Staff Leave
On Jan. 12, 2024, Virginia Tech announced changes to the university holiday schedule and guidelines. In conjunction, changes were also announced to annual leave accrual plans for university and classified staff. These changes are effective Jan. 10, 2024 for the 2024 leave year. View frequently asked questions about these changes.
Following is information on staff employee leave plans.
Annual Leave
- Employees begin earning annual leave after they work their first full pay period.
- The tables below show the accrual rates for annual leave for university staff and classified staff, and the maximum number of hours that may be carried over from one calendar year to the next or paid out for full- or part-time, or calendar-year (12-month) employees.
- Annual leave is earned and available for use after the end of each pay period, which occurs on the 24th and the 9th of each month.
- In order to earn leave, employees must have worked or used leave during each pay period.
- Annual leave is not earned during any pay period that has leave without pay or after 90 consecutive calendar days of leave with pay.
University Staff:*
| Years of Service | Hours Earned Per Pay Period | Hours Accrued Per Year | Maximum Carry Over in Hours** | Maximum Payout Limit in Hours |
| 0-4 | 6 | 144 | 192 | 192 |
| 5-9 | 7 | 168 | 240 | 240 |
| 10-14 | 8 | 192 | 288 | 288 |
| 15-19 | 8 | 192 | 336 | 288 |
| 20-24 | 8 | 192 | 384 | 336 |
| 25 or more | 9 | 216 | 432 | 336 |
* Based on changes made to university staff annual leave accruals implemented Jan. 10, 2024. See this side-by-side comparison of the old and new annual leave accrual plan for more information. Visit the frequently asked questions page for more information.
Classified Staff:
| Years of Service | Hours Earned Per Pay Period | Hours Accrued Per Year | Maximum Carry Over in Hours** | Maximum Payout Limit in Hours |
| 0-4 | 4 | 96 | 192 | 192 |
| 5-9 | 5 | 120 | 240 | 240 |
| 10-14 | 6 | 144 | 288 | 288 |
| 15-19 | 7 | 168 | 336 | 288 |
| 20-24 | 8 | 192 | 384 | 336 |
| 25 or more | 9 | 216 | 432 | 336 |
**Carry-over balance is calculated before annual leave earnings are applied for the period of Dec. 25 - Jan. 9. Employees may keep the annual leave they earn on Jan. 9. In order to not lose any leave on Jan. 9, employees must be at their carry-over amount plus the Jan. 9 earnings.
Military service and annual leave accurals:
Effective January 10, 2023 eligible military service may be included as service time for annual leave accruals and carryover limits. Military service does not impact service time for retirement or any other benefit. The appropriate documentation must be submitted using the secure link provided below. Changes to factor in military service for annual accrual will apply to the leave period after documentation is submitted. The submission should be complete by the 10th of each month; changes will not be applied retroactively, but any requests received after the deadline will be effective the following month.
Eligible service includes: active-duty military; national guard, reserves, or inactive duty; or full-time state or federal national guard duty.
Veterans must complete the request and submit form DD-214 (and/or equivalent service records) supporting the service time. Please submit request and supporting documentation through the Military Service Record submission form.
Staff Sick Leave Plans
Standard sick leave plan:
- Optional for classified staff hired before Jan. 1, 1999.
- Full-time, classified staff employees earn five (5) hours of sick leave per pay period. There is no maximum accrual limit.
- In order to earn leave, employees must have worked or used leave during each pay period.
- Accrued sick leave is available to use after the end of the pay period in which it is earned.
- Sick leave may be used for personal illness or medical appointments that cannot be scheduled during non-work hours.
Family sick leave (Standard sick leave plan only):
- Family sick is a subset of sick hours. Employees must have sick hours in order to be able to use family sick leave.
- Staff may use a total of 48 hours during the leave year for absence due to the illness or death of an immediate family member. Immediate family members include: parents, step-parents, spouse, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, or any other relative, by blood or marriage, living in your home.
Note: Part-time faculty are credited with family sick leave proportionate to percent employment.
Virginia Sickness and Disability Program (VSDP) family and personal leave
- The VSDP applies to staff employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 1999, and employees hired prior to Jan. 1, 1999 who opted in to the program.
- Refer to the VSDP Member Handbook for specific guidelines regarding use and allotment of VSDP leave benefits.
Sick leave:
Current employee personal sick leave credits
- Effective Jan. 10 of each year, employees participating in the VSDP are credited with 64 to 80 hours of sick leave based on total salaried, state employment.
- Employees who are receiving short-term disability benefits on Jan. 10 of any year will be granted sick leave on the date they return to active employment. See service credit table below to determine credit eligibility.
Full-time Employees Service Credit |
||
| State Service | Personal SIck Leave | |
| Months | Years | Hours |
| Less than 60 | Less than 5 | 64 |
| 60-119 | 5-10 | 72 |
| 120 or more | 10 or more | 80 |
Part-time Employees Service Credit |
||
| State Service | Personal Sick Leave |
|
| Months | Years | Hours |
| Less than 120 | Less than 10 | 32 |
| 120 or more | 10 or more | 40 |
New and re-employed employees personal sick leave credits
- Initial credits for new employees depend on whether they are full- or part-time and are based on the employee’s first date of employment. See table below.
Full-time Employees Prorated Leave Credit |
|
| Employment Start Date | Personal Sick Leave Hours |
| Jan. 10-Jun. 9 | 64 |
| July 10-Jan. 9 | 40 |
Part-time Employees Prorated Leave Credit |
|
| Employment Start Date | Personal Sick Leave Hours |
| Jan. 10-Jun. 9 | 32 |
| July 10-Jan. 9 | 20 |
Note: Unused sick leave credits will not be carried forward from one year to the next, and unused leave will not be paid when employment is ended.
VSDP family and personal leave:
Current employees family and personal leave credits
- VSDP employees are credited with family and personal leave on Jan. 10 of each calendar year. The amount of leave credited is based on the length of state service. See table below.
- Employees receiving short-term disability benefits on Jan. 10 will be granted family personal leave on the date they return to active employment.
Full- and Part-time Employees Service Credit |
||
| State Service | Family and Personal (VSDP) | |
| Months | Years | Leave Hours/Days |
| Less than 120 | Less than 10 | 32 (4 work days) |
| 120 or more | 10 or more | 40 (5 work days) |
New and re-employed employees family and personal leave credit
- Newly employed full- and part-time employees will receive an annual amount of family and personal leave based on their first day of employment as shown in the prorated table below.
- In subsequent years, leave will be credited on Jan. 10 according to the above service credit table.
- Newly hired university staff will receive four (4) days of family personal leave, regardless of their date of hire.
Full and Part-time Employees Leave Credit |
|
| Employment Start Date | Family and Personal Leave Hours/Days |
| Jan. 10-Jan. 9 | 32 (4 work days) |
Note: Unused family and personal leave may not be carried forward from one year to the next. Unused leave will not be paid when employment is ended.
School assistance and volunteer leave
School assistance and volunteer service leave provides paid leave for employees to provide voluntary services within their communities. Service may be provided through school assistance or as a volunteer for a community service organization as defined in Department of Human Resources Management Policy 4.40: School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave.
Full-time employees are provided up to 16 hours of paid leave per leave year. Part-time employees are provided leave proportionate to the percentage of hours they work. Leave is credited to current employees on Jan. 10 of each year. Newly eligible employees are credited School Assistance and Volunteer Service Leave immediately upon employment.