Annual Leave

You must be continuously employed for six calendar months before you can use annual leave (the qualifying period). Leave accrues from your first day of employment but cannot be used or advanced before the qualifying period is complete. A break in service, meaning a gap in employment of more than five working days, resets the qualifying period.

Leave accrues at the end of each bi-weekly pay period and is not accrued during periods of leave without pay. Part-time positions accrue at a prorated rate.  

Fiscal year faculty & academic administrators: 14 hours per calendar month 

Staff, non-academic administrators & temporary employees, based on years of continuous service:  

• 0–10 years: 15 working days per year 

• 10–15 years: 18 working days per year 

• 15–20 years: 21 working days per year 

• 20+ years: 24 working days per year 

You may accumulate up to two times your annual leave earning rate. Credits above that cap must be used by March 31 of the following year or they are forfeited. If your supervisor denies a written request to use excess leave before March 31, your leave is not forfeited. Submit a copy of the denied request to HRS to ensure retention of those hours.

Leave dates are determined by agreement between you and your supervisor, with regard to the needs of both the university and the employee. Leave cannot be taken retroactively. If needed, leave without pay may be used to extend vacation leave with prior supervisor approval.

Employees who have completed the six-month qualifying period and separate from the university in good standing are entitled to a cash payout for unused annual leave at their rate of pay at the time of termination. If you transfer to another UM department or MUS unit without a break in service, accrued leave transfers with you.

Employees called for jury or witness duty may elect to take annual leave during that period and retain any court-paid fees. Alternatively, they may receive their regular university pay by forwarding any witness or juror fees to HRS within three working days of receipt.

With your supervisor's approval, an absence due to illness may be charged to annual leave after all sick leave has been exhausted.

Possibly. Prior employment with the Montana University System, State of Montana, or a Montana county, city, or school district may be credited toward your accrual rate. Submit a written request with documentation to HRS. Credit does not adjust your balance retroactively. The adjusted rate applies beginning the first pay period after HRS receives acceptable documentation.