A message from Michelle Hollis, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer
- Please review your vacation allotment and consider taking vacation time before July 1, 2023
- Employees can automatically carry forward up to 10 unused days of vacation
- Only employees in exceptional circumstances will be approved to carry forward more than 10 unused days of vacation
With summer around the corner, many employees may be exploring taking time off to enjoy the warmer months, such as spending time by the lake or heading to a provincial park. Before exploring summer plans, we are reminding employees to double-check their vacation entitlements and consider taking time off in the next few months. We note on Workday reports that many employees do not appear to be using their earned time for the current vacation year, which ends on June 30, 2023.
With the coming of a new vacation year on July 1, 2023, employees should know that:
- employees can carry forward up to 10 unused vacation days for use by June 30, 2024, and,
- employees will forfeit any unused vacation days above 10 on June 30, 2023, unless an excess carry forward is approved.
To ensure you are utilizing your earned vacation time, we encourage you to explore your outstanding vacation balance in Workday and work with your manager in the coming weeks to schedule vacation time between now and the end of June 2023. If you have a large vacation balance, we ask that you consider taking week-long breaks from work or multiple long-weekends. Such breaks from work are beneficial to one’s overall well-being, reduce the stress felt by workers, and improves focus and physical health.
Requests for carry forward balances more than 10 days will be considered for those employees with exceptional circumstances. Excel files are being prepared for each Executive Council member to highlight any employees tracking towards having a balance in excess of 10 days. Documented rationale is required for any excess carry forward requests in order to inform corresponding decisions.
Managers, we ask that you connect with your teams and encourage them to take time away from work—especially those with large vacation balances—to promote a healthy workforce. That’s also important as we plan for how we handle any unused days of vacation. Managers can view their team’s vacation balances in Workday. From the Workday home screen, click on the Manager Reports application to select the UW CR Staff Vacation Report.
Thank you for everything you are doing to help the University manage through these times of continuous change. As always, the Human Resources team is available to help you. If you have questions, you can contact your HR Partner.