Attendance and Leave Request Policy

1.0 Purpose

This policy establishes attendance guidelines and expectations for the Office of Research staff. Fully staffed work shifts are essential to achieve and maintain smooth and efficient operations. Because of this, regular and punctual attendance is an ongoing expectation for all employees. Links to related central UW HR policies are listed at the end of this document.

2.0 Revision History

Revised: March 7, 2018

Revised: October 10, 2018

Revised: April 21, 2023

Revised: June 25, 2024

3.0 Persons Affected

3.1 This policy applies to all permanent classified non union and permanent contract classified employees in the Office of Research.

3.2 Although rules for attendance and leave vary between job classes, this policy also applies to professional (both overtime exempt and non-exempt), temporary staff and staff still in their trial or probationary period in the Office of Research. However, temporary, professional staff, and classified staff still in their trial or probationary period are employed “at will” and nothing in this policy creates a contract or promise that alters the “at will” status of these employees.

4.0 Policy

Classified non union and contract classified staff, non-overtime exempt professional and temporary staff and staff in their trial or probationary period:

Regular work schedules of full-time employees in these categories will generally consist of 8 hours of work per day, 5 days per week, with an unpaid meal break and 2 paid 15 minute breaks, which equals 40 hours per week. A part-time schedule is any schedule less than one FTE (full-time equivalent). Individual schedules which vary from the University’s campus business hours of 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M, Monday through Friday, may be approved by employing officials, depending on unit work requirements. Employees are required to charge appropriate leave balances or leave without pay for partial day absences. Any hours worked over the normal assigned work week should be approved by the supervisor before the hours are worked.

All absences and use of leave are subject to the supervisor’s approval and should be submitted with as much advance notice as possible. Notices of unplanned absences or late arrivals should be called in at the beginning of the work shift in accordance with the work unit’s procedures.

Professional overtime exempt staff:
It is expected that individual work schedules of full-time professional exempt employees will generally consist, of 40 hours per week during business hours deemed appropriate by the management team to meet the business needs. These 40 hours will serve as the basis of vacation and sick leave accruals. However, the nature of responsibilities associated with the majority of these positions may frequently require that the employee exceed the typical 40-hour-a-week work schedule. Individual schedules which vary from the University’s campus business hours of 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M, Monday through Friday, may be approved by employing officials, depending on unit work requirements.

Partial-day absences
Full-time professional exempt staff may generally take partial days off without being charged accrued sick leave or vacation balances, provided such absences are not a frequent occurrence, as the expectation is to complete the work assignments that are due. Under Family and Medical Leave absences, sick leave or vacation may be charged for partial day absences.

UW policy allows overtime-exempt professional staff to take partial-day absences without using leave time, under the following circumstances:
• The time away from work hours is occasional
• The time away from work hours is infrequent
• The time away from work hours is not lengthy

The terms specified in the UW policy for partial-day absences without using leave time is interpreted by ORC as:
• Occasional and infrequent: Cumulative leave instances do not occur more often than 1-2 times per calendar month and no more often than 4-6 months during a calendar year
• Not lengthy: An instance of leave that lasts 30-minutes to 2-hours during a your regular work hours in your work day
• Your work hours must continue to be equivalent to your total FTE (1.0 FTE = 40 hours/week): The total amount of leave time must be made up outside of regular work hours, during the pay period when the partial day absence occurred

Leave time must be taken for partial-day absences when:
• The partial-day absence cannot be made up during the pay period (1-15th of month 16th-last day of month)
• The partial-day absence exceeds 2 hours
• There are more than two partial-day absences in a calendar month
• Partial-day absences have occurred more than 6 times in a calendar year

All absences and use of leave are subject to the supervisor’s approval and should be submitted with as much advance notice as possible. Notices of unplanned absences or late arrivals should be called in at the beginning of the work shift in accordance with the work unit’s procedures.

Grace Periods
Definition of the actual arrival time that constitutes a tardy or late occurrence is at the discretion of the supervisor. Consideration should be given to the type of position (ie, receptionist), customer needs and other relevant information when setting grace periods.

Making Up Time
(Making Up Time – note: any alterations to an employee’s schedule due to the employee’s request, should be requested and approved in writing and kept with time records. Otherwise, the employee may be eligible for overtime when working any hours over their shift for the day.)

Making up time is a privilege granted on infrequent occasions and is at the discretion of the supervisor. Individual work units will define their own rules and processes regarding making up time. If authorized by the supervisor, employees may be allowed to make up lost time from an appointment, a late arrival or on other occasions. Generally, make up time is prearranged by submitting a request in writing to the supervisor. However, if an employee is late and wishes to make the time up, they can request this in writing to the supervisor and include an explanation of the circumstances contributing to the tardiness. Generally, make up time must be completed within the same work week.

Requests from classified and contract classified staff to make up time are at the discretion of the supervisor and may be denied. The employee may receive leave without pay for time missed.

Professional Meetings or Conferences:
Pre-approval and notification is required for time off to attend a professional meeting or conference.

Telework/Telecommute and Alternate Schedule Arrangements
Temporary or ongoing telework or alternate schedule (ie,4/10s, 9/80s) arrangements are left to the discretion of the work unit and supervisor and may depend on business needs, actual work performed and good attendance. Generally, ongoing telework or alternate schedule agreements are defined in detail including expectations, work schedules and revocation rights by the supervisor as deemed necessary.

The UW Human Resources Telework policy and process page is here: http://hr.uw.edu/policies/telework/.

The UW Human Resources Telework Plan and Agreement template is here.

Temporary Modified Work Schedule
At the discretion of the supervisor, employees may be granted temporary modified work schedules. This schedule may allow employees, on a temporary basis, to rearrange their work schedule for time needed away from work. Consideration will be given to current business needs and various regulations regarding overtime.

Generally, a temporary modified work schedule is pre-arranged by submitting an email request or memo to your supervisor. You should submit your request as far in advance as possible to allow for planning work assignments in your absence.

Request for a temporary modified work schedule are at the discretion of the supervisor and may be denied.

5.0 Definitions

Occurrence of Absence: An absence occurring on a single day or during any sequence of consecutive days for a single extended illness (excluding authorized absences as defined).

Examples of activities that may count as occurrences of absence include but are not limited to:

• Failure to follow policy for reporting absences
• Tardiness
• Taking longer lunches than scheduled
• Unauthorized absence from assigned work area
• Excessive absenteeism
• Use of sick leave for reasons not allowed by University policies
• Leaving early before the end of assigned work shift
• Extending breaks or lunches beyond the allocated time
• Taking extra breaks
• Absences from assigned work shift where medical documentation has not been provided when requested by the supervisor;
• A pattern of absences falling on days before and after holidays, weekends, vacation days

Full Absence: Absent from the job for more than half the scheduled work shift.

Partial Absence: Absent from the job for half or less of the scheduled work shift. Partial absences may include:

• Reporting to work late
• Returning late from rest or meal periods
• Leaving early
• Taking time off during work hours, including time for medical/dental appointments unless pre-approved.

Authorized Absences: Absences from work that do not count as occurrences of absence, include but are not limited to (Documentation may be required.):

• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) approved absences;
• Family Care Act (FCA) approved absences;
• Disability Leave approved in compliance with the University Disability Leave Policy
• Pre-authorized and emergency medical/dental appointments
• Pre-authorized vacation, personal holiday, compensatory time, bereavement leave and leave without pay.
• Civil Duty Leave
• Military Leave
• Mandated leave following exposure to contagious disease or resulting from natural disasters
• Suspended Operations/Inclement Weather
• Authorized absence due to job-related injury or illness
• Leave due to childcare emergencies in accordance with WAC 251-22-117, RCW 49.12.270 and the SEIU Local 925 bargaining agreement.

Tardy: Reporting in to work after the beginning of assigned work shift.

6.0 Responsibilities

6.1 Supervisors are responsible for implementation and application of the OR attendance policies and any internal processes in a fair and consistent manner.

6.2 OR staff are expected to adhere to the OR attendance policies and internal work unit processes.

6.3 The OR management team is responsible for general oversight of the policy and processes, for ensuring that they are applied fairly and consistently among supervisors and to make changes or clarify processes as necessary based on UW rules, and state and federal laws.

7.0 Procedures

Procedures for Requesting Time Off

As soon as staff members are aware that they will need time off for medical or dental appointments, they should request the time off from the designated supervisor and follow procedures in accordance with departmental policies.

Note that the Office of Research Central’s standard for illness is:

Please stay home when you are sick. Take time to rest and use your sick leave. If you are feeling well enough, you may choose to telework when you are sick.

A leave request should be turned in to the supervisor at least 24 hours before taking non-emergency medical or dental appointments, a day of vacation or a personal holiday, except in extenuating circumstances. Requests for sick leave should be submitted prior to or immediately upon returning to work. A request for more than two days of scheduled leave should be submitted one week in advance so that arrangements can be made for work coverage.

Vacation is generally not granted for sick leave absences unless pre-arranged according to the procedures for requesting time off (except for absences covered by FMLA and FCA). Leave without pay is generally not granted if the employee has sick leave hours available. Exceptions are at the manager’s discretion.

Reporting Unscheduled Absences
If an employee is unable to come to work, the immediate supervisor needs to be notified of the need for an unscheduled absence no later than the beginning of the work shift. Employees need to report in to the immediate supervisor at the beginning of any unscheduled leave period and daily thereafter, unless pre-arranged. If the employee reaches voicemail, they should leave a message that includes a telephone number where they can be reached. At the supervisor’s discretion, if an employee is absent from work for three (3) consecutive days, they may be required to submit documentation from a health care provider.

(Note: Supervisors may require different reporting procedures for various reasons.)

Except in extenuating circumstances, if an employee does not report for work and does not notify a supervisor before or at the beginning of the shift (or within the first 30 minutes of the shift), the absence may be considered unauthorized and the employee may be charged leave without pay. This is at the discretion of the supervisor.

Having someone else call for the employee is not usually acceptable, except in extreme situations. Absences should be reported to the supervisor or if the supervisor is not readily available, a message should be left.

Reporting Extended Absences
If an employee has an extended illness or hospitalization, they can arrange for extended leave with their supervisor, the Director of Operations & Human Resources for the Office of Research or UW Human Resources. Those eligible for Family and Medical Leave Act may take up to twelve weeks leave from the job for one’s own serious health condition, or that of a family member. However, this should be discussed with one’s supervisor as soon as the employee is aware of the need to be away, so that the necessary paperwork can be completed. The paperwork may include documentation from the employee’s health care provider.

Not Reporting Absences According to Policy
If an employee is absent and fails to follow the policy for reporting absences, they may be subject to disciplinary action. If an employee is not present for work and does not call for three or more scheduled work shifts, they may be considered to have voluntarily resigned. When this occurs, the manager will attempt to contact the employee by telephone and mail before taking any action.

Requiring Medical Documentation
At the supervisor’s discretion, an employee may be required to submit documentation from a health care provider for the following (but not limited to):

• If absent from work for three (3) consecutive days,
• If the ability to return to work is in question
• If there are attendance issues/problems
• If there is a need to substantiate one’s own or a household member’s serious health condition
• If an employee is incapacitated from performing required duties
• If there is suspected abuse of the sick leave benefit

Failure to provide requested verification may be subject to disciplinary action.

Providing verification as requested does not preclude discipline. Even with verification of sick leave, an employee who has excessive absences may be subject to disciplinary action. Submission of altered or falsified documentation may be grounds for corrective action up to and including dismissal.

Disciplinary/Corrective Action
Staff members are expected to keep occurrences of absences to a minimum. Managers should discuss attendance expectations with all staff and particularly those at risk of disciplinary action.

Examples of activities which may result in such actions include but are not limited to:

• Failure to follow policy for reporting absences
• Tardiness
• Taking longer and/or extra breaks than those scheduled
• Taking longer lunches than scheduled
• Unauthorized absence from assigned work area
• Unauthorized absenteeism which results in leave without pay
(includes but is not limited to the above cited incidents, absences
not related to illness, or as a result of using all accrued sick leave.)
• A pattern of absences falling on days before and after holidays, weekends, vacation days

If an employee begins to develop a record of excessive absenteeism, their supervisor may require other reporting policies and procedures be followed, such as:

• Calling in and talking directly to the supervisor rather than leaving a voicemail message; or,
• Presenting medical documentation for each absence due to illness.

Absenteeism Related to Sick Leave
Sick leave is a benefit provided to employees to cover wages during absences as set forth in WAC 357-31, RCW 49.12.270, and Article 10 of the SEIU Local 925 bargaining agreement, Article 29 of the WFSE Master Contract and the Professional Staff Program described in the UW Human Resource web site. Sick leave may only be used for specified purposes many of which are included in the definition of Authorized Absences. Full use of sick leave every time it is accrued, may not constitute acceptable attendance and if it is determined that sick leave is used excessively, may be cause for disciplinary action.

Verification of the appropriateness of sick leave use may be required.

Not Reporting Absences According to Policy
Except in extenuating circumstances, not calling in to report an absence is considered a serious misconduct warranting disciplinary action.

Any occurrence of an employee not showing up for a scheduled work shift and not reporting in may result in leave without pay for that shift and disciplinary action may be initiated.

8.0 Other Related Resources
• Bereavement Leave
• Family Care Emergency Leave
• Disability Leave
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Paid Family and Medical Leave act (PFMLA)
• Inclement Weather
• Shared Leave
• Telework

9.0 Content Creator:

OR Director of Operations & Human Resources

10.0 Effective Date:

October 2007