Note: This information applies to staff employees who work more than 17.5 hours only. Audience: All employees who are covered by the employee handbook, not by CBA or contract employment
(Note: Faculty time off varies by school)
Post doc vacation policy (New!) and post doc vacation FAQs
Student workers are not eligible for accrued vacation time.
Vacation:
During the first year of employment, employees must complete at three months (90 days) before taking any accrued vacation time. Vacation can be taken in partial day, day, or week increments.
- Full-time, hourly non-exempt employees earn vacation at the rate of 1.25 days per month, which equates to an annual total of fifteen (15) days). After completing ten (10) years of service a hourly non-exempt employee's vacation accrual rate increases to 1.67 days per month, for an annual total of twenty (20) days.
- Exempt and salaried non-exempt employees earn 1.67 days of vacation per month, or twenty (20) days per year Those employees who have completed twenty-five (25) years of service begin to accumulate vacation at the rate of 2.08 days per month, or twenty five (25) days per year.
- Academic year and full-time regular employees accrue vacation at the above rate during the months they work.
- Part-time employees (under 35 hrs/week) receive pro-rated vacation time based on their regular work schedule. For example, an employee 17.5 hours per week (.5FTE) would accrue at half the specified rate.
Scheduling Vacation:
All vacation schedules must be approved by your supervisor. Whenever possible, vacation time should be requested at least three (3) weeks in advance. The work load in your department and, in some cases, your length of service will be considered when setting up vacation schedules.
Illness during Vacation:
If you become sick for more than three (3) days during your vacation, you may use your accrued sick time. In some cases, employees may be asked to obtain a written statement from their physician regarding the illness. When a holiday occurs during a vacation, it is not counted as vacation time.
Carryover:
Tufts provides a generous vacation policy and encourages employees to take vacation annually. Vacation provides employees with needed rest and relaxation and allows them to recharge so that they can continue performing at a high rate of productivity. The University uses a centralized system to track vacation, personal and sick time and enforces a maximum vacation balance accrual. The vacation system accrual is run around the 20th of each month, but is posted in the Time Off system with a date of the 15th. The maximum vacation time that an employee can accrue is equal to the amount of time the employee accrues in two years based on his/her eligibility. Once the maximum accrual is reached; vacation time will stop accruing until the balance drops below the maximum allowed. When the maximum balance for Vacation is approaching, the time will show in red.
New Accrued Vacation and Maximum Balances for Staff
Under a new policy, the maximum amount of vacation time that a staff member will be able to accrue will be capped at the total amount of vacation time they can accrue in one year based on their eligibility. This new accrual limit will take effect January 1, 2022. Once the maximum balance is reached, vacation time will stop accruing until the balance drops below the maximum allowed.Vacation Accrual while on Unpaid Leave
If an employee is hired, or returning to work from an unpaid leave, on or before the fifteenth (15th) day of the month, the employee will receive vacation credit for the month. If an employee is terminating, or going out on unpaid leave, on or after the fifteenth day of the month, the employee will receive vacation credit for the month.
Please visit the Employee Handbook for more detailed information on the University’s policy for unique situations, scheduling, recording, and tracking your vacation time.
NOTE when you are looking at Time Off Information: The monthly process to add Vacation Time accrued is run around the 20th of each month, but with a posted date of the 15th,so the time will not appear only after the process is run around the 20th of the month following the anniversary. See also Time Off Information and Time Off Tracking-Award and Accrual Process.