Flexible Time-Off
Policy
It is the policy of Greenville University to provide paid time off to employees.
Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to define approved paid time off when employees may be absent from work in the mission of Greenville University. This policy applies to all Greenville University employees
Procedure
I. Qualifications
• All full-time Greenville University Employee are provided with paid time off (PTO) for vacation, qualifying personal reasons, reasons of illness or medical conditions, or to care for an immediate family member who is ill.
• All part-time employees are provided with PTO for reasons of illness or medical conditions, to attend school activities for minor children, or to care for an immediate family member who is ill.
• Any PTO used will not contribute to the calculation of overtime pay (any overtime owed will be paid at the appropriate rate, while PTO will be paid at an employee’s normal rate of pay).
II. Amount of PTO allowed
• PTO is not accrued or tracked centrally. Time off will be submitted to and approved by an employee’s supervisor who is encouraged to review the employee’s responsibilities, performance, workload, current projects, timing of the request made by other team members, etc., and determine if the request is reasonable. By planning for the entire year, whenever possible, the supervisor can ensure appropriate staffing levels. Greenville University’s leadership desires employees to be healthy mentally, physically, and spiritually, and appropriate PTO is a part of that. Greenville University encourages a minimum of two weeks of PTO each year.
These examples show that years of service do not necessarily need to correlate to amounts of PTO:
An employee with one year of service could take two weeks of PTO.
An employee with three years of service could take three weeks of PTO.
An employee with ten years of service could take three weeks of PTO.
An employee with fifteen years could take five weeks of PTO.
Greenville University’s previous vacation policy can also be consulted for illustrative purposes to help define how much PTO an employee could use.
III. Approval process and guiding principles
• PTO related to vacation or personal time is approved at the discretion of the supervisor.
• Supervisors should attempt to avoid multiple employees being away from a team at any given time.
• Absent unusual circumstances, planned time away should attempt to be limited to no more than two weeks at a time (other than sick leave and sabbaticals).
• The amount of notice required is at the supervisor’s discretion. As for general guidelines, single-day requests should be made as much in advance as possible. For time off lasting approximately one week, one month of notice is recommended. For time off lasting approximately two weeks, approximately three months is recommended.
• When possible, all an employee’s outstanding tasks should be completed before taking any PTO.
• Time off can be denied for multiple reasons, including, but not limited to, unsatisfactory job performance, other employees being off at the same time, or insufficient notice being given.
IV. Reporting Process
PTO is communicated, arranged, and approved by an employee’s supervisor. Non-exempt employees will request time off with Paylocity, similarly to the recent request process. Exempt employees may be asked to submit their request for approval through Paylocity at their supervisors' discretion. Please check with your supervisor for your team or department’s tracking and reporting requirements.
V. PTO related to illness
It is realistic to expect that employees, at some point during their Greenville University employment, will experience personal illness or the illness of an immediate family member. We strongly urge employees to take part in the shared responsibility of ensuring a healthy workplace and vibrant ministry by utilizing this type of PTO when necessary. We ask employees to stay home if you or a member of your family is sick, not only to care for them but also to limit potential exposure to coworkers.
• This type of PTO is to be used for the illness of an employee or the illness of an immediate family member who needs personal attention. It may also be used for medical and dental appointments.
• At his or her discretion, the supervisor may request a doctor’s note regarding the need for time off and/or readiness to return to work following the illness if deemed appropriate.
If this practice is used, the supervisor is encouraged to request a note from all employees in a consistent fashion.
• Employees are encouraged to communicate the needed time off to their supervisor as soon as possible.
• Long-term leave situations are unique and require individual attention and collaboration with the People & Culture department. Proper and appropriate planning related to PTO should occur between the employee, supervisor, and Human Resources.
Supervisors are required to inform the People and Culture office of an employee's absences after 5 consecutive days off due to illness
VI. Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
It is the policy of Greenville University to grant employees time away from work under certain conditions in accordance with the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). Please see the FMLA Policy, which can be found in the employee handbook, for further details.
VII. Parental Leave
To ease the transition and offer family adjustment time and bonding after the birth or adoption of a child, Greenville University has established a PTO related to parental leave.
• Employees are encouraged to take an appropriate amount of PTO due to the birth or adoption of a child.
• As an example, an employee could take eight weeks of PTO immediately after the birth of a child. This PTO could also start prior to birth as medical circumstances warrant.
• Employees should work with their supervisor to plan time away, which should not exceed a total of 12 weeks (about 3 months).
• FMLA will run concurrently with other time-off mentioned in this policy.
• In some circumstances, when both husband and wife are employees of Greenville University in a location with limited employees resources, and both wish to take time off in connection with the birth or adoption of a child, Greenville University may limit the amount of leave which can be taken concurrently and/or within the same year, as permitted by applicable law, out of concern for Greenville University capacity to maintain its regular business of empowering students’ lives of character and service.
• Supervisor Responsibilities related to maternity:
It is the supervisor’s responsibility to engage with the department of People and Culture and the employee in a timely and interactive process to help determine if accommodation is needed due to pregnancy. This can include but is not limited to:
o More frequent or longer break periods.
o New or modified equipment or seating.
o Job restructure.
o Time off for prenatal appointments.
o A private, clean place for expressing breast milk.
o in limited circumstances, modified work schedules
VIII. Bereavement
It is the policy of Greenville University to extend bereavement leave to employees upon the death of a relative.
• All regular full-time and part-time employees working 30 or more hours per week are eligible for bereavement leave.
• This benefit does not apply if death of the relative occurs while the employee is on leave of absence or layoff.
• Amount of Leave Time Recommended:
Five (5) consecutive working days for the death of spouse, children, parents, guardians, mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother/sister.
Three (3) consecutive working days for grandchildren, grandparents, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law.
One (1) working day for aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and first cousins.
In all cases, the supervisor may approve an extension, particularly if bereavement leave necessitates travel.
Regular, part-time employees will be compensated per day according to the number of hours per week that they were hired to work.
IX. Holidays
The following days are considered Greenville University paid holidays for full-time employees:
Summer Fridays: Offices close at 1:30 PM Fridays from June 20th- August 15th
This assumes an 8:30 daily start time and no lunch break on Fridays.
4th of July: Closed July 4th and one additional day (either the working day before or after, depending on the calendar year.
Fall Break: One day off in alignment with the student calendar.
Thanksgiving Break: Closed 12pm Wednesday - Friday
Christmas Break: Officed Closed Christmas Eve-New Years Day
Spring Break: 2 paid days off in alignment with the student calendar.
Good Friday
Memorial Day: Offices Closed Monday and the next working day.
The following dates are unavailable to request time off without additional approval from the employee’s respective Executive Cabinet leader and at times the President. These dates include:
Pre-Panther Preview days
NSO Weekend (Friday and Saturday)
Scholarship Days
• Guidelines for those who must work on a Greenville University paid holiday:
Salaried (exempt) employees who work on any of these holidays may elect to take another day off, with supervisor's approval.
Hourly full-time (non-exempt) employes who work on a holiday will receive the normal rate of pay for the actual hours worked, plus eight hours for the holiday.
Hourly part-time employees and seasonal employees who work on a holiday will receive their normal rate of pay for the actual hours worked.
• PTO surrounding these holidays will be at the supervisor’s discretion while ensuring proper operational excellence and coverage.
• Regular Part-time, Temporary and Student Employees. Holiday time off is provided but unpaid.
X. Military Leave of Absence
An unpaid military leave of absence will be granted if an employee is absent to serve in the uniformed services of the United States for a period of up to five years (not including certain involuntary extensions of service). Employees who perform and return from service in the Armed Forces, the Military Reserves, the National Guard, or certain Public Health Service positions will retain certain rights with respect to reinstatement, seniority, layoffs, compensation, length of service promotions and length of service pay increases as required by applicable federal or state law.
Employees with one year or more of service will be protected against a loss of income as a result of participation in annual encampment or training duty in the US Military Reserves or the National Guard. In these circumstances, Greenville University will pay the difference between what an employee earns from the government for military service and what the employees would have earned from normal straight time pay on the job. This difference will be paid for up to two weeks in a calendar year.
This policy is intended to comply with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”) and will be construed consistently with USERRA, any applicable federal regulations and any applicable state laws and/or regulations. Greenville University will not discriminate against any individual or otherwise retaliate against any individual because of past, current, or future military service obligations. Greenville University will not discriminate against any employee who takes military leave under this policy, nor will Greenville University retaliate against any employee who protests any unlawful practice under USERRA or other applicable law.
XI. Jury Duty
Greenville University recognizes and supports the civic responsibility of its employees to serve as jurors when called upon to do so. Appearances in court under subpoenas and/or out of civic responsibility (such as an eyewitness) will normally be eligible for remuneration under the guidelines of this policy.
The employee should notify the supervisor immediately upon receipt of the subpoena or other document which gives instructions to report for jury empanelment.
There may be cases where an employee’s extended absence would have a serious effect on the operational efficiency of Greenville University. In such instances, the supervisor, or vice president, in coordination with the employee and the People and Culture department will request that the employee be excused from jury duty or that the assignment be postponed by the proper authority.
• The employee’s pay during the performance of jury duty will be an amount which is the difference between his/her regular pay and the jury duty pay (Greenville University Employee shall continue the employee’s regular paycheck and the employee shall endorse the jury duty checks to Greenville University). Because Greenville University is continuing partial salary, it is expected that the employee will report back to work as soon as possible, and immediately upon being released from jury or witness duty.
• Upon completion of jury or witness duty, the employee can be asked to provide Greenville University with a certification that contains the specific dates on which he/she served.
XII. Personal Leave of Absence
Although Greenville University offers a PTO plan, there may be situations where employees are asked or allowed to take an unpaid personal leave of absence. A personal leave of absence is time away from work for any reason other than those related to a Family and Medical Leave of Absence or a Military Leave of Absence. Examples of personal leave might include educational pursuits, medical leave beyond 12 weeks (about 3 months) or personal situations when warranted and beneficial to the employee and Greenville University.
• For consideration of a personal leave of absence, the employee must meet the following conditions:
o Has 12 months of continuous service.
o Be in good employment standing.
o Meets all job requirements.
o plan to return to Greenville University.
• Any request for a personal leave of absence must receive approval in advance of the start of the leave from the immediate supervisor, with additional approval from the respective department’s EC member. Greenville University will maintain health insurance for the employees on leave as required by law. A specific amount of time, normally not more than three months, may be granted for a leave of absence. If the employee does not return at the end of this three-month period, his or her employment with Greenville University can be terminated.
• At the end of a personal leave of absence, Greenville University cannot, in all instances, ensure that the employee will be able to return to the original position. This will depend on several factors, such as the ability to fill the vacant position or reassign the employee’s duties to other employees.
• If the employee’s former position is not available, the employee should contact their former supervisor to review available openings. If a position is available for which the returning employee would like to be considered, they should seek a transfer. At all times, the hiring supervisor should seek to hire the best qualified and most suitable candidate for that position, and the fact that an applicant is returning from leave does not give priority. If a position suitable to the employee’s abilities cannot be secured, the employee may resign or be terminated.
XIII. Administrative/Investigative Leave
During the investigation of allegations involving an employee, he or she may be placed on paid administrative leave with medical benefits. Employees who are unable to report for work because of arrest and incarceration will be placed on unpaid personal leave of absence. If an employee is unable to secure bail, the leave of absence will continue until the final disposition of the charges. If the employee is freed on bail, a decision to allow the resumption of active employment pending disposition of the charges will be made by the employee’s supervisor, the employee’s respective EC member and People and Culture, who will jointly determine whether reinstatement would be consistent with Greenville University’s needs and requirements.
XIV. Status upon termination
Since PTO does not accrue, employees will not receive compensation for unused time off upon termination from Greenville University.
Previous GU Vacation chart:
| Years | Annual Days | Maximum Annual Hours |
| 0-5 | 10 | 75.00 |
| 6-10 | 15 | 112.50 |
| 11-24 | 20 | 150.00 |
| 25 and above | 25 | 187.50 |