Vacation leave is earned each pay period and credited on the last day of that pay period. There is no waiting period for using vacation leave. An employee may only use vacation leave that has been credited into his or her balance.
All requests for vacation leave should be submitted by the employee to the appropriate supervisor as far in advance as possible, with vacation leave being taken only after approval has been received. Approval of the dates on which an employee wishes to take vacation leave shall be at the discretion of the supervisor.
Vacation leave is typically used for the purpose of going on vacation; however, it may also be used for personal business. In unusual or unavoidable situations, your supervisor may require you to take a portion of your vacation leave at a specified time.
Regardless of the amount of vacation leave originally approved by your supervisor, vacation leave may be used only in the amount necessary to bring you to your regular FTE, not to exceed the 40-hour workweek. An employee who uses vacation leave in an amount which is less than a full hour shall be charged to the closest quarter of an hour.
Effective July 1, 2013, UF policy allows vacation-accruing employees to request usage of up to 160 hours (4 weeks) of vacation leave upon notice of termination from UF. This is in addition to the leave cashout (up to the maximum for the individual salary plan) the employee may receive upon separation. Work with your department in advance when requesting this leave.
USPS Employees
For USPS employees, the rate of vacation leave accrual increases with years of service. Part-time employees earn vacation leave in proportion to the amount of time worked during each pay period; their rate of accrual, while prorated, also increases based on years of service.
| Creditable service | Hours earned each biweekly pay period |
| Up to 5 years | 4 (approx. 13 days per year) |
| 5 to 10 years | 5 (approx. 16 days per year) |
| Over 10 years | 6 (approx. 19 days per year) |
USPS employees may accrue vacation leave throughout the year. However, any vacation leave hours over 240 that are not used by the end of the calendar year will convert to sick leave. Hours converted will also include accruals for that pay period.
USPS employees who separate from university employment will be paid for any unused vacation leave up to a lifetime maximum of 200 hours. If you transfer to a leave-accruing position within the University of Florida, your vacation leave balance will be transferred.
Should you be recalled by the university within 365 days after a formal layoff, you will have all unpaid vacation leave restored and any vacation leave paid at time of layoff shall be restored upon repayment.
TEAMS Employees and Vacation Leave-Accruing Faculty
Full-time TEAMS employees and vacation leave accruing faculty typically will accrue vacation leave at a rate of 6.769 hours biweekly, approximately 22 days per year, or a number of hours that is directly proportionate to the number of hours you are in pay status during less than a full pay period.
If you are a part-time TEAMS employee or a part-time vacation-leave accruing faculty, you will accrue vacation leave in proportion to the amount of time worked during each pay period. If you are on an academic appointment (39 weeks) or are a P.K. Yonge employee, you normally will not accrue vacation leave.
TEAMS employees and vacation leave-accruing faculty members may accumulate vacation leave throughout the year. However, any vacation leave hours over 352 (480 for faculty members covered by the collective bargaining unit agreement) that are not used by the end of the calendar year will convert to sick leave. Hours converted will also include accruals for that pay period. Upon separation from UF or transferring to an OPS position, TEAMS employees and vacation leave-accruing faculty will be paid for up to a lifetime maximum of 200 hours (352 for faculty members covered by the collective bargaining unit agreement, see Leave Entitlement & Cashout Chart) of any unused vacation leave. If you transfer to a vacation leave-accruing position within the University of Florida, your vacation leave balance will be transferred.
Note: All hours up to the lifetime maximum must be cashed out
TEAMS Vacation Leave December Cash-Out Option
ONLY TEAMS employees may elect to cash-out up to 16 hours (per FTE) of vacation leave during the month of December so long as the employee will have a remaining balance of at least 40 hours (per FTE) of vacation leave. Vacation leave cashed out as part of the TEAMS December vacation leave cash-out does not apply toward the lifetime maximum vacation cash-out.
TEAMS Employment and DROP
Employees who join the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP) have the option to cash out vacation leave within 30 days of joining DROP up to the pay plan’s maximum allowable hours—200 hours for TEAMS, USPS, and Executive Service employees. Upon retirement from DROP, the employee is only eligible to cash out the remaining of the maximum allowable hours less the number of hours that were cashed out when the employee enrolled into DROP. The maximum allowable hours is based on the pay plan in which the employee was in when enrolled into DROP.
Leave Payout through the Special Pay Plan
The Special Pay Plan is a mandatory retirement plan available to salaried (non-OPS) employees for sick and vacation payments at the time of separation.