As a gesture of appreciation for their hard work during 2021, the University of Nebraska is granting all leave-eligible employees an additional two days of paid leave, NU leaders announced Tuesday.
For most employees who participate in the university’s holiday closedown – those at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha, University of Nebraska at Kearney and Office of the President – the decision means the last official day of work for the year will be Tuesday, Dec. 21. Wednesday, Dec. 22, and Thursday, Dec. 23, will be paid leave days.
Employees who are part of the holiday closedown will return to work on Monday, Jan. 3.
Some employees, such as campus police officers and dining services staff, may be required to report to work during the closedown. Chancellors will notify employees who are designated as “essential” during the closedown. Those who are required to work will receive “banked” time to be used later.
“Our goal is for the University of Nebraska to be an employer of choice – a place where talented people come, stay to build successful careers, and feel valued not only for their work but as human beings,” NU System President Ted Carter, UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green, UNO Chancellor Joanne Li, UNK Chancellor Doug Kristensen and UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey Gold wrote in a joint letter to all employees.
“We hope this additional leave gives you an opportunity to rest, relax and enjoy time with loved ones, and that it signals how much we value you and your contributions.”
UNK employees should follow the directions below to record the additional leave time:
MONTHLY EMPLOYEES (SALARIED)
Regular leave-eligible monthly employees will not be required to record administrative leave.
Employees who submitted a leave request for Dec. 22 or 23 should delete their request through the ESS Leave Request tile in Firefly, under “View/Delete.” If a request has not been submitted, no further action is necessary.
Essential, leave-eligible, monthly employees required to work on Dec. 22 or 23 will be given alternate time off for hours worked. This will need to be tracked by the employee/supervisor. The employee and supervisor should mutually agree upon the time taken.
BIWEEKLY EMPLOYEES (HOURLY)
Leave-eligible, biweekly employees will record administrative leave (ADM) hours based on their FTE.
Essential, leave-eligible, biweekly employees required to work Dec. 22 or 23 will be paid for the day plus the hours worked. Departments may exercise one of the following options:
- Employee receives administrative pay (earning type ADM) in addition to pay for the hours worked on Dec. 22 or 23, which must be posted on a nonscheduled workday.
- Employee receives pay for the hours worked and takes the administrative leave (hour for hour) with pay at a later time. Each department is responsible for monitoring the hours to be used at a future date.
Both options require prior approval from the employing department.
Employees who submitted a leave request for Dec. 22 or 23 should delete their request through the ESS Leave Request tile in Firefly, under “View/Delete.”
Employees should not record holiday leave (HOL) since this will cause the timesheet to fail.
Non-leave-eligible employees are not eligible for administrative leave.
PAID HOLIDAYS
Paid holidays will be Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. For staff who have been employed for the entire calendar year, you will need to use your four accrued floating holidays for the time from Dec. 27-30. All leave-eligible employees should submit their leave requests through Firefly.
Additionally, managers who will have staff working during the period of Dec. 24 through Jan. 2 should notify Human Resources of this detail.
