Manager + HR resource: Administering Personal Leave

The Voluntary Personal Leave Plan (PLP) offers eligible employees the opportunity to take additional leave while producing cost savings to individual faculties, departments or units. Employees who participate in the program apply for 5, 10 or 15 days of unpaid leave with the cost being deducted from their pay in equal installments beginning August 1, 2024, and ending July 31, 2025. All leave days must be taken before July 31, 2025.

Once approved, the decision to participate in the plan is irrevocable. Any leave days not taken before the end of the plan period are forfeited and cannot be carried forward or reimbursed.

How the plan works

• Employees can request time off from their supervisor in half-day increments, up to five consecutive days at a time. Scheduling is subject to supervisor approval and operational requirements, including department blackout periods.
• The deduction on each pay period varies between 1.92 per cent up to 5.79 per cent depending on the number of leave days selected and will be applied to base compensation.
• PLP is deducted in equal installments beginning August 1, 2024, and ending July 31, 2025.
• PLP deductions do not apply to overtime.
• The savings remain with the faculty, department or unit.

Reporting PLP

Support staff participating in the program can now enter their PLP days in their timesheets. Employees will enter their exception hours and select the Personal Leave Plan code 015 from the drop-down menu. These entries will be routed to their supervisor for review and approval.

For Academic and MAPS staff who participate in PLP, supervisors must enter the PLP days taken using the Time and Labour code 015 in the staff member's time sheet with a comment to indicate the PLP plan year (2024-2025 PLP). This code is not available for Academic and MAPS staff to enter themselves. If you need a refresher on how to enter time on your employee’s behalf, review these procedures .

If you require a list of your staff’s PLP absences, supervisors or general administration staff can capture this data through operational reports. You can also contact the Staff Service Centre if you have questions about how many total PLP days are available for your employees. Staff will also see the total PLP days they have been approved for and the semi-monthly/monthly deductions on their pay statements.

Eligible employees

Staff under the following agreements or handbooks who accrue vacation leave rather than receive pay in lieu of vacation and who have an appointment commencing on or before August 1, 2024, and ending on or after July 31, 2025, are eligible to apply for the plan. Some restrictions apply—see below.

Support Staff

• Regular support staff
• Salaried, benefited auxiliary support staff

Academic Staff

• Faculty (including contingent positions)
• Administrative Professional Officer
• Librarian
• Faculty Service Officer
• Academic Teaching Staff
• Temporary and Administrative Professional Staff
• Trust/Research Academic Staff

Excluded Staff Types

• Support
• Executive
• Academic Administrators
• Management and Professional Staff

Non-eligible employees

• Employees in recurring, auxiliary (hourly), or casual positions.
• Employees with an end date during the plan period.
• Employees who have scheduled a leave without pay greater than one month during the plan period (maternity leave, education leave, etc.)
• Support staff with more than one year of vacation accrual in their vacation bank on January 1, 2024, without an agreed upon plan to use it
• Other employees (non-support staff) who have carried vacation forward from 2023/2024 to 2024/2025.

Part-time employee eligibility

Those who participate apply for days of leave without pay based on their full-time equivalent (FTE).