Effective Date: July 1, 2022
Last Reviewed: May 1, 2022
Purpose:
The College provides paid vacation as it believes in its important to the health and well-being of our employees.
Eligibility:
All full and part-time employees are eligible for vacation leave benefits. Part-time employees working 20 to 29 hours per week will earn prorated vacation leave benefits. Full-time employees are those working 30-plus hours per week.
Vacation Time Accrual & Usage:
On July 1 (each fiscal year) the College pre-loads eligible vacation weeks, based on Table A below - an employee is eligible to use their vacation bank for the entire year. The College's on-line system tracks the hours used and reflects the hours used on the employee's payroll statement and on the employee profile portion of myHill. On June 30 any hours remaining will be deleted and the vacation bank will be reset on July 1, the start of the next fiscal year.
Vacation bank is set on an employee’s start date and taken after the successful completion of the provisional (probationary) period as described in policy E3.13. Vacation time is prorated based on start date.
Vacations should be scheduled with due consideration of departmental needs. Conflicts in vacation scheduling shall be decided based on departmental seniority. Should a conflict arise regarding the seniority date, the determination will be made by the Assistant Vice President of Human Resources.
Vacation time may be applied towards leaves of absence when applicable.
Employees who are on vacation when the College declares an unscheduled day off (example: due to inclement weather) continue to be paid vacation time, and do not receive an additional day off.
Vacation time may be taken in hourly increments. A week of vacation is equal to 35 hours for a 35 hour/week employee and a week of vacation is equal to 40 hours for a 40 hour/week employee. Employees who work at least 20 hours a week shall receive a pro-rated amount of vacation.
Vacation time must be approved in advance by an employee's supervisor.*
Employees who become seriously ill, injured, or hospitalized during a vacation may have that portion of vacation time converted to sick time upon presentation of documentation from a health care provider.
Employees who experience a loss that is covered by Policy E03.30 Bereavement Leave while on vacation may have that portion of vacation time converted to bereavement time.
Upon termination any unused balance of earned vacation will be paid out (pro-rated based on exit date, minus any vacation time used), to the extent required under Massachusetts law and subject to tax withholdings as applicable.
If an employee separates or is terminated from employment and has been advanced vacation time before it was earned in full, the employee is responsible for reimbursing the College. The College will deduct the advanced time from the employee’s final earnings, if available, or the employee will be required to reimburse the College directly.
Table A:
Non-Exempt and Exempt Employees Vacation:
Year 1 of employment: 4 weeks (pro-rated based on start date and hours scheduled to work) after completion of provisionary (probationary) period. Years 2 and up: 4 weeks on July 1 following employment anniversary date.
*A scrivner's error resulted in this line being left out of the original posting of the policy. This error was corrected on May 11, 2023.