UK Employees Encouraged to Donate Unused Time to Shared Leave Pool
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 15, 2022) — University of Kentucky staff who have vacation time expiring March 31, as well as UK HealthCare staff whose times expires June 29, are encouraged to donate unused time to the university’s staff shared leave pool.
The university offered a one-time extension on the expiration of staff vacation leave earned during the 2019-20 fiscal year to March 31, 2022. UK HealthCare staff received a one-time extension on vacation originally scheduled to expire on Sept. 30, 2021, to June 29, 2022. More information is available from UK Human Resources.
This program enables UK staff to help fellow staff members who have exhausted paid leave because of serious health issues affecting themselves or their family members; it cannot be used by employees in an administrative no-pay status.
For beneficiaries of the shared leave pool, UK staff members’ generosity has made important differences. Since the program’s inception in 2007, UK staff have donated more than 36,000 hours of accrued vacation leave to help those whose lives have been impacted by critical illness.
Staff can support the program by donating their time in myUK. In past years, the shared leave pool was only open for a limited time frame. Now, up to 10 days of half-day and/or full-day increments can be donated at any time within a 12-month rolling period. More information is available on the Human Resources website. Employee Relations staff members are happy to answer questions about shared leave. They can be reached at (859) 257-8758.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.