The University of Washington provides various leave opportunities to accomodate many personal and professional situations. Below is a brief summary of the leaves offered to faculty and academic staff. Detailed information is available under the Leave section found within the Faculty and Academic Staff portal.
Faculty are eligible to use up to 90 calendar days of paid sick leave each academic year. The faculty member must complete a sick leave request form and provide accompanying health care provider’s information. Faculty sick leave is not accruable.
Under Washington State Law, faculty members are eligible to use available paid sick/medical leave as family care leave. Under the law, an employee is entitled to use any or all of their choice of sick/medical leave or other time off to care for a spouse, parent, parent-in-law, or grandparent of the employee who has a serious health condition, or to care for a child of the employee who has a health condition that requires treatment or supervision, if the child is either under eighteen years of age or older but incapable of self-care because of a mental or physical disability.
Pursuant to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, the faculty member may be eligible for paid medical benefits (see Faculty Sick Leave above) for up to 12 weeks from the initiation of the leave when family leave is taken for purposes of caring for the employee's newborn or newly adopted or foster child; to care for the employee's spouse, son, daughter, domestic partner, or parent who has a serious health condition; or for a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her job. To receive such benefits, a faculty member requesting family leave must notify the Office of the Provost.
iThis leave is available to faculty women and men to care for infants, newly adopted children, and seriously ill children or other family members, including domestic partners. When Faculty Sick Leave or Family Care Leave is exhausted or is not applicable, the faculty member may apply for a leave of absence without salary. This leave of absence may be full-time with no pay or part-time with pro-rated pay. The leave is initially available for up to 6 months and is renewable after review and approval by the appointing unit. Full or part-time parental leave and/or leave without salary will not be extended beyond a two-year period.
Every officer and employee of the state or of any county, city, or other political subdivision thereof who is a member of the Washington national guard or of the army, navy, air force, coast guard, or marine corps reserve of the United States, or of any organized reserve or armed forces of the United States shall be entitled to and shall be granted military leave of absence from such employment for a period not exceeding 15 working days during each year. Such leave shall be granted in order that the person may take report for active duty, when called, or report for active training duty in such manner and at such time as she or he may be ordered to active duty or active training duty. Such military leave of absence shall be in addition to any vacation or sick leave to which the officer or employee might otherwise be entitled, and shall not involve any loss of efficiency rating, privileges, or pay. During the period of military leave, the officer or employee shall receive from the state, or the county, city, or other political subdivision, his or her normal pay.
The purpose of professional leave with pay is to increase the scholarship and professional development of members of the faculty and thereby enhance their capacity for service to the University. Leave of this type from academic duties is a privilege granted normally to those of professorial rank to afford them the opportunity for study, investigation, and research.
The authority to grant leave rests with the Regents of the University upon recommendation by the President. The responsibility for reviewing the merits of the applications and the administrative feasibility of the leave shall be determined by the department chairpersons, deans, and the President in accordance with procedures established by the President.
Although the University of Washington has excellent leave policies, certain situations may require different solutions or supplemental support. As part of the UW Provost's Office commitment to UW faculty, it has established the Transitional Support Program (TSP) for any professorial level faculty member (including without tenure due to funding and research) to provide exactly this type of additional support.
The TSP is available for faculty who are in the midst of potentially career-threatening crises, such as
The TSP offers financial support to help faculty members maintain their productivity while experiencing such crises. The funding may be used to provide course release and/or research support.
Faculty and Academic Staff do not accrue vacation.
Faculty hired on a 9 month basis are paid for nine months service and are expected to use summer for vacation periods.
Faculty hired on a 12 month basis are paid for 11 months service over a 12 month period. One month is available for vacation use during this time. These faculty members should arrange vacation schedules with their department.
Librarians should consult the librarian personnel code for details on vacation accrual.