Vacations and holidays

Vacation entitlement, associated policies and guidelines can be viewed according to the employee groups below.

Staff

Policy 6 – Vacation covers all regular full- and part-time staff members with expected appointment duration of two years or more (see Policy 54). For purposes of this policy, years of service shall be calculated from the date of commencement of uninterrupted regular full and part-time employment with the University of Waterloo.

Need assistance understanding your vacation balance in workday?

Vacation credits
Years of service	Vacation entitlement (in weeks)	Vacation entitlement (in hours based on work schedule)
		35	37.5	40
1-3 years	3 weeks	105	112.5	120
4-9 years	4 weeks	140	150	160
10-11 years	4 weeks + 1 day	147	157.5	168
12-13 years	4 weeks + 2 days	154	165	176
14-15 years	4 weeks + 3 days	161	172.5	184
16-17 years	4 weeks + 4 days	168	180	192
18 years	5 weeks	175	187.5	200
19-21 years	5 weeks + 1 day	182	195	208
22-24 years	5 weeks + 2 days	189	202.5	216
25-26 years	5 weeks + 3 days	196	210	224
27-29 years	5 weeks + 4 days	203	217.5	232
30 years	6 weeks	210	225	240

Notes

Entitlement is prorated for part-time employees.
The vacation credit year is the 12-month period beginning July 1 and running through to the following June 30, during which staff members earn vacation credits.
Vacation credits are the portion of a staff member's full vacation entitlement accumulated during the corresponding portion of the vacation credit year.
Vacation entitlement is tracked in Workday in hours and is based on a staff members work schedule.

Understanding your vacation balance in workday

The definitions below explain the terms listed in the employee view of the vacation balance on Workday. Explore more at Understanding your vacation balance | Workday.

Term	Definition
Unit of Time (in hours)	Vacation is tracked in hours in Workday. For example, 1 day of vacation equals to 7 hours for an employee working the standard 35-hour work-week
Beginning Year Balance	Beginning balance for the vacation year (same as carryover)
Carryover	You can carry over a maximum of 2 weeks of unused vacation from the previous year
Accrued Year To Date	Amount earned throughout the previous year that is available for this year
Absence Paid Year To Date	Vacation requested
Beginning Period Balance	Starting balance for the period, mentioned in the “As of Period”
Accrued in Period	Earned throughout the last month. This will be 0 for every other month except July every year
Absence Paid in Period	Any vacation taken during the period mentioned in “As of period”
Carryover Forfeited in Period	Carryover lost (if any) in the said period
Ending Period Balance	Balance as of the particular period mentioned in “As of Period”
Ending Period Balance Including Pending Events	Balance as of the end of the period, including any vacation that is in future date within the period in Workday
As of Period	Beginning to end of a month

Temporary staff

Appointments less than 1 year: Vacation is 4% of gross earnings upon termination of each period of temporary employment

Appointments 1 year and greater: 10 vacation days per 1 year contract

Vacation credits
Contract length	Vacation entitlement (in days)	Vacation entitlement (in hours based on work schedule)
		35	37.5	40
12 months	10	70	75	80
18 months	15	105	112.5	120
24 months	20	140	150	160

Notes

Entitlement is prorated for part-time employees.
Vacation entitlement is tracked in Workday in hours and is based on a temporary staff members' work schedule and contract length.
Policy 6 – Vacation (Section C) covers temporary appointment staff member’s vacation accrual.

Faculty

View the Memorandum of agreement
- Article 11.2 - Vacation entitlement for Members
- Article 11.4 – Conversion of Vacation Entitlement Prior to Retirement at Age 66 or Earlier
Policy 56 - Vacations and Vacation Pay for Non-regular Faculty Members, Including Graduate and Undergraduate Students with Academic Appointment

CUPE

View Article 14 (Paid Holidays) and Article 15 (Vacation) of the collective agreement between the University of Waterloo and CUPE Local 793 (PDF).

Paid holidays

These days are paid holidays for full-time and part-time regular staff and faculty, and may be paid days for other employees - see Policy 38 for details. Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 793 members can refer to article 14 of the collective agreement between the University of Waterloo and CUPE Local 793 (PDF).

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