Vacation and Leave Time for Our Campus Community

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 20, 2022) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto sent the message below to UK staff on Friday, March 18. 

Campus Community,

We know the past two years have posed incredible challenges to so many in our community. One way we can ensure the health and well-being of our people is to provide flexibility where possible.

One example of that commitment is our plan, again this year, to roll over vacation and leave time for members of our community. Here are the highlights:

For Staff Employees

• If you are a campus staff employee and your vacation leave time is set to expire on June 30, 2022, that will be extended to December 31, 2022.
• For the campus employee, vacation time set to expire on June 30, 2023, will be extended to September 30, 2023.

For Faculty Employees

• Like last year, a separate process managed by the colleges will be considered for faculty vacation leave.

For UK HealthCare Employees

• Vacation leave for exempt UK HealthCare employees whose leave is set to expire on September 30, 2022, will have their time extended until March 31, 2023.
• Vacation leave that is set to expire on September 30, 2023, will be extended to December 31, 2023.
• This change is not applicable to GME resident and fellow vacation leave. For more information refer to the GME Policy and Procedure manual: https://gme.med.uky.edu/gme-policies-procedures.

Vacation or Leave Expiring in March

• Employees who have vacation leave expiring at the end of this month — March 31, 2022 — still must use that time. 
• For staff employees: If you aren’t going to take that time, we urge you to consider donating it to the shared leave pool we have created. You can read more about that important program here.

You can read more details about this vacation leave policy here: https://www.uky.edu/hr/vacation-expiration-deadlines-extended.

You can also talk to an employee representative with Human Resources at: 859-257-8758.

I want to thank our Staff Senate leadership, the President’s Advisory Council and Staff Trustee Dave Melanson. 

These campus leaders and others have continually engaged with us in a spirit of partnership about the needs and priorities of our employees. Their feedback and commitment have been essential to the development and implementation of policies and processes that are making us a more responsive and inclusive community for everyone.

After all, one of the principles in our new Strategic Plan is straightforwardly titled: “Taking Care of our People.” 

Living up to that principle means continually searching for ways to provide support and flexibility to our people when they need it most. We are pleased we can offer this step, even as we are hopeful that we are beginning to emerge from the challenges of the past two years.

Thank you for all you do for our community and our shared goal of advancing Kentucky.

Eli Capilouto

President