This policy applies to all staff members including King’s Managerial and Administrative staff and
Facilities Management.
Vacation Entitlement
Staff with less than (1) year of service as of June 30th will be granted paid vacation at the rate of 1.25
days for each completed month of service as of that date.
Staff with one (1) or more years of service as of June 30th will be granted paid vacation in accordance
with the following schedule:
Service Vacation
One (1) year but less than five (5) years Three (3) weeks
Five (5) years but less than ten (10) years Four (4) weeks
Ten (10) years but less than twenty (20) years Five (5) weeks
Twenty (20) years or more Six (6) weeks
Vacation Year and Proration
For purposes of vacation accrual calculations and vacation scheduling, the annual vacation leave
period at King’s shall be over a twelve (12) month period from July 1st to June 30th. Vacation
entitlement each year is subject to the number of months worked (earned) and is calculated based on
the number of months of completed employment as of June 30th. If less than one full year of service
has been completed by June 30th, entitlement is prorated in accordance with the vacation year. For
example, if a staff member’s employment started on March 1st and they are entitled to three (3) weeks
or 15 days of vacation annually, they would have earned five (5) days of vacation by June 30th of that
year:
4 months (March to June) / 12 months x 15 days = 5 days
The staff member is entitled to 5 vacation days to June 30th
Annual vacation time accrues from July 1st which is the start of the annual vacation year cycle. Staff
begin earning vacation days from their date of hire.
Staff are encouraged to utilize their earned vacation time throughout the year; however, a maximum
of five (5) vacation days are permitted to be carried forward to be used in the following vacation year.
In certain exceptional circumstances, staff may carry forward more than five (5) vacation days with
the written approval of their manager. An example might include a staff member who has been
requested by their manager to defer annual vacation beyond the end of the vacation year due to
operational requirements.
For the purpose of earning vacation entitlement, any absence from work with pay shall be deemed to
be time worked with the exception of long-term disability; adoption, maternity, and parental leave;
and other unpaid leaves as approved.
Vacation Leave Requests
The minimum amount of vacation leave time that staff members are permitted to request is half (½)
a working day (not hours). Staff are asked to not submit vacation leave requests to Human Resources
for less than half a day or three and one half (3½) hours on any given day. Requests of this kind should
be tracked and managed internally by each department administrator. It is the responsibility of
managers to have discussions with their respective staff to plan and schedule their hours appropriately.
Discussions should be centred around how that time will be made up, or if the staff member has
banked overtime hours that can be applied against it.
Vacation leaves shall be taken within the specified period at a time authorized by the manager, with
due consideration for the efficient operation of the department or program and the personal wishes
and seniority of other staff members.
Vacation leave forms must be completed and signed (by both staff and managers) before being
submitted to the Human Resources & Compensation Officer in the Human Resources Office prior
to the start of the vacation leave. For vacation leave requests of one (1) week or longer in duration,
forms should be submitted one (1) month in advance of the desired leave time. Typically, vacation
leaves exceeding four (4) weeks at a time are not feasible unless under exceptional circumstances. Staff
and managers should consider King’s small size, continuity of operations, and consistent service
excellence when planning vacations. Staff members are encouraged to provide as much notice as
possible when planning vacation leaves. Other factors to consider include:
- If the staff member has a critical role to play in planning special events or has reporting
deadlines at certain times of the year.
- If other members of the staff member’s team have already requested time off at the same time.
Staff members should refrain from making travel arrangements (i.e., booking flights, hotels, etc.)
without first receiving approval of their vacation leave from their manager.
Staff on short-term contracts are paid 4% vacation pay in lieu of paid vacation time off.
Any planned vacation that an employee takes will not be cancelled in the event of an unanticipated
university closure.
Illness During Vacation Leave
Where a staff member suffers an illness, major injury, or is hospitalized and the period of illness is
more than three (3) days, all or a portion of this period shall be considered as sick leave and the number
of vacation days which have been displaced may be taken at a later time in the same vacation year.
The staff member must notify their manager at the time such illness commences and must submit
medical verification to the satisfaction of the Employer to qualify for sick leave in these circumstances.
Vacation Entitlement Upon Termination, Resignation and During Probationary Period
Staff members that have accumulated unused vacation leave time who leave the university because of
termination or resignation, shall have any vacation they have accumulated paid out in full in their final
payroll deposit.
Likewise, staff members who have taken more vacation time than they have accumulated, and whose
employment ends for any reason, shall have an equivalent amount of pay deducted from their final
payroll deposit. Managers are encouraged not to approve vacation leaves for staff exceeding the
amount of vacation days earned or “accrued”. An example is a staff member who was hired on July
1st and is serving a six (6) month probationary period. The staff member is entitled to three (3) weeks
or fifteen (15) working days annually. The staff member requested six (6) days of vacation leave in
early September. By this time, they would have only worked at King’s for two (2) months and only
earned two and a half (2½) days of vacation leave:
2 months (July and August) / 12 months x 15 days = 2.5 days
Staff member is entitled to 2.5 vacation days to August 31st
The request for six (6) days of vacation leave should be denied by the manager. If the manager
approves the time requested and the staff member resigns or is terminated before they earn six (6)
days of vacation leave, the funds will need to be recouped from their final payroll deposit.
Contact While on Vacation Leave
Staff members who are on leave, regardless of duration, are expected to activate an automatic reply
on their King’s email accounts indicating they are out of the office. An out of office message should
also be placed on King’s landlines. The message should indicate the duration of the leave and who
may be contacted for urgent matters or otherwise during their absence. Staff members should discuss
with their managers who the most appropriate contact would be for this purpose. The designated staff
member must be made aware. In case of an emergency, staff members should provide their managers
with a telephone number that they can be reached on.
Updated September 2023