation leave guidelines.
- The employee shall determine whether to charge approved leave to regular vacation leave or bonus leave.
Recordkeeping
- Bonus leave shall be accounted for separately from regular earned vacation leave.
- Bonus leave accrued in different years shall be accounted for collectively.
- Any balance of bonus leave on December 31 will be retained by the employee and transferred into the next calendar year. It will not be considered part of the maximum 240 hours of vacation that can be retained.
- Bonus leave will not be subject to conversion to sick leave.
- Each bonus leave allocation is a one-time allotment. Employees do not “lose it” at the end of the calendar year nor do they receive an additional allotment the next year, unless specifically allocated by the General Assembly.
Bonus Leave in Time Information Management (TIM) System
Leave should be input in a timely basis and accounted for on a daily basis.
For permanent SHRA exempt employees, accrual and use of Bonus Leave shall be recorded and tracked by the school/division’s HR Office or the department’s TIM Administrator.
Change In Employee Status
- Any balance of bonus leave will be transferred with the employee who transfers to another State agency eligible for bonus leave.
- Bonus leave balance will be paid in addition to regular vacation leave if the employee leaves state government or changes to a non-leave earning status.
Miscellaneous Provisions
- Departments shall maintain records of bonus leave.
- Bonus leave may be applied to negative balances of regular earned leave with the approval of the employee and supervisor.
- Bonus leave is available to be donated as vacation leave under the Voluntary Shared Leave provisions. (Note: Once donated, bonus leave is considered part of the recipient’s sick leave balance, not bonus leave balance.)