Paid Time Off
Office hours: Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Walk-In hours: Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The HR Team is available 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. via phone, MS Teams, and email.
The University of Texas at Dallas provides employees with many types of paid time off.
Vacation
Eligible employees appointed to work at least 20 hours per week for at least 4.5 months are eligible to receive paid vacation leave each year. The amount of vacation earned is determined by the employee’s length of service. For additional information, please refer to the vacation leave policy.
Eligibility
Eligible employees may begin to use vacation accruals after six months of continuous state employment; additionally:
- State employees are required to satisfy the continuous six-month requirement only once in their employment career with the state;
- With supervisor approval, employees may begin to use vacation leave on their continuous six-month anniversary. Example: An employee who begins state employment on January 15 may begin to use his/her available vacation leave on July 15.
Students holding positions for which student status is a requirement for employment are not eligible for vacation leave. Faculty do not earn vacation leave.
General Information
- A supervisor may deny a request to use vacation leave if granting that leave will place an unreasonable burden on the department or work area.
- Previous employment with independent school districts and junior colleges will not count for purposes of leave accrual rate or vacation leave transfer.
- Employees who are on leave on the first workday of a month may not use their vacation leave accrued for that month until the employee has physically returned to duty.
Accrual and Maximum Carry-Forward
Vacation time off begins to accrue on your first day of employment. After that, it will accrue on the first day of each month. The number of hours you earn is based on how much state service you have on the first day of the month. It’s also earned in proportion to the number of hours you’re appointed. If you reach a higher state service level during the month, you will begin earning the higher accrual hours in the following month.
Paid Leave Received from or Transferred to Another State Agency
New UT Dallas employees with prior state employment or departing UT Dallas employees who transfer to another state agency may have their vacation leave transferred to their new positions where appropriate.
Vacation Balances & Payout
Vacation Balances & Payout Upon Separation from the University:
Employees with six months of continuous state service from any Texas State Agency at the time of separation and they have a break in service will have the option to receive a vacation leave payout of the balance or may transfer their balance to another Texas State Agency or eligible institution of higher education. Employees transferring to another Texas State Agency without a break in service must transfer their vacation leave balance(s). Whether receiving a payout or transfer, the option will apply to the entire balance; may not elect a partial payout or partial transfer.
Per State of Texas guidelines, a Break in Service is a separation of employment of at least one full work day from the Texas State Agency or institution of Texas Higher Education.
Vacation Leave Balances
Vacation leave will be transferred or retained for 30 calendar days following an employee’s termination date. The separating employee may request a vacation payout sooner than the 30 calendar days, but must make this request in writing to the Leave Analyst by email to HCM-Timereporting@utdallas.edu. The Leave Analyst will evaluate the request and confirm your expected payout date. The payment issue date will depend on the date of separation (leave is not transferrable to ISDs or non-state community colleges). Approved agencies may be found here Texas State Agencies by Name and Number. Leave payout or transfer is subject to the departmental verification process with Leave Analyst.
Deferring Unused Annual Leave Pay in lieu of Payout
You also have the option to defer all, or a portion, of unused vacation pay as contributions into either or both your UTSaver TSA 403(b) Plan and your UTSaver DCP 457(b) plan under the Deferring Annual Leave option. If interested, please complete the Annual Leave Deferral Purchase/Change Agreement form. You must have a DCP 457(b) and/or TSA 403(b) account(s) established with an approved provider before the 10th of the month, prior to your departure. Please notify your Benefits Specialist in order to successfully defer unused time off pay. You must inform the Benefits Office, before the earlier of your last day of employment, or the last working day of the month of employment before your vacation payout is issued.
Sick Leave
You accrue paid sick time off if you are appointed to work at least 20 hours per week for at least 4.5 months. Students who are in positions where student status is a requirement do not earn sick time off. For more information, please refer to the sick leave policy.
Absences in excess of three continuous working days
- Medical documentation is required indicating the estimated date of recovery and cause of illness or other written statement of the facts concerning the illness that is acceptable to the leave administrator.
- Care for Immediate Family
- Employees must specify if leave is for a family member.
- Eligible family members residing and not residing in your household: Must provide a physician’s statement that indicates the cause or nature of the illness and estimated recovery date or other written statement of the facts concerning the illness that is acceptable.
- Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): You may qualify for FMLA benefits; please see the FMLA Policy for more information.
Medical Records
Medical documentation provided by the employee often contains medical diagnosis and history, or lists medication used in the treatment plan. This is confidential and should not be forwarded or shared with other employees, or retained within the department. Employees should submit documentation directly to their HR leave administrator.
Use of Sick Leave to Attend an Educational Activity of a Child
Employees may use up to eight hours of eligible sick leave with pay each fiscal year to attend an educational activity relating to their children in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. For purposes of using this leave type, an educational activity means a school-sponsored activity, including registration, a parent-teacher conference, tutoring, a volunteer program, a field trip, a classroom program, a school committee meeting, an academic competition, an athletic event, or a music or theater program.
General Usage Guidelines
- Employees must provide their supervisors with reasonable advance notice of the need for this leave type.
- Employees are limited to a total of eight hours of educational activity leave per fiscal year, regardless of the number of school-aged children in their respective households.
- A parent-teacher conference for this leave type is limited to parental meetings or interactions with the child’s teachers and/or administrators (counselors, principals, etc.).
Paid Leave Received from or Transferred to Another State Agency
New UT Dallas employees with prior state employment or departing UT Dallas employees who transfer to another state agency may have their sick leave transferred to their new state agency where appropriate.
Sick Leave Upon Termination of Employment
Employees do not receive monetary compensation for unused sick leave accruals at the time of separation. In general, an employee has three options regarding his/her sick leave balance upon termination:
- Donate any portion of or all remaining sick leave to the sick leave pool.
- Apply 400 hours of remaining sick leave balance toward retirement service credit, if applicable (Texas Retirement System participants only). There is a cost associated with applying unused sick leave toward service credit, for more information please access the TRS website.
- Do nothing with remaining sick leave accruals.
An employee will have sick leave restored if she/he leaves state employment but is re-employed within 12 months after the end of the month in which employment ended.
Sick Leave Pool
UT Dallas has established a sick leave pool to provide a source of additional paid sick leave for employees who have exhausted their available sick, vacation and compensatory time as a result of a catastrophic illness or injury. For more information, please see the Sick Leave Pool Policy.
Applying for Sick Leave Pool
Employees must have a recent application on file before sick leave pool awards will be considered. Retroactive granting of sick leave pool is not permitted, employee awards will be considered from the date the application is received.
Sick Leave Direct Donations
UT Dallas employees may donate sick leave hours directly to another UT Dallas employee.
Eligibility Requirements
An employee may donate sick leave to another sick leave eligible staff or faculty member employed at The University of Texas at Dallas when all of the following conditions are met:
- The recipient is employed in the same agency as the donor employee; and
- The recipient meets the sick leave eligibility requirements; and
- The recipient has exhausted the recipient’s own sick leave; and
- The recipient has exhausted any time he or she may be eligible to withdraw from the sick leave pool.
Employees may not directly or indirectly provide or receive remuneration or a gift in exchange for a sick leave donation.
Information for Donor
- The donor may determine the number of hours they wish to donate and will complete the required sick leave donation form.
- Whether the donated sick leave hours are used or not, the donation is irrevocable (non-returnable) as of the date the donation form is completed and received by the Leave Administrator in the Office of Human Resources.
- The donor may not directly or indirectly receive or give any financial payment (remuneration) or gift in exchange for this donation.
- The donor may not directly or indirectly receive special treatment or favors in exchange for this donation.
- The donor will treat all medical and personal information shared by the recipient as confidential.
Recipient Process
- The recipient must have exhausted all sick leave, including any time the recipient is eligible to withdraw from the Sick Leave Pool.
- An employee who receives donated sick leave may use the donated leave according to the provisions outlined in the sick leave policy.
- Donated hours may be utilized for both continuous and/or intermittent leave.
- Once the required donation form is approved by the Leave Administrator in the Office of Human Resources, the recipient will be notified of any donated hours.
- The recipient may not directly or indirectly receive or give a financial payment (remuneration) or gift in exchange for this donation.
- The recipient may not directly or indirectly provide special treatment or favors in exchange for this donation.
- If the recipient leaves UTD for any reason, the remaining donated sick leave hours will be forfeited and will not be restored upon rehire.
Taxation Impact for Donor/Recipient
Taxation related to employee-to-employee sick leave donations will be consistent with the Internal Revenue Service and UT System guidelines. Employees who donate to another UTD employee will be taxed for the number of hours donated.
Employees separating from the University who wish to donate their sick leave to another UTD employee must contact the Office of Human Resources 30-days prior to their termination date.
Donation Forms
Other Paid Leaves
- Paid Military Training
- New employees must contact the HR leave administrator the first time they are called for training duty. After receiving a copy of the military training orders, the HR leave administrator will set up 15-days of military leave on the Galaxy online timesheet.
- Funeral Leave
- Emergency Leave
- Requires HR approval; please contact the HR leave administrator for questions concerning emergency leave.
- Jury Duty or Court Appearance
- Voting Absence
- Veteran’s Healthcare Leave
- Wellness Leave
- Benefits-eligible employees with at least 6 months of service with UT Dallas may receive a maximum of eight (8) hours of wellness time each fiscal year if they (1) receive an annual physical/preventative care examination, and (2) complete an online health risk/wellbeing assessment. See FAQs for more details.
General Information
Employee, Supervisor and Time Administrator Resources
Employee Timesheet Reporting and Information
All employees must log in to Galaxy to enter their time into their timesheets based on the type of position they have to ensure their paycheck and vacation and sick balances are correct. If they did not use any paid time off, they must still indicate they have “nothing to report” on their timesheet. View the Time and Labor training materials for more information on how to enter your time.
Employees also can view their vacation and sick time balances in Galaxy. Employees should report any discrepancies regarding their balances to their supervisor for verification and correction.