Title
School of Nursing: Policy on SHRA Leave and Attendance
Introduction
Purpose
The School of Nursing SHRA Leave and Attendance policy outlines the provisions in which SHRA permanent employees may take time off from work. It is intended to insure equity across School of Nursing units and minimize risk of financial loss to the School.
Scope of Applicability
This policy applies to School of Nursing SHRA permanent employees regularly and is intended to supplement the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s ("University" or "UNC-Chapel Hill") Vacation Leave for SHRA Employees Policy.
Policy
Policy Statement
Vacation Leave
Employees are encouraged to take Vacation Leave as this benefit is earned and accrued through continuous employment. Vacation Leave should be requested at least two (2) weeks in advance using the School of Nursing’s NURSYS system and is approved at the discretion of the employee’s supervisor or unit head, based on the work needs of the unit and the individual circumstances surrounding the leave request. Approved Vacation Leave should be entered in the University’s Time and Attendance Management System (TIM) which is the University’s official record of leave accrued and used.
Vacations should be planned to avoid times that would interfere with the critical work of the unit. For academic units, the obvious times to avoid are the beginning and ending weeks of semesters and exam periods. For finance units, vacation requests should be limited during fiscal year end close out periods, audits, etc Advanced Vacation Leave over and above the number of hours an employee has accrued must be approved by the Dean to ensure equity across divisions and minimize financial risk to the school.
Paid Sick Leave
Paid Sick Leave can be used for personal illness or injury, childbirth, medical and dental appointments, and the illness, injury or death of immediate family members. Employees are entitled to use paid Sick Leave that has been earned and accrued through continuous employment as needed. Accrued Sick Leave can be carried forward from year-to-year. At the time of retirement, accrued Sick Leave can be counted towards total years of service.
Advanced Sick Leave over and above the number of hours an employee has accrued must be approved by the Dean. If an employee does not have adequate Sick Leave to cover an absence which qualifies for paid Sick Leave according to University standards, they may use accrued Vacation Leave, accrued Bonus Leave or donated shared leave hours where applicable.
When an employee is going to be unexpectedly absent from work, it is the employee’s responsibility to notify their immediate supervisor or unit head of the absence within 30 minutes of their normal start time. The employee and supervisor or unit head should discuss the anticipated length of the Sick Leave and work issues that need to be taken care of during the absence. If the employee is unable to reach the immediate supervisor or unit head in person, she/he should notify the School of Nursing Human Resources Office (919-966-9943 or 919-843-6761) of the absence; the Human Resources staff in turn will notify the immediate supervisor and/or other unit employees as soon as possible of the employee’s absence.
Community Service Leave
Community Service Leave (CSL) is paid time off for participation in the educational process of children through the high school level and to support other community service volunteer activities for non-profit organizations. Please visit the University's "Leave & Holidays" webpage for additional information.
CSL must be requested at least two (2) weeks in advance and may not be used without the supervisor's approval. When considering a request for CSL, supervisors will consider both the employee's request and operating needs of the office.
Special Leave Provisions
In addition to the above leave provisions, there are special guidelines that apply to Disaster Recovery, Emergency Services, Organ Donorship, and Blood-related and Bone Marrow Donorship. Management may grant reasonable time off with pay for these activities. Please review the Community Service Leave Policy for additional information.
Political Activity and Voting
CSL may not be used for any partisan political activity. This includes soliciting funds for votes for a political candidate or working for the election of a candidate. (Vacation Leave may be used for such activities, subject to the unit's normal request and approval process.)
Employees may not use work time for voting.
Doctor’s Appointment
Time away from work for a doctor’s appointment is Sick Leave. As such, either available Sick Leave is to be used or the time absent from work is considered Sick Leave without pay (unless the employee chooses to use available Vacation Leave). Altering an employee’s usual daily or weekly work schedule to compensate for 2-3 hours away from work for a doctor’s appointment is permissible if done on an occasional basis. Such arrangements must be approved by the supervisor or unit head, and the time off for extra time worked must be taken during the same work week.
Office Hours and Work Schedules
Work schedules are determined by the supervisor or unit heads (associate deans, assistant deans, directors, manager, etc.) in order to meet the work demands of each unit. The official business hours of the School are 8:00am to 5:00pm.; as such, the office hours of the major units of the School (Dean’s Office, Office of Student Affairs, Office of Administrative Services, support units, and divisions) will be 8:00am to 5:00pm. When there are two or more employees in a work unit, individual work schedules will be staggered so that someone is in the office during the School’s normal business hours. When there is only one employee in a work unit, the work schedule that best meets the needs of that unit and the clientèle the unit serves will be determined by the unit head. Under certain circumstances, office hours may be altered periodically, with the approval of the unit head.
Full-time employees are expected to work the full eight (8) hours a day (40 hours a week) for which they are paid. Employees are entitled to a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period. (Example: Employees who work 8:00 - 5:00 are entitled to one (1) hour for lunch. Employees who work 8:00 - 4:30 are entitled to 30 minutes for lunch.) Employees cannot forgo their meal period so that they can arrive late or leave early on a regular basis unless approved by the Dean. When necessary, each unit head will determine how best to provide an uninterrupted meal period. It is important to remember that an employee’s work station is a public area and that meal periods may need to be taken at a place other than the employee’s work station.
Each employee is expected to arrive at work at the employee's designated start time. If an employee is late to work by ten minutes or more, the employee must either record the late time on the employee's time sheet or make up the time during the same work week, with permission of their immediate supervisor.
Although two 15-minute break periods a day are not required, they are permitted. However, two break periods may not be combined, nor can they be combined with the meal period or any type of leave, nor used to report to work late or to leave early.
It is also not permissible for employees to work an extra hour or two on a given day in order to make up for unpaid time taken previously or unpaid time that is anticipated in the future, unless such extra time is necessary to meet the work demands of the unit and is approved in writing by the unit head. In these rare instances, the time off for extra time work must be taken during the same work week, and the actual time worked each day must be reflected on the employee’s time sheet, accompanied by the unit schedule.
Attendance at Workshops and Meetings
Attendance at work related workshops, courses and meetings, which take employees away from their usual work assignments to increase an employee’s skills and to provide opportunities for professional growth are encouraged and sometimes required. There are many such workshops across the campus offered to employees. Employees may attend these workshops, and thus be away from their usual work assignments, with the approval of their unit head. Requests for approval to attend workshops and courses must be submitted in writing to the employee’s unit head; approval will be contingent on whether the workshop is consistent with the employee’s job requirements, provides an opportunity for the employee to grow in the job and is offered at a time when the employee’s absence will not interfere with critical work demands of the unit.
Working from Home
Please reference the University's "Flexible Work Arrangements for University Employees" webpage for specific information about working remotely. Requests for Flexible Work Arrangements should be submitted to SON HR for approvals from the Dean and the Office of Human Resources.
Time Information Management (TIM)
TIM records are electronic records indicating the actual time worked by an employee. The employee’s electronic approval on their time record is the employee's verification of time worked. Records are also electronically approved by the employee’s supervisor and become the official attendance record for the employee as it was reported to the University. Records are subject to audit by the State of North Carolina and the University. Falsification and inaccuracies may result in disciplinary action.
General Considerations
The Office of Administrative Services will provide quarterly reports of employees’ leave accruals, usage, and balances to both, employees and their unit heads. These reports may be requested by either at any time. Unit heads will review and approve quarterly reports to insure conformity with University policies.
When an employee is to be absent from their workstation for an extended period of time, the employee should notify their supervisor.
Exceptions
During times in which the University is operating under extraordinary conditions such as during a global pandemic, additional policies and procedure regarding employee leave and attendance may be issued by the State of North Carolina, the UNC System Office or the University which may be exceptions to this policy.
Related Requirements
External Regulations and Consequences
Unit Policies, Standards, and Procedures
N/A
Contact Information
Policy Contacts
- Lisa Miller, Associate Dean for Administration
- John Albrechtsen, Director, Administrative Services
- TBA, HR Manager
Important Dates
- Effective Date and title of Approver: 3/11/99 approved by Administrative Directors
- Revised: 1/13/19, approved by Employee and Management Relations 4/29/19; approved by Leadership Team 5/14/19