Work-Life

University of Kentucky Reduced Seasonal Hours Program Guidelines

Purpose

While recognizing the need for a balanced work life during the summer and winter months and desiring to more effectively utilize the University's resources during slower periods, it may be possible for some departments to consider reducing an employee's regular work hours, at the employee's request, during the summer and/or winter months. Department operations cannot suffer due to the approval of reduced seasonal hours and additional positions cannot be added to assist with the completion of work.

Eligibility

Regular, clinically non-essential, full-time staff employees, exempt or non-exempt, who have successfully completed the new hire orientation period, are eligible to apply for reduced seasonal hours. Approval of a reduced seasonal hours program is at the discretion of department management and administration.

Options

  1. A regular employee with a FTE of 0.75 or greater may request leave without pay from January 3, 2013 through February 2, 2013 and/or May 12, 2013 through August 17, 2013; Leave must be taken in full-week increments.
  2. Regular staff members with a full-time equivalent (FTE) of greater than 0.75 may request a temporary reduced work schedule to no less than 0.75

Process:

Application for Reduced Seasonal Hours

Applications to request reduced seasonal hours must be submitted on the appropriate Reduced Seasonal Hours Program form. For Winter, use the Winter Reduced Hours application form (pdf). For Summer, use the Summer Reduced Hours application form (pdf). The application must be submitted for approval to department management and the department business office. After consideration of applications for approval or denial, the department business office should forward a copy of the Reduced Seasonal Hours application to the Office of Work Life in Human Resources within a minimum of two weeks prior to the requested effective date of the reduced hours.

An employee who requests and is approved for a leave without pay from January 3, 2013 through February 2, 2013 and/or May 12, 2013 through August 17, 2013 or for any period within this time frame will be considered to be on voluntary leave and is not eligible for unemployment compensation. Vacation and temporary disability leave (TDL) will not accrue during this time period. An employee on leave without pay will not be entitled to holiday leave. An employee who requests and is approved for a reduced work schedule will remain a regular employee. The employee's pay rate will be reduced on a pro-rated percentage relative to the FTE reduction. Vacation, TDL, and holiday will accrue on a pro-rated percentage relative to the FTE reduction.

Depending on a leave without pay or a reduction in FTE, the employee's benefits will be adjusted accordingly.

Department Management/Administration

The business officer in the employee's department will execute a "Position Update" action in SAP to update the employee's record. Detailed instructions may be found in the HR Reference manual: http://www.uky.edu/IRIS/HR/PositionChangesTransfersUpdates_07102007.pdf.

At the end of the agreed upon leave, the business officer will execute the same action and bring the employee back to the original status, FTE and pay rate. Because the seasonal hours assignment is a temporary accommodation, there will be no need to change the attributes of the position. An employee's health benefits premiums will be "caught up" retroactively when the employee returns to active status.