Holiday Schedule for Faculty and Staff

Melissa Curry, Interim Vice President for Human Resource Services

In keeping with past practice, the university will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 24-25, for the Thanksgiving holiday. While classes have been cancelled Wednesday, November 23, the university will remain open. In addition to the November holidays, observance of other official holidays during this season will occur on December 26 (Christmas, observed) and January 2 (New Year’s Day, observed).  The university also will be closed for the holiday period of December 27 through December 30, 2022. The holiday closing period is designed to offer departments the flexibility to close or significantly reduce staffing during the holiday season. The university will reopen Tuesday, January 3, 2022.

Because the observance of Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays during this season will occur on Monday, December 26, and Monday, January 2, employees scheduled to work Sunday, December 25, or Sunday, January 1, should work with their supervisors to determine their expected work schedule and any needed adjustments.  

UF vice presidents — working with deans, directors and department chairs — will determine which employees are considered essential personnel and will therefore be required to work to support campus operations during this period. For planning purposes, we recommend that you initiate discussions to determine to what extent departments and work units will be closed during the holiday closing period, identify those employees who will be designated “essential” and share this information with employees in your area. Please note, essential personnel for this holiday period are not necessarily the same personnel who may be required to work during a campus emergency.

All TEAMS employees, 12-month Academic Personnel and postdoctoral associates will be credited with four personal leave days in December to be used during the period of December 27–30. Eligible employees who are considered “essential” and are required to work between December 27–30 may have their work schedules adjusted to use their four personal days within the timeframe of December 2, 2022, through June 30, 2023, based on departmental needs.

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 enough accrued 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 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.

The UF Veterinary Hospitals will remain open the entire holiday period. In addition, all clinical activities within the College of Medicine and UF Health Shands will remain open for patient care. This includes all Shands functions, UF Health Physicians practices, and UF Health Jacksonville practices and clinical activities. UF 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 holiday closing period.  The College of Dentistry clinics will be closed November 24–25 as well as during the closing period of December 26 through January 2.

Additional information on the holiday closing period, as well as the holiday schedule for 2022 and 2023, may be found on UFHR’s website at: https://benefits.hr.ufl.edu/time-away/holidays/. For more information, please contact Leave Administration at (352) 392-2477 or central-leave@ufl.edu.

We hope you have a safe and wonderful holiday season!