Jump to section:

Sick Leave

See:

• EVPP: Leaves & Related Policies > Sick Time Off (Paid)

• HOP 5-4210: Sick Leave

• HR: Sick Time Off

Department responsibilities

Department chairs and Administrative Managers should carefully review and follow the guidelines at EVPP: Leaves & Related Policies > Sick Time Off (Paid) > Department Responsibilities.

Accrual of sick leave

Benefits-eligible faculty members (appointed for at least 50% FTE for at duration of at least 4.5 months) earn sick leave entitlement beginning on the first date of their payroll appointment period at the University. Full-time faculty earn sick leave at the rate of eight hours for each month or fraction of a month of employment. Faculty employed part-time (half-time or more but less than full-time) accrue sick leave on a proportionate basis. Unused sick leave accumulates and carries forward each month.

Requirements for notification of sick leave

A faculty member who must be absent from duty because of illness should notify his or her department chair/dean or cause him or her to be notified of this fact at the earliest practicable time. According to the provisions of the General Appropriations Act, to be eligible for accumulated sick leave with pay during a continuous period of more than three (3) working days, an employee who is absent on account of illness is to send to the department chair/dean a doctor’s certificate showing the cause or nature of the illness, or some other written statement of the facts concerning the illness. Before an employee returns to work, the university also may require a licensed practitioner's certification that he or she is physically fit to return to duty.

The department chair is responsible for notifying the Provost’s Office in writing of any periods of extended sick leave needed by a member of their faculty. In addition, the department is responsible for ensuring that FML application information is received by the faculty member who may qualify for leave under the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Use of sick leave

Per state law, faculty at an institution of higher education must submit sick leave taken if the absence occurs during the normal workday for regular employees, even when no classes were missed. Time Off may be paid or unpaid, full or partial days, continuous or intermittent, and may involve a balance of hours being tracked.

Use of sick leave does not affect the tenure clock, as long as the faculty member has a sufficient balance of hours. 

Sick leave may be used for the following:

Process for using sick leave

Faculty member submits timesheets for sick leave hours used in Workday. Instructions are available at Request Sick Leave – Faculty.

Learn how to locate leave balances on a payslip at Understanding Your Payslip: Workday Process Overview.

If sick leave balance is exhausted

If all available paid leave has been exhausted, eligible employees have the following options:

• COE: Leave of Absence (Unpaid Time Off)

• Sick Leave Pool

• Family Leave Pool

Returning to work after sick leave

When a faculty member is absent for more than three consecutive workdays due to their own personal medical condition, they must provide to their department chair and/or supervisor a return-to-work release from a medical provider before returning to work. The faculty member is not required to disclose personal medical information or diagnosis to their chair/supervisor.

The provider may use the Return to Work Release form (PDF) or an alternate form, such as a doctor’s note stating the date the faculty member is released to return to work and any relevant work limitations. A return-to-work release is not required when the reason for the absence was to care for an immediate family member.

What happens to unused sick leave hours when a faculty member leaves UT?

When a faculty member retires or resigns with a remaining sick leave balance, the balance can be donated to the university Sick Leave Pool or to a colleague. If hours are donated to an individual, there may be tax implications for the recipient.

If an active faculty member passes away, either 336 or half of their accrued sick leave hours, whichever is smaller, is paid to the family's estate.

Return to top of page

Family Medical Leave (FML)

See:

• EVPP: Leaves & Related Policies > Family and Medical Leave Act

• HOP 5-4310: Family and Medical Leave

• HR: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is an unpaid leave which provides job protection and insurance premium sharing for eligible employees for serious medical conditions, childbirth, adoption, or care for family members. FML is used concurrently with Sick and Unpaid Leaves. Up to 480 hours (12 weeks per year) may be awarded, which may be used either continuously or intermittently. Time Off may be paid or unpaid, full or partial days, continuous or intermittent, and may involve a balance of hours being tracked.

An employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours since their last FML before becoming eligible for another FML.

Employees who do not qualify for FML may be eligible for Parental Time Off.

Family and Medical Leave may be used for the following conditions:

• A serious health condition

• Birth and care of a child

• Adopting or fostering a child

• Care of spouse, child, or parent

• Qualifying exigency

• Military caregiver leave

If an employee with approved FML runs out of paid Sick Leave hours, FML provides premium sharing to cover health insurance.

Note that employees in A&P positions cannot use more than 20 hours per week of comp time, including in conjunction with FML. Workday does not have a comp time/FML option - contact HR Benefits to manually reduce FML hours.

Requesting FML

After reviewing eligibility and guidance at HR: Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the faculty member should submit an online FML request form at Employee Request for Leave Under the FMLA.

Using FML hours

Faculty member submits timesheets for sick leave hours used in Workday. If using approved FML hours, the faculty member should use sick leave and FML concurrently. For example, for a full day of leave, both 8 hours of sick leave and 8 hours of FML would be entered for the same day. The FML option displays on timesheets as "FML - Concurrent with other Time Off."

See instructions:

• Request Absence - FMLA

• Request Sick Leave – Faculty

If entering sick leave on another employee's behalf, using "Enter Time" will route the entries to the employee, whereas using "Enter Absence" will not route the entries to the employee. 

Removing unused FML hours

Faculty who return to work and are no longer eligible to use awarded FML hours should contact their department timekeeper. Employees cannot remove unused FML hours from their timesheets themselves.

The departmental timekeepers should contact HR Leave Management to remove the remaining unused hours from the faculty member’s timesheet. See How do I remove unused Family and Medical Leave (FML) hours from my timesheet?

Return to top of page

Sick Leave Pool

See HR: Sick Leave Pool.

Eligible employees may apply for additional hours through the university Sick Leave Pool for catastrophic health conditions. Documentation is required. UT's Sick Leave Pool is managed by central HR.

Return to top of page

Family Leave Pool

See HR: Family Leave Pool. 

Family Leave Pool was established to provide eligible employees greater flexibility in a) bonding with and caring for children during the child’s first year following birth, adoption, or foster placement; and b) caring for a seriously ill family member or themselves, including pandemic-related illnesses or complications caused by a pandemic.

Employees are eligible for Family Leave Pool if they expect to exhaust all available paid time off accruals, and the need for leave would otherwise result in 40 hours or more of unpaid time off. 

There may be tax implications to use of Family Leave Pool.

Family Leave Pool is managed by and through central HR, and any questions should be directed to their office.

Return to top of page

Parental Time Off

See HR: Parental Time Off.

Faculty who do not qualify for FML may be eligible for Parental Time Off. The policy applies to any employee appointed to work at least 20 hours per week for a period of at least 4.5 continuous months, and provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for the birth of a child, or for the adoption or foster care placement of children under three years of age.

Parental Time Off is unpaid, and does not include premium sharing for insurance coverages. 

If an employee becomes eligible for FML while using parental time off, they will be placed on FML for the remainder of the time off. The parental time off previously granted will be applied toward the 12 weeks of FMLA.  The combination of parental time off and FMLA shall not exceed 480 hours.

For general information about Unpaid Time Off for faculty, see COE: Leave of Absence (Unpaid Time Off).

Please direct any questions about Parental Time Off to central HR.

Return to top of page

Please send suggested additions to this page and notifications about broken links to COE-FacultyAffairs@austin.utexas.edu.