Guidelines

HR Home >> Policies >> Time Away From Duke >> Sick Leave (University) >> Guidelines

Sick Leave for University Staff

Guidelines

Sick leave is a form of insurance designed to protect against loss of income when a staff member becomes ill or medically disabled. Staff can use sick leave when they are ill and unable to work or when they have a scheduled medical appointment. Staff can also use sick leave for a medical disability related to pregnancy and/or childbirth or to care for an immediate family member (i.e. a spouse, same-sex partner, parent, or child) who is dependent upon the staff member for care.

Please refer to the following table for sick-leave guidelines:

Topic	University - Sick Leave Guidelines
Orientation and Evaluation Period	Staff can use sick pay after they have completed the 90-day orientation and evaluation period.
Maximum Accrual	There is no limit to the total number of sick days an hourly-paid or monthly-salaried staff member can accrue.
Notification Process	Each department has a set of procedures for advance notification/call-in for absence for medical reasons. In order to properly schedule staff, supervisors should meet with staff to discuss plans for time away from work. Staff should call in each day they are out and inform their supervisor, unless the supervisor and staff member have made alternative arrangements. Because supervisors will need to discuss rearranging work assignments, the staff member - not a member of his/her family - should call when he or she will be out of work and speak directly to the supervisor or his or her designee.
Payment	To receive sick pay, staff must have a sick leave balance available. Staff can request that their supervisor approve the use of vacation or Discretionary Holiday time for sickness when sick time is unavailable. However, the supervisor may choose not to approve the staff member’s request, because vacation days and holidays are intended to be scheduled and approved in advance.
Sick Pay for Retiring Hourly-Paid Staff	Hourly-paid staff who elect to retire will be eligible for the following: At the time of retirement, the staff member's total, accumulated bank of unused sick pay hours will be calculated. The total of unused sick pay hours will be used to adjust the staff member's credited years of service for retirement plan calculation. This adjustment will be accomplished by taking the total number of unused sick pay hours and converting them into additional-length-of-service credits which are then used to calculate the staff member's eventual retirement payment. The exact method of computation of pension benefits and the conversion of unused sick pay hours into additional length-of-service credits will be governed and defined by the Employees’ Retirement Plan (ERP).

Hourly-paid Staff– Sick Leave Eligibility and Accrual

Hourly-paid staff should refer to the following table for further information concerning sick leaves from Duke:

Hourly-paid Employment Status	Eligibility: Hourly-paid	Expected Accrual: Hours/Pay Period	Expected Maximum Accrual: Hours and Days/Year
Full-Time: Scheduled to work 80 hours each two week period	Begins with the first day of employment.	Hourly-paid staff earn 3.692 hours of sick pay for each biweekly pay period in which they are compensated for 80 hours.	96.0 Hours/Year 12 Days/Year
Abbreviated Schedule	Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week (or 80 hours per biweekly pay period) shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.
Part-Time	Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.

Monthly-Salaried Staff - Sick Leave Eligibility and Accrual

Monthly-salaried staff should refer to the following table for further information concerning sick leaves from Duke:

Monthly-salaried Employment Status	Eligibility: Monthly-salaried	Expected Accrual: Day/Pay Period	Expected Maximum Accrual: Days/Year
Full-Time: Scheduled to work 80 hours each two week period	Begins with the employment month.	One day/Month	12 Days/Year
Abbreviated Schedule	Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.
Part-Time	Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.

Policy Details

Guidelines

hr@duke.eduLast Modified: Thursday, June 29, 2006