This is an important update to the 2019 holiday calendar previously distributed to System Office employees on September 20, 2018, so please review this memorandum carefully.
The State Human Resources Act provides that all State employees are granted 12 paid holidays per year and the UNC System Office, like all of our constituent Universities, adheres to this provision. However, the University is permitted flexibility as far as when specific holidays are scheduled. In addition, all our constituent Universities have utilized their flexibility to declare certain days during the December winter break as “closed days” in addition to paid holidays. This is in response to an overwhelming number of employees at our constituent universities as well as the System Office choosing to take off during these days using accrued leave.
For this reason, the System Office has made the decision to align with existing practice at our constituent Universities and close for a full week during the 2019 Winter Break, which would fall between Monday, December 23, 2019, and Friday, December 27, 2019. During this period, three days are already designated as paid holidays (December 24, 25, and 26) and two days (December 23 and 27), which are not covered as paid holidays, will now be designated as “closed days.”
During these designated closed days, all System Office employees will be required to use either vacation leave, bonus leave, or accrued compensatory time. In addition to drawing on accrued leave, supervisors are also asked to permit flexible scheduling immediately prior to these dates to provide employees with the opportunity to cover the closed days if they lack sufficient accrued leave. By closing for these added two days, the goal is to allow all but essential employees to enjoy the full week off without supervisors having to mandate that certain employees provide routine coverage. New Year’s Day (January 1, 2020) continues to be handled as a paid holiday and requires no use of leave. The full holiday schedule for 2019 is on the Human Resource website for your reference.
The North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA) will be exempt from the designated closed days due to externally facing client needs and essential business operations. Likewise, UNC-TV leadership may designate a limited number of staff members as essential to critical operations during the holidays and exempt these employees from the two closed days. However, for all other System Office and UNC-TV employees, the closed days are mandatory.
Employees may use vacation leave, bonus leave, or accrued compensatory time to cover the designated closed days. Employees hired between December 1 through December 16, 2019, will accrue leave for the month of December and therefore can use this leave to cover the close days on December 23 and 27.
Human Resources has prepared a set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide more details regarding the designated closed days.
Spangler and CSLD employees may contact Assistant Vice President for Benefits Ashley Nicklis at 919-843-4869 or atnicklis@northcarolina.edu for additional information. UNC-TV employees should contact UNC-TV Human Resources Manager Anne Schwarz at 919-549-7077 or aschwarz@unctv.org for assistance.