Paid Time Off

Paid Time Off (PTO) is provided for rest, relaxation, and a planned interruption from the workplace or to attend to personal affairs. It is recommended that PTO be taken within the year accrued in order to receive the personal replenishment value intended. Supervisors and staff have the responsibility to plan schedules that meet the operating requirements of departments and time off needs of staff. To balance the University’s support of staff using PTO with service and staffing requirements, staff members and supervisors should plan time off schedules well in advance.

607.1 ELIGIBILITY

All regular full-time and regular part-time staff members whose salaries are based on service for 12 months become eligible to request the use of accrued PTO upon their hire date. The hours equivalent of 5 days will be available in their PTO balance on their hire date.

607.2 ACCRUAL

Staff members accrue PTO based on their years of service in regular full-time and regular part-time University positions and the date when they began continuous employment with the University. Time served in temporary or occasional positions is not counted in calculating a staff member's PTO accrual rate.

When staff members are hired on or before the 15th of the month, a full month's accrual will be credited for the first partial month of employment. When they are hired after the 15th of the month, no accrual will be credited for the first partial month of employment.

A. ACCRUAL OF PAID TIME OFF (PTO)

Regular full-time and regular part-time staff members who have completed the Introductory Period and whose salaries are based on service for 12 months accrue PTO in accordance with the following rates:

*Although exempt monthly-paid staff are paid on a salary basis, PTO accrues and is used in hourly increments. For purposes of PTO accrual and usage, full-time exempt monthly paid staff are treated as working 40 hours per week (8 hours per day, 5 days per week). This is for tracking purposes only and is not intended to reflect actual hours worked.

PTO is accrued monthly and available for use by the staff member the month after accrual.

Years of service are determined based on the staff member's most recent employment date in a regular full-time or regular part-time University position. If the anniversary date is on or before the 15th of the month, the staff member will accrue PTO at the new rate for the month.

Staff members who terminate after successful completion of their Introductory Period and on or after the 15th of the month will be credited a full month’s accrual.

B. MAXIMUM ACCRUAL

A staff member may not have a balance at any time that exceeds the maximum accrual hours equal to 24 days. If a staff member's balance is at the maximum, the staff member will not accrue any additional PTO until the staff member's PTO balance has been reduced through usage. Hours will not be retroactively accrued and credited to the staff member's PTO balance.

C. INTRODUCTORY PERIOD

A staff member whose employment is terminated during their Introductory Period will not receive payment for any accrued and unused PTO.

607.3 PART-TIME STAFF MEMBERS

Regular part-time staff members accrue PTO on a prorated basis, based on the percentage of a full-time schedule worked.

607.4 USE OF PAID TIME OFF (PTO)

Exempt monthly-paid staff members may take PTO in either full-day (i.e., 8-hour) or half-day (i.e., 4-hour) increments. Non-exempt weekly-paid staff members may take PTO in 15-minute increments.

Each fiscal year staff members and supervisors should plan and schedule to allow staff members to take PTO. All scheduled PTO should be requested and approved in advance by the staff member’s immediate supervisor. Supervisors should determine and communicate to staff how much advance notice they require. All scheduled PTO requests must be entered into Workday. After the staff member enters the request into Workday, Workday automatically routes the request to the next approval level(s). 

Unscheduled PTO must also be requested in Workday. Although the request cannot be entered into Workday in advance, the staff member should enter it as soon as possible. If the staff member is unable to do so, his/her supervisor may enter the PTO request into Workday on behalf of the staff member.

The staff member's immediate supervisor maintains the discretion to approve or deny PTO requests based on the business and operational needs of the unit.

For staff using Flexible Work Options, PTO usage will be governed by the Flexible Work Options Guidelines.

607.5 PAYMENT OF UNUSED PAID TIME OFF (PTO)

Upon the voluntary or involuntary termination of employment, all regular full-time and regular part-time staff members who have successfully completed their Introductory Period must be paid for their accrued and unused PTO based on the date of separation.

607.6 STAFF WORKING IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS

The benefits and policies for University of Pennsylvania staff members who work in locations outside of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania may be different from the benefits and policies set forth in this policy. Staff members working outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should contact Human Resources for more information.

607.7 UNIVERSITY STAFF WHO ARE COVERED BY COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS

University staff members covered by collective bargaining agreements should refer to the appropriate article in their contract.

Policy Number: 607
Effective Date: 12/22/2004
Last Reviewed: 06/15/2023
Revised Date: 07/01/2023
Supersedes Policy Number(s): 508 (09/01/1975), 606 (09/01/1991), 607 (07/01/1997, 01/12/1999, 10/18/2019)
Applicability: Regular full-time and regular part-time staff members
Cross-reference: Regular Part-Time Staff Members - Policy 116, Time Away from Work - Policy 602, Attendance - Policy 603, Introductory Period - Policy 618, Termination - Policy 629

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