Leave-accruing Academic Personnel, USPS, and TEAMS employees are eligible for ten paid holidays each year. All full-time leave-accruing Academic Personnel, TEAMS, and USPS employees earn eight hours of holiday pay as long as they are in pay status for a reasonable portion of their last regularly scheduled workday before the holiday (determined by the individual department). Part-time employees are entitled to holiday time in proportion to their FTE.
Personnel receiving workers’ compensation salary indemnification payments are not entitled to holiday pay or special compensatory leave in conjunction with a holiday.
2023 Holidays
- New Year’s Day – (observed) Monday, January 2
- Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday – Monday, January 16
- Memorial Day – Monday, May 29
- Juneteenth — Monday, June 19
- Independence Day – Tuesday, July 4
- Labor Day – Monday, September 4
- Homecoming (observed) – Friday, October 6
- Veterans Day – Friday, November 10
- Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 23 & Friday, November 24
- Christmas – Monday, December 25
2024 Holidays
- New Year’s Day – Monday, January 1
- Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday – Monday, January 15
- Memorial Day – Monday, May 27
- Juneteenth – Wednesday, June 19
- Independence Day – Thursday, July 4
- Labor Day – Monday, September 2
- Homecoming (observed) – TBA
- Veterans Day – Monday, November 11
- Thanksgiving – Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29
- Christmas – Wednesday, December 25
Holiday Closing Period
Vacation-accruing Academic Personnel and TEAMS employees are eligible for four personal leave days per year (32 hours assuming full-time status). Personal leave days are intended to give flexibility to enable units to close during the December holiday closing period when possible. Certain units on campus will have to remain open; this is determined on a unit-by-unit basis by a department’s vice president or designee.
The four personal leave days will be credited to eligible Academic Personnel and TEAMS employees in the beginning of December each year; however, an Academic Personnel or a TEAMS employee must be in pay status for at least a reasonable portion of his or her last scheduled workday before December 26 (determined by the individual department) in order to be eligible to use these days off from work. An Academic Personnel or a TEAMS employee’s FTE as of December 27 should be used to determine the appropriate benefit.
Employees who will be required to work due to the nature of their job duties during this period are considered “essential.” Employees who will be off are designated “non-essential.”
- Non-essential Academic Personnel and TEAMS employees must use the personal leave days in full-day increments (an 8-hour day for full-time employees, a 4-hour day for .50 FTE employees, etc.) during the December holiday closing period, inclusive.
- Non-essential USPS employees may be required to use vacation leave or leave without pay, as appropriate. If a non-essential USPS employee does not have sufficient vacation leave to cover the time period, the employee may request advanced vacation leave and, upon request, the employee’s department is obligated to provide it.
- Essential Academic Personnel and TEAMS employees who are required to work during the December holiday closing period may use their personal leave days in any increment (at the department’s discretion) from December 1 of each year through the end of that fiscal year. Please note: In the event an Academic Personnel or TEAMS employee who is initially designated essential personnel is later determined to be non-essential after using his or her personal leave days between December 1 and 25, he or she must use vacation leave or leave without pay during the December holiday closing period.
- During the period from December 1 through the end of the fiscal year, if an employee’s time worked, holiday, and personal leave days in a workweek exceeds the employee’s FTE, then the hours for the personal leave days shall be reduced to ensure the employee is not compensated more than his or her FTE.
Departments with OPS staff may adjust work schedules either before or after the holiday break to allow OPS staff to make up work time as needed. Work hours for OPS are reported to the state of Florida/People First biweekly and are later evaluated over specific measurement periods to determine health benefits eligibility. Time off during the holiday break for OPS will result in no work hours being reported to People First for this period of time and may later impact eligibility determined by the state.
USPS employees are not eligible for the four personal leave days in December and may be required to use vacation or accrued compensatory leave during the holiday closing period if a department is closed, or upon supervisory request. In the event a USPS employee does not have accrued vacation leave to cover the period, he or she may request that vacation leave be advanced to cover that absence, in which case the department is obligated to provide such leave. The holiday closing period is the only time during which vacation leave may be advanced. USPS employees may also elect to use leave without pay during this time.
2023-24 holiday closing guidelines for USPS employees
USPS employees are not eligible for the four December personal leave days, but they may be required to use vacation or accrued compensatory leave during the holiday closing period to accommodate a department closing or upon supervisory request. In the event a USPS employee does not have vacation leave to cover the period, they may request that vacation leave be advanced to cover that absence, in which case the department is obligated to approve it. USPS employees who do not wish to be advanced vacation leave may use leave without pay during this time, in keeping with UF policy.
Beginning Friday, December 8, USPS employees may enter advanced vacation leave that will be used during the December closing period. The holiday closing period is the only time vacation leave may be advanced.
USPS employees must be in pay status (work or paid leave) for a “reasonable portion” of their last scheduled workday prior to the holiday (determined by the individual department) to be eligible to receive holiday pay for December 25. USPS employees must be in pay status (work or paid leave) for a “reasonable portion” of their last scheduled workday prior to the holiday (determined by the individual department) to be eligible to receive holiday pay for January 1, 2024.
Friday, January 5, 2024, is the last day for USPS employees to enter advanced vacation leave used during the December holiday closing period.
As in the past, USPS employees who wish to use advanced vacation leave for the holiday closing period should report all vacation leave usage in a timely manner through the Elapsed Timesheet in the myUFL system. The system will allow vacation leave balances to become negative for USPS employees beginning December 8, 2023, and will automatically prohibit vacation leave usage after January 5, 2024, until the vacation leave balance is positive again.
USPS Personal Holidays
In addition to paid holidays, permanent USPS employees receive one paid “personal holiday.” If you are a part-time USPS employee, your personal holiday is in proportion to your current FTE. A personal holiday is credited to eligible USPS employees in the beginning of each fiscal year, and it must be taken by the end of each fiscal year. It must be taken as a full day, not in hourly increments.