Vacation and Sick Leave Information
Note: Annual attendance submissions are currently only being accepted for 2025 (Annual) and 2026 YTD records. See submission section at the end of this page for details.
The information below provides a general overview of sick leave and vacation accrual and entitlements. Employees and supervisors should first refer to their offer letter to confirm specific vacation and sick leave entitlements. Additionally, refer to the Staff Vacation Policy for Non-Unions employees or the respective Collective Agreement for Union employees.
For details on reporting absences due to illness or injury, including required steps and procedures, please review: Workplace Injury or Sick from Work – What Do I Do?
Schedule II, Technical Staff, Union employees (excl. LUFA and CUPE), and employees with contract benefits are required to maintain attendance records. Employees must update their records monthly, and supervisors are responsible for reviewing and approving them. Attendance records must be submitted to Human Resources at both the end of the calendar year and the fiscal year.
For additional guidance, please refer to the FAQ section.
Vacation Days
Always refer to your offer letter and Staff Vacation Policy (for Non-Unions employees) or the Collective Agreement (for Union employees). The amount you earn depends on your years of service and employee group.
❌ Vacation cannot be used before it is earned
❌ Vacation is not typically carried forward*
✅ Vacation must be approved by your supervisor
*Carried forward balances are only applied as per the Staff Vacation Policy or Collective Agreement, and for specific approved leaves.
Vacation Accrual
For Union employees, refer to your Collective Agreement for details on vacation accrual.
All non-union employees (excluding Senior Management* -Refer to offer letter) begin accruing vacation on their start date. Vacation is accrued monthly (e.g., 15 days/year = 1.25 days/month).
- Full monthly vacation accrual is based on a full month’s completed service.
- If your employment starts or ends mid-month, your vacation is prorated to the day (using the formula below)
Example: Start date = April 20 → You earn a partial amount (~0.46 days) for April
Pro-rating formula = (Monthly Accrual / Total Days in Month) x Total Days Employed
= (1.25 / 30 ) x 11
= 0.46
REMINDER: Employees and supervisors should refer to the employee’s offer letter to confirm specific vacation and sick leave entitlements. Additionally, refer to the Staff Vacation Policy for Non-Unions employees or the respective Collective Agreement for Union employees.
Sick Leave
Sick leave is accrued monthly and is intended to provide income protection in the event of illness or injury. Accumulated sick leave functions as a short-term disability plan, as the University does not maintain a separate designated plan.
✅ Sick leave carries forward year to year
❌ Cannot exceed 120 days total banked
⚠️ May require medical documentation depending on absence length (5+ days)
❌ Cannot be used before it is earned
Sick Leave Accrual
For all eligible employees, sick days are earned monthly based on a full month’s completed service.
It can accumulate over time to a maximum bank of 120 days. The chart below summarizes sick day earnings based on your employment type.
All Non-Union Employees eligible for Contract Benefits (specified in offer letter) | Permanent Sch2 Bands 1-5 / Tech Staff A & B | Permanent Sch2 Bands 6+ / Tech Staff C & D | All Union Employees |
1.5 days per month to maximum of 120 days (Previous to 1 January 2008 contract employees earned 1 day per month) | 1.5 days per month to a maximum of 120 days | 2.5 days per month (30 days per year of service) to a maximum of 120 days | Refer to the Collective Agreement |
Important Reminders
The following are common areas of misunderstanding!
- Vacation leave is not available in advance and must be accrued before use
- Supervisors are responsible for the ongoing management of vacation balances, including ensuring that vacation is planned and taken on a regular basis.
- In circumstances where an employee has a large vacation day balance, such as during leaves under the Employment Standards Act (e.g., maternity or parental leave), supervisors must collaborate with employees to implement a plan to address the balance in a timely (mutually agreeable) manner while maintaining operational requirements, and to mitigate continued accumulation.
- Carried forward balances are only applied as per the Staff Vacation Policy or Collective Agreement, and for specific approved leaves. Vacation carry forward requests must be made by the supervisor using this form: Vacation Carry Forward Request Form
- Sick leave balances do not reset annually and instead accumulate over time, up to the maximum limit.
- Supervisors are responsible for the accurate maintenance and submission of attendance records for their direct reports. Employees are expected to have access to their records and to collaborate with their supervisor to ensure their accuracy.
- Vacation and sick leave are earned through employment and are associated with the employee, not the department. As such, accrued balances transfer with the employee when moving between positions and/or departments.
Adhering to these guidelines will help ensure compliance with policy, avoid potential issues, and maintain consistency!
Track Your Time: Record vacation and sick time as it happens.
Submit Attendance: Make sure attendance records are submitted to HR as required (typically annually or as directed)
Plan in advance (when possible): Request vacation early to ensure approval and always maintain communication for sick time.
ANNUAL ATTENDANCE SUBMISSIONS (Annual/Fiscal Year End)
Currently, Human Resources is only accepting attendance submissions for:
2025 and YTD 2026 (January-April)
These attendance sheets are required for payroll accuracy, compliance, and internal reporting. We appreciate your cooperation in adhering to these guidelines.
CLICK HERE FOR 2025 ANNUAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
CLICK HERE FOR 2026 YTD SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
FAQ
| Who has to complete and submit Attendance Records to HR? |
Employees/supervisors should review collective agreements (when applicable) or the employee's letter of offer to verify whether an employee earns vacation and sick days. In general, the following employee groups must track attendance and submit them to HR:
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| Do we still have to complete the monthly attendance records? |
| Yes and no. Attendance must be tracked on a monthly basis and approved by the supervisor. It is at the department/supervisor's discretion how attendance is tracked and approved on an ongoing basis. Attendance record submission to Human Resources is required at calendar and fiscal year end using the sheets and format provided by Human Resources. |
| How do I submit my attendance records to Human Resources? |
| Annual attendance records can only be accepted via google form at calendar year end and fiscal year end. Please see the links above for instructions on how to submit your annual records. Submissions can be made by the employee, supervisor or department designate. |
| Can I carry forward vacation days into the next calendar year? |
| Confirm whether your collective agreement allows for carry forward. For non-union staff, please refer to the policy for Salaried employees. Supervisors who support carry forward requests may seek approval from Human Resources by submitting the request using this form: Vacation Carry Forward Request Form |
| Do I have to have my signature and my supervisor's on my annual attendance record? |
| Yes, as this is your official attendance record, it must be signed by both the employee and the supervisor. |
| Do I have to submit a one page pdf and do I have to follow the rules for naming? |
| Yes, standardizing submissions improves record accuracy and retention. Records that do not meet the submission requirements will be returned to the supervisor for correction and re-submission. |
| We used to send attendance records by email or shared google drive, do we have to use the google form? |
| Yes, submissions via other methods can no longer be accepted. Attendance records must be a non-editable record of annual attendance. Using a google form ensures that all records are centrally located. |
| When are records required to be provided to Human Resources? |
Annual Attendance Records are required to be submitted via google form:
Up to date Attendance Records are also required to:
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| Can an employee use vacation or sick time before they have earned it? |
| No, vacation and sick time is accrued at the end of the month. Employees are not permitted to use vacation or sick time they have not yet earned. |
| I have reached a service milestone, will my vacation accrual automatically update? |
| If you believe that you have reached a length of service milestone, you should verify with Human Resources prior to making the change on your attendance sheet. Vacation accruals are not automatically updated on the sheet, employees/supervisors will need to adjust manually at the bottom of the attendance sheet for anniversary dates falling throughout the calendar year. In subsequent years, accrual rates are selected using the dropdown options at the top of the attendance sheet. |
| How do I know how much vacation or sick time I accrue or my employee accrues? |
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| Accrual dates and when to pro-rate accruals. |
Vacation days and sick days are earned at the end of the month based on a full month's employment. There are some circumstances that accrual may be pro-rated e.g. at the start or end of employment. Employment less than a full month, or when an anniversary date and service milestone occurs in the middle of the month must be individually calculated. The following formula is used: Accrual rate ÷ Numbers of days in the month x Number of days in the month employed For example: A new employee with a start date of April 20th, their vacation accrual would be calculated at the end of April as: 1.25 ÷ 30 x 11 = 0.45 An employee who has completed a service milestone on their anniversary date would have a prorated entitlement calculated using the same formula at the new and old accrual rates. |
| Do I accrue when I am on leave? |
Employees who normally accrue sick/vacation days continue to accrue sick and vacation entitlement when on the following leaves:
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