8-1 Vacation
8-2 Holidays
8-3 Special Time Off
8-4 Personal Days
8-1 Vacation
Eligibility for vacation and the amount of vacation you are eligible for depends on employment status and the number of hours the employee works.
Eligibility: Only benefits eligible employees are entitled to earn paid vacation.
Full-Year Employees
Full-year employees are eligible for paid vacation as discussed below.
Non-exempt Employees
Full-time non-exempt employees will earn 2.02 vacation hours per week. The annual accrual amount is three weeks. The maximum accrual cap is thee weeks, plus one additional week. Accruals stop when the employee reaches the maximum accrual cap. Employees who work less than full-time will have their accrual prorated. Employees who work less than one year will accrue vaction for only the pay periods in which they work. On the tenth anniversary (based on a fiscal year, not calendar year), employees are elibible to earn 2.70 vation hours per week.
Scheduling
To help the College ensure adequate staffing, employees should request vacation time as far in advance as possible, but at least two weeks’ notice must be given. All requests for vacation time must be approved by the employee's supervisor. The College is not always able to accommodate each request, so it reserves the right to deny requested vacation time to meet the business needs of the College.
Full-Year Employee Payout at Termination
Unused earned vacation will be paid out to employees with their final paychecks at the employee’s then regular rate of pay. Accrued earned vacation cannot be used to extend employment.
Academic Year Employees (9, 10, month schedules)
Academic year employees are eligible for paid vacation as discussed below:
Non-Exempt Academic Year Employees (weekly):
Non-exempt employees accrue prorated vacation hours based on a full-time equivalent of 2.02 hours per week (three weeks per year). The prorated amount is based on the scheduled hours per week and scheduled weeks per year (also known as the blended FTE). The maximum accrual cap is a prorated amount based on the full-time equivalent of three weeks, plus one additional week. Accruals stop when the employee reaches the maximum accrual cap.
For example:
a. full-time, 10-month non-exempt employee (.83 FTE) will accrue 1.68 hours of vacation per week.
b. 17.5 hour per week, 9-month non-exempt employee (.375 FTE) will accrue 0.76 hours of vacation per week.
On the tenth anniversary, non-exempt employees accrue prorated vacation hours based on a full-time equivalent of 2.70 hours vacation per week (4 weeks per fiscal year). The prorated amount is based on the scheduled hours per week and scheduled weeks per year.
Exempt Academic Year Employees (monthly):
Exempt academic year employees accrue prorated vacation hours based on a full-time equivalent of 11.70 hours monthly (4 weeks per fiscal year) throughout the year. The prorated amount is based on the scheduled hours per week and scheduled weeks per year (also known as the blended FTE). The maximum accrual cap is a prorated amount based on the full-time equivalent of four weeks, plus one additional week. Accruals stop when the employee reaches the maximum accrual cap.
For example:
A full-time, 10-month exempt employee (.83 FTE) will accrue 9.71 hours of vacation per month.
Payout at Termination:
Unused accrued vacation will be paid out to employees with their final paychecks at the employee’s then regular rate of pay. Accrued vacation cannot be used to extend employment.
8-2 Holidays
Wellesley College officially observes a number of holidays throughout the year. Employees who work a full year (12 months) are entitled to the following paid holidays:*Wellesley College officially observes a number of holidays throughout the year. Employees who work 11-12 months are entitled to the following paid holidays during regularly scheduled work periods:*
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents' Day
- Patriots' Day
- Memorial Day
- Independence Day
- Labor Day
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Thanksgiving
- Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas
Academic year employees normally work 9, 9 1/2, or 10 months and are entitled to the following paid holidays:*
- New Year's Day
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Presidents' Day
- Patriots' Day
- Memorial Day
- Labor Day
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day
- Thanksgiving
- Friday after Thanksgiving
- Christmas
In addition, employees may take religious holidays as vacation or personal days.
* Part-time employees who work at least 17.5 hours per week are entitled to pro-rated holiday pay. The pay is based on the authorized hours for the position divided by 5 days to determine the holiday benefit.
Example:
- 28 hours divided by 5 days = 5.6 hours holiday pay
- 17.5 hours divided by 5 days = 3.5 hours holiday pay
While many legal holidays are observed on a Monday, some, such as Independence Day and Christmas, are observed on the actual day of the week upon which the holiday falls.
When a legal holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday will be observed. If the holiday falls on a Saturday, the proceeding Friday generally will be observed. If a legal holiday should fall within your vacation period, you will be paid for that holiday.
When the College is in session, some offices must be staffed. If you are required to work on a legal holiday, you may be given time off on another day. Non-exempt employees must take time off within the same workweek or be paid for the time worked. Exempt employees may take time off at a later date with the approval of the department head.
Holidays are not granted during periods of unpaid leave of absence.
8-3 Special Time Off
The College has the discretion to offer special time off. This special time off applies only to those scheduled to work during that specified time.
8-4 Personal Days
Regular full-year employees are eligible for up to three Personal Days per fiscal year. To be eligible for all three Personal Days in your first year of employment, your date of hire must be prior to September 30th. If you are hired after October 1-December 31st you will be eligible for two Personal Days. If hired between January 1– March 1st, you will be eligible for 1 Personal Day. If hired April-June30th, you will not be eligible for Personal Days until the next fiscal year. Whenever possible, you should notify your supervisor as far in advance as possible when requesting Personal Days. Personal Days must be taken at a time that is approved by your supervisor.
Personal Days for less than full-time employees will be granted on a prorated basis. The pay is based on the authorized hours for the position divided by 5 days to determine the personal day benefit.
Example:
- 28 hours divided by 5 days = 5.6 hours personal day
- 17.5 hours divided by 5 days = 3.5 hours personal day
Full-time academic year employees will receive two Personal Days. If you work less than full time, your personal days will be prorated based on the number of hours you are scheduled to work. To be eligible for two Personal Days in your first year of employment your date of hire must be between July 1-November 30th. If you are hired between December 1-March 31st you will be eligible for one Personal Day. If hired between April 1- June 30th you will not be eligible for Personal days until the next fiscal year.
Personal Days must be used during the fiscal year for which they are granted and will not be paid out upon termination if not used.