Leaves and Sabbaticals

Leaves and Sabbaticals

Academic and Staff employees are eligible for a variety of types of leaves, both paid and unpaid. Whether you are expecting a child, are facing your own or a family member's serious medical issue, or you are ready for a sabbatical, we are here to help answer your questions and facilitate the process.

The first step to initiate a leave is to complete a short form:

Request a Leave

 

Browse the tabs below to learn more about the types of leaves available to UC Employees or contact our HR Coordinator for more information.

Sabbaticals

Sabbaticals must be requested in the Fall semester for the following academic Fall term. Contact the Academic Personnel Coordinator for sabbatical credits and more information about eligibility. The form required can be found under forms on the right sidebar resources tab on this webpage or may be requested by emailing the Academic Personnel Coordinator.

There are two types of sabbatical:

  • Regular sabbatical: Regular sabbatical leave provides salary at varying percentages of regular salary, depending on the amount of accrued sabbatical leave credit and option elected by the faculty member. A faculty on regular sabbatical leave is excused from all regular duties to focus on full-time research and/or study.
  • Sabbatical in Residence: Sabbatical leave in residence at the University may be granted to a faculty member who is eligible for a regular sabbatical and who, in addition to a program of research and/or study, will teach at the University of California. A faculty member on sabbatical leave in residence who meets this teaching requirement shall be freed from all other teaching obligations and from all committee and administrative work.

Read the full policy in the Academic Personnel Manual (APM)

ASMD

Active service-modified duties is a period during which normal duties are reduced so that an academic appointee may prepare for and/or care for a newborn child or a child under age five newly placed for adoption or foster care. For ladder-rank faculty, the modification of duties normally will be either partial or full relief from teaching. To be eligible for active service-modified duties, an academic appointee must be responsible for 50 percent or more of the care of a child. The child may be the appointee’s child or that of a spouse or domestic partner. An appointee is eligible for a period of active service-modified duties for each event of birth or placement. The birth or placement of one or more children at the same time constitutes a single event of birth or placement. Eligibility for a period of active service-modified duties shall normally extend from 3 months prior to 12 months following the birth or placement.

To requests ASMD, please contact the Department Chair. The form required can be found under forms on the right sidebar resources tab on this webpage or may be requested by emailing the Academic Personnel Coordinator.

Read the full policy in the Academic Personnel Manual (APM)

Leave Without Pay (including Industry Leaves)

An alternative form of leave is industrial leave without pay. This form of leave is appropriate when a faculty member wants to work for an outside commercial entity for some limited period of time. It is the appropriate way to engage in business formation if a faculty member's outside activities exceed the 20% (one day per week) guideline established by University policy. Faculty members have also taken leave without pay to accept payment for teaching and administrative duties at other institutions of higher learning.

A faculty member's request for a one year industrial leave without pay will normally be approved by the Chair and Dean if the Chair is able to cover the faculty member’s teaching obligations, subject to the limits on duration and frequency described above. Extensions beyond one year require the approval of the Vice Provost for the Faculty.

NOTE: leaves without pay have implications for the individual's retirement. It is the responsibility of faculty members to understand these implications.

To request a LWOP, complete the leave request form (found in the Resources tab located on the right sidebar).

Graduate student employees are responsible for reporting absences from campus and any missed work assignments to the faculty member in charge or to the Student Services Manager, La Shana Porlaris. If an absence is unexpected (i.e., due to a sudden illness or accident) or will be for an extended period the La Shana must be notified in a timely manner so that alternate arrangements can be made to limit impact.

ASEs may also be eligible for various paid and unpaid leaves, including military leave, short-term family-related leaves, long-term family-related leaves, bereavement, and jury duty. Please refer to the UC-UAW Agreement.

GSRs are eligible for Childbirth Accommodation Leave, which provides for six weeks of paid leave for pregnancy disability, childbirth, and related medical conditions; GSRs who give birth are eligible for an additional two weeks of unpaid leave for baby bonding provided such unpaid leave does not extend beyond the date of appointment.

GSRs are also eligible for three days of paid bereavement leave, and four weeks of paid leave due to the GSR’s serious health condition, to care for a family member who has a serious health condition, or to care for and bond with a newborn child or an adopted/foster child; the GSR may be approved for an additional two weeks of unpaid leave provided such unpaid leave does not extend beyond the date of the appointment. For any questions regarding this policy, please contact the Academic Personnel Office at appolicy@berkeley.edu.

The Childbirth paid leaves described above may be combined for a maximum of six (6) weeks of paid leave during the academic year. Occasionally a graduate student may request a medical leave or a childbirth leave during their ASE or GSR appointment, and a variety of resources are available to assist the student parent and the department during and after the leave.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for the following reasons:

  • The birth of a child or placement of a child for adoption or foster care
  • To bond with a child (leave must be taken within one year of the child’s birth or placement)
  • To care for the employee’s spouse, child, or parent who has a qualifying serious health condition
  • For the employee’s own qualifying serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform the employee’s job
  • For qualifying exigencies related to the foreign deployment of a military member who is the employee’s spouse, child, or parent.

Pregnancy Disability Leave

The California Fair Employment and Housing Act provides up to four months (88 work days) leave during the time a woman is actually disabled and unable to perform her job due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Staff-Specific Leaves

Browse the list of all available staff leaves.

Administrative Leaves

The following administrative leaves are covered with pay (no use of accruals, PTO, or Compensatory Time Off (CTO) needed).

  • University Meetings
    • A non-exempt employee may take leave with pay during regularly scheduled work hours to attend University meetings or functions designated by the Chancellor.
  • Donating Blood
    • Non-exempt employees may also take up to 2 hours of administrative leave to donate blood.
  • Voting
    • A non-exempt employee can take up to a maximum of 2 hours with pay to vote in a statewide primary or general election if the employee does not have time to vote outside of working hours.
  • Jury Duty and Grand Jury Duty
    • Exempt employees on any work schedule may take administrative leave with pay for work days spent on jury duty, not to exceed the pay for the employee's normal work day, and the employee's normal work week
    • Nonexempt career employees on any shift or work schedule may take administrative leave with pay for actual time spent on jury duty and in related travel, not to exceed the pay for the employee's normal work day, and the employee's normal work week.
  • Professional Development Activities
    • A regular status (career or contract) employee whose performance is satisfactory or better is eligible in general for 80 hours (nonexempt) or 10 workdays (exempt) paid release time per calendar year for professional development. The Department Manager then approves the leave subject to scheduling, staffing, and budget considerations.

Leaves With and Without Pay

All leaves with the exception of paid administrative leaves, require use of accrual balances to be a paid leave. Approved eligible leaves can be taken without pay if the employee does not have enough accruals to cover the leave period.

Catastrophic Leave Sharing Program

The University of California, Berkeley offers a Catastrophic Leave-Sharing Program to give staff and academic employees a chance to support their colleagues who are facing a major health crisis, whether their own or that of a family member. The program allows employees to provide assistance in the form of donated vacation leave. It was developed as part of campus efforts to create a caring environment, and because many members of the campus community have expressed a desire to assist their co-workers in this way. While the program establishes a mechanism for leave transfers, participation is entirely voluntary.