Becoming a Parent
Leave Planning
UNDERSTAND
If you are about to have a baby or become an adoptive or foster parent, congratulations!
This website is primarily for non-academic staff and librarians and will help you understand the important leave, pay, and insurance issues you should consider when adding a child to your family. It lists additional resources that can help you manage the challenges of being a working parent. Faculty and academic staff should also view the Academic Human Resources webpages on this topic.
Leave Planning
Parental leave is time off work to care for and bond with your newborn or newly placed adoptive or foster child. Answers to the following questions will determine your parental leave eligibility, how much time off you can take, and whether it will be paid or unpaid:
- Does your employment program provide for parental leave?
- Are you the birth mother?
- What are your current leave balances and your monthly leave accrual rates?
- Will your parental leave be covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which guarantees eligible employees up to 12 weeks off work for parental leave? (See sidebar for an explanation of FMLA eligibility).
Birth Mothers
Time off work to recover from pregnancy-related temporary disability is in addition to, and not included as part of your parental leave entitlement. You will be asked to have your health care provider confirm the time off you will need to recover from pregnancy-related temporary disability.
Parental Leave Eligibility for Staff and Librarians
| |
Annual Leave |
Sick Leave |
Leave Without Pay |
Personal Holiday |
Comp. Time (Overtime- Eligible Staff Only) |
| Contract
classified staff |
Yes |
Only for maternal temporary disability except for SEIU Local 925. By contract, SEIU Local 925 represented employees may use up to 10 days of sick leave for non-disability parental leave |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available |
| Classified
non-union staff |
Yes |
For maternal temporary disability |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available |
| Professional
staff |
Yes |
For maternal temporary disability,
and for up to 10 days of non-disability parental leave |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes, if available |
| Librarians |
Yes |
For maternal temporary disability |
Yes |
Yes |
|
| Temporary staff |
N/A |
N/A |
For maternal temporary disability and for parental leave if FMLA eligible |
|
Yes, if available |
ACT
Plan for and request your leave
Download and review the leave planning worksheet to help you plan your parental leave.
Then do the following:
- Determine your employment program and its provisions for parental leave
- Decide how much time off work you will want or need
- Determine the kind of paid leave you may be eligible to use such as annual leave, sick leave, accrued compensatory time, personal holiday, etc.
- Determine your current leave balances and your monthly leave accrual rates (record these on the worksheet). If your department uses the Online Work/Leave System (OWLS), you can view your current leave balances and leave accrual rates in Employee Self-Service (ESS). Otherwise, contact your department leave coordinator to determine your leave balances.
- Calculate your future leave accrual to estimate your total leave balances when your leave will begin (record on the worksheet)
- If you are pregnant, your supervisor may ask that you submit certification from your your health care provider regarding the amount of the time off work you will need to recover from pregnancy related temporary disability.
Use the worksheet to calculate the amount of paid time off work you expect to have when your parental leave starts. Plan your request for time off with this information in mind. Note whether you will need to intersperse paid leave to maintain health insurance coverage and plan your leave use accordingly.
Follow your unit’s leave request procedures to request parental leave.
If you need help determining your leave eligibility, you can talk to your department’s administrator or the Human Resources Consultant (HRC) for your department.
EXPLORE
There are many resources available that help parents. The following resources may be of interest.
- Childcare
- UW webpages describing childcare options and resources
- Nannyshare
- A free service that helps parents who are UW faculty, staff and students to collaborate to share nanny employment or responsibilities
- Looking for a babysitter? See the Caregiver Directory
- The Caregiver Directory lists UW community members who are seeking caregiving employment (on a full-time, part-time, short-term, or intermittent basis) and those who are looking for caregivers.
- Lactation Stations
- If you are a breast-feeding mother, and attending school or working at the UW, you'll be glad to know about the many on-site lactation stations
- Flexible Work Arrangements
- Flexible work arrangements can help you balance work and personal commitments, while meeting business needs and objectives.
- UW CareLink
- UW CareLink is the University’s employee assistance program. It provides in person assessment and short-term confidential counseling for issues that cause concern including, relationships, family and parenting, finances, etc. UW CareLink is available to you, your housemates and dependents. This free, confidential service provides up to three sessions/issue.
A prospective parent is generally covered by the FMLA if the employee has worked for UW or the State of Washington at least 60 % FTE for at least one year, and has not already used the annual 12 week FMLA leave entitlement.
Specifically, a prospective parent is covered by the FMLA if the employee has 12 months of cumulative state service,
has worked for the state for at least 1,250 hours, including overtime, in the 12 months immediately preceding the date the FMLA leave will begin. and has not already used the current year's 12 week FMLA leave entitlement.
