Holiday Closing Period for 2012 and Holiday Schedule for 2013

Paula Varnes Fussell, Vice President for Human Resource Services

In keeping with past practice, the university will be closing for the holiday period of December 25, 2012, through January 1, 2013. The holiday closing period is designed to offer departments the flexibility to close or significantly reduce staffing during the holiday season. Although December 24 is not a holiday, employees may use vacation leave that day with the permission of their supervisors.

All TEAMS employees and 12-month Academic Personnel will be credited with four personal leave days this month to be used during the period of December 26 through December 31. UF vice presidents—working with deans, directors and department chairs—will determine which TEAMS employees and 12-month Academic Personnel are considered essential personnel and, therefore, will be required to work to support campus operations during this period.

The UF Veterinary Hospitals will remain open the entire holiday period. In addition, all clinical activities within the College of Medicine and Shands at UF will remain open for patient care. This includes all Shands functions, University of Florida Physicians practices, and UF Jacksonville practices and clinical activities. Health Science Center faculty, staff and students with clinic responsibilities who are assigned to the Gainesville and Jacksonville campuses must check with their respective colleges, departments and clinics to determine their work requirements during the December 26 through December 31 time period.

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.

For planning purposes, I recommend that you initiate discussions to determine to what extent departments and work units will be closed during the December 26 through December 31 time period, identify those employees who will be designated “essential” and share this information with employees in your area. Additional information on the holiday closing period, as well as the holiday schedule for 2013, may be found on the Human Resource Services website at: http://www.hr.ufl.edu/leave/holidays.asp.

For additional information, please contact Leave Administration at (352) 392-2477 or central-leave@ufl.edu.

Have a wonderful holiday season!