Skip to main

Interested in taking off the summer or winter?

Temporarily trade out money for time

With your supervisor’s approval, you could take unpaid leave for up to an entire season. Whether you’re interested in spending time with family, traveling or you have another goal for how to spend a season, it could be an option for you.

This temporary flexible work arrangement is available during defined eligible time periods in summer and winter. Consider your work responsibilities during these seasons, and you might discuss this possibility with your supervisor if you both expect less work volume during these periods.

Eligible seasons

Winter session
Sunday December 3, 2023, through Sunday, February 4, 2024

Take full-week increments off

Work with your supervisor to determine the length of this temporary arrangement

As long as you’re within the dates of the defined eligible season, you can temporarily reduce your hours for as many full-week increments as you’d like.

Which dates do you want to take leave?

Consider the impact to benefits and retirement

Because you will be in an unpaid status, you’ll temporarily lose these benefits:

  • Paid vacation, sick and holiday leave
  • All retirement savings contributions (your contributions and our employer match)
  • Health insurance

You’ll pay the full cost of your health insurance during this time when you don’t receive our health care plan credit. Plus, the monthly cost of your health insurance premium will be deducted retroactively once you return to a paid status.

Your retirement eligibility date will be farther away
Eligibility for retirement is based on your years of service. Temporarily pausing your service by taking unpaid leave makes retirement eligibility farther away.

HR Policy & Procedure #83

Holiday leave
 “An employee who is in an unpaid status on a scheduled day immediately before or after a holiday shall not be paid for the holiday."

Use our proposal writer to further the conversation with your supervisor

After your initial conversation with your supervisor, it’s time to send them a written proposal. Our form helps you write your proposal, sends it to your supervisor and copies our HR Work-Life manager for reference.

Frequently asked questions

Can multiple people in one department be approved?

How many people and who specifically is approved for seasonal flexible work, and flexible work in general, is a decision at the discretion of the immediate supervisor or division head.

Updates

November 16, 2020 Reduced hours and unpaid leave options extended through August 28, 2021

As part of our earlier COVID-19 response, we extended the eligible seasonal periods for reduced hours and unpaid leave to include fall 2020 and now we're including spring 2021.

May 5, 2020 Reduced hours and unpaid leave options for summer and winter now also available for fall

As part of our COVID-19 response, the newly extended eligible period to request reduced hours or unpaid leave is April 17, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

Flexible work

You’re eligible to request seasonal unpaid leave if you’re a regular, clinically non-essential, full-time staff employee who has successfully completed the 90-day, new hire orientation period.

Contact our office

Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
(859) 257-8763
flexiblework@uky.edu