Sick Leave Policy for University Staff

Policy Statement

Duke provides eligible university staff with accrual of up to 12 sick days per year with pay for personal illness or to care for immediate family members who are sick. Unused sick leave may be accumulated without limit for use during employment. There is no reimbursement of unused sick leave upon termination. However, unused sick time can provide additional credit under the Employees' Retirement Plan for hourly-paid staff.

Policy Details

Guidelines

Sick leave is a form of insurance designed to protect against loss of income when a staff member becomes ill or medically disabled. Staff can use sick leave when they are ill and unable to work or when they have a scheduled medical appointment. Staff can also use sick leave for a medical disability related to pregnancy and/or childbirth or to care for an immediate family member (i.e. a spouse, same-sex partner, parent, or child) who is dependent upon the staff member for care.

Please refer to the following table for sick-leave guidelines:

TopicUniversity - Sick Leave Guidelines
Orientation and Evaluation Period
  • Staff can use sick pay after they have completed the 90-day orientation and evaluation period.
Maximum Accrual
  • There is no limit to the total number of sick days an hourly-paid or monthly-salaried staff member can accrue.
Notification Process
  • Each department has a set of procedures for advance notification/call-in for absence for medical reasons.
  • In order to properly schedule staff, supervisors should meet with staff to discuss plans for time away from work.
  • Staff should call in each day they are out and inform their supervisor, unless the supervisor and staff member have made alternative arrangements.
  • Because supervisors will need to discuss rearranging work assignments, the staff member - not a member of his/her family - should call when he or she will be out of work and speak directly to the supervisor or his or her designee.
Payment
  • To receive sick pay, staff must have a sick leave balance available.
  • Staff can request that their supervisor approve the use of vacation or Discretionary Holiday time for sickness when sick time is unavailable. However, the supervisor may choose not to approve the staff member’s request, because vacation days and holidays are intended to be scheduled and approved in advance.
Sick Pay for Retiring Hourly-Paid StaffHourly-paid staff who elect to retire will be eligible for the following:
  • At the time of retirement, the staff member's total, accumulated bank of unused sick pay hours will be calculated.
  • The total of unused sick pay hours will be used to adjust the staff member's credited years of service for retirement plan calculation.
  • This adjustment will be accomplished by taking the total number of unused sick pay hours and converting them into additional-length-of-service credits which are then used to calculate the staff member's eventual retirement payment.
  • The exact method of computation of pension benefits and the conversion of unused sick pay hours into additional length-of-service credits will be governed and defined by the Employees’ Retirement Plan (ERP).

Hourly-paid Staff– Sick Leave Eligibility and Accrual

Hourly-paid staff should refer to the following table for further information concerning sick leaves from Duke:

Hourly-paid Employment StatusEligibility: Hourly-paidExpected Accrual: Hours/Pay PeriodExpected Maximum Accrual: Hours and Days/Year
Full-Time: Scheduled to work 80 hours each two week periodBegins with the first day of employment.Hourly-paid staff earn 3.692 hours of sick pay for each biweekly pay period in which they are compensated for 80 hours.96.0 Hours/Year 12 Days/Year
Abbreviated ScheduleStaff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week (or 80 hours per biweekly pay period) shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week (or 80 hours per biweekly pay period) shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week (or 80 hours per biweekly pay period) shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.
Part-TimeStaff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.

Monthly-Salaried Staff - Sick Leave Eligibility and Accrual

Monthly-salaried staff should refer to the following table for further information concerning sick leaves from Duke:

Monthly-salaried Employment StatusEligibility: Monthly-salariedExpected Accrual: Day/Pay PeriodExpected Maximum Accrual: Days/Year
Full-Time: Scheduled to work 80 hours each two week periodBegins with the employment month.One day/Month12 Days/Year
Abbreviated ScheduleStaff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.Staff working an abbreviated work schedule of at least 20 hours but less than 40 hours per week shall have sick leave on a pro-rated basis.
Part-TimeStaff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.Staff scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week are not eligible for sick leave.

Policy Number: 09.06

Issued Date

July 1, 2006

Last Reviewed

February 1, 2024
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Time Away From Duke Policy