Vacation and Sick Leave Information

Information provided below is general information, employees and supervisors should refer to an employee's offer letter for confirmation of vacation or sick time entitlements.

Attendance record-keeping and supervisor approval is required for staff (Schedule II, Technical, Contract and Full-time Hourly).  Attendance records must be updated monthly by the employee and approved by the supervisor.  Attendance records must be submitted to Human Resources at the end of the calendar year and at the end of the fiscal year.  Please review the FAQ for commonly asked questions.

Contract

Vacation credits cannot be accumulated from year to year other than in exceptional circumstances.  Any such exceptions are subject to prior supervisory approval.

All non-union employees commence accruing vacation and sick leave in the month of their date of hire.

* Refer to individual employee letter of offer for specific details.

Vacation: 

  • 1.25 days per month to be used before the end of contract.
  • 1.67 days per month after 8 years of completed full-time, uninterrupted service (12 months per year) and full-time (35 hours per week)

Sick leave: 

  • 1.5 days per month to maximum of 120 days.  (Previous to 1 January 2008 contract employees earned 1 day per month).
Schedule II

Vacation credits cannot be accumulated from year to year other than in exceptional circumstances.  Any such exceptions are subject to prior supervisory approval.

All non-union employees commence accruing vacation and sick leave in the month of their date of hire.

* Refer to individual employee letter of offer for specific details.

Schedule II: Bands 1-5

Vacation:

  • 1st to 8th year-employee earns 1.25 days per month (15 days/yr)
  • 8th year completed-employee earns 1.67 days per month (20 days/yr)
  • 17th year completed-employee earns 2.08 days per month (25 days/yr)
  • 25th year completed-employee earns (1 additional day) 2.17 days per month (26 days/yr)
  • 26th year completed-employee earns (1 additional day) 2.25 days per month (27 days/yr)

Sick leave:  1.5 days per month to a maximum of 120 days.

 

Schedule II:  Bands 6 and up

Vacation:

  • 1st to 8th year-employee earns 1.25 days per month (15 days/yr)
  • 8th year completed-employee earns 1.67 days per month (20 days/yr)
  • 17th year completed-employee earns 2.08 days per month (25 days/yr)
  • 25th year completed-employee earns (1 additional day) 2.17 days per month (26 days/yr)
  • 26th year completed-employee earns (1 additional day) 2.25 days per month (27 days/yr)

Sick leave:  2.5 days per month (30 days per year of service) to a maximum of 120 days.  

                                                                                                

Technical Staff

Vacation credits cannot be accumulated from year to year other than in exceptional circumstances.  Any such exceptions are subject to prior supervisory approval.

All non-union employees commence accruing vacation and sick leave in the month of their date of hire.

* Refer to individual employee letter of offer for specific details.

Level A & B

Vacation and sick leave:

  • Contract technical staff refer to section above “contract employees”.
  • Full-time technical staff refer to section above “Schedule II level Band 1-5”.

Level C & D

Vacation and sick leave:

  • Contract technical staff refer to section above “contract employees”.
  • Full-time technical staff refer to section above “Schedule II Band 6 and up”.
Union Employees
 

 

Submitting your Annual and Fiscal Year End Attendance Records:

Submissions are only accepted via online form.  Please follow the instructions provided:

2024 Annual Attendance Record Submission

2025 Fiscal Year End Attendance Record Submission (Accepting submissions after May 1, 2025)

 
Resources

    Attendance Sheets

    Accrual Charts, and Absence Reporting Legend

    You may also be interested in the Lakehead University Vacation Policy for non-unionized employees:

    Workplace Leaves of Absences

     

     

    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:
    • Schedule II
    • Technicians
    • Contract Staff (full-time), including some Post-Docs
    • Full time members of USW, Unifor, IUOE and COPE
    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.
    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:

    • At the end of the calendar year
    • At the end of the fiscal year (Annual attendance form updated for January to April attendance)

    Up to date Attendance Records are also required to:

    • Process Leave of Absence requests due to continuous illnesses greater than 5 days 
    • Process final payouts when an employee ends their employment with Lakehead University
    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.
    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: