08.215 Holidays

Chancellor

Revised April 2018; Revised and Reformatted, January 1, 2007

UNC Policy 300.3.1[R]

Human Resources

Policy Details:

1. Purpose

   The purpose of this policy is to provide uniform guidance for University Holidays.

2. Scope

   All EHRA and SHRA employees holding permanent, probationary, trainee, and time-limited appointments are entitled to holiday time off. Temporary hourly employees do not receive paid time off on university holidays. Holidays are subsumed in the Academic Year Calendar for faculty.

3. Policy

   For EHRA and SHRA employees holding permanent, probationary, trainee, and time-limited appointments, the official university holidays are paid holidays. For temporary EHRA and SHRA employees, the official holidays are not paid holidays and such employees required to work on a university holiday are paid time and a half with no compensatory time off.

   1. Official University Holidays

      The university recognizes the following holidays each year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (two days), and Winter break (three to four days).

      Veteran’s Day holiday is included with Winter Break time off. The holiday schedule is published annually by Human Resources. When a holiday falls on Saturday, the university typically recognizes the holiday the preceding Friday. When a holiday falls on Sunday, the university typically recognizes the holiday the following Monday.

   2. Religious Holiday Exchanges

      Good Friday and Christmas Day are regarded as religious holidays. Employees wishing to observe different religious holidays may request a "holiday exchange." If operational requirements permit, the employee may work on the holiday observed by the university in exchange for a day off to accommodate a religious holiday of the employee's preference. Holiday premium is not paid in such cases. If operations do not permit working on the holiday observed by the university, the employee may take vacation leave on religious holidays of preference.

   3. Holiday Hours

      A holiday for full-time employees is eight hours per day. Part-time employees receive holidays on a prorated basis. When the university has established a work schedule where the normal workday is not eight hours (such as the established summer schedule), adjustments must be made to equalize holiday benefits. For example, when the university is observing established summer hours:

      If the July 4 holiday falls on a day when the established workday is nine hours, fulltime employees charge one hour to vacation leave or accumulated compensatory time, or otherwise work thirty- two hours on the remaining work days that week. If the July 4 holiday falls on a day when the established workday is four hours, full-time employees are given the remaining four hours off during the same week or on a later date convenient to the employee and to the department’s operating requirements.

   4. Permanent Employees Required to Work on an Official Holiday

      SHRA permanent, probationary, time limited, or trainee employees that are required to work on an official university holiday receive regular pay, holiday premium pay, and compensatory time off as noted below. If required to work, the employees will be compensated in addition to their regular pay:

      1. Holiday premium (paid at 50% of the employee’s regular hourly base pay) for each hour the employee was required to work on an official holiday, AND

      2. Either (a) Given equal time off at a later date as compensatory time for each hour worked on a holiday OR (b) If scheduling compensatory time off would result in extraordinary management inconvenience or would result in overtime pay (if wage/hour non-exempt) for job coverage, employee may receive pay in lieu of taking compensatory time off.

         EHRA non-exempt employees required to work on a holiday are given equal time off at a later date as compensatory time. EHRA exempt employees required to work on a holiday do not receive premium pay or compensatory time off.

   5. Temporary Employees Required to Work on an Official Holiday

      Temporary EHRA or SHRA employees required to work on an official university holiday are paid time and one half, with no compensatory time off.

   6. Record Keeping
      
      Holiday leave is recorded according to the guidelines in Policy 08.210, Time Keeping and Administration of Leave Programs for SHRA and EHRA Employees.