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Leave & Holidays

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recognizes that it is important for employees to have time away from work. Review the information below for more details about our leave programs.

UNC-Chapel Hill Holiday Schedule for 2023-2024:

HOLIDAY 2023 2024
New Year’s Day Mon., Jan. 2 Mon., Jan. 1
Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Mon., Jan. 16 Mon., Jan 15
Spring Holiday Fri., April 7 Fri., Mar. 29
Memorial Day Mon., May 29 Mon., May 27
Independence Day Tues., July 4 Thurs., July 4
Labor Day Mon., Sept. 4 Mon., Sept. 2
Thanksgiving Thurs., Nov. 23 and
Fri., Nov. 24		 Thurs., Nov. 28 and
Fri., Nov. 29
Winter Holiday Break Mon., Dec. 25 –
Thurs. Dec. 28*		 Wed., Dec. 25 –
Mon., Dec. 30*
University Closed** Fri., Dec. 29** Tues., Dec. 31**

*Dec. 28, 2023 and Dec. 30, 2024, represent the Veteran’s Day Holiday.

**Update on University Closed Days: In order to provide additional flexibility for employees, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 and Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, will be optional work days for employees as opposed to University Closed days, where they would be required to use leave.

UNC employees who wish to work on these days must coordinate with and receive prior approval from their supervisor to do so. For those who receive approval to work, please note that campus services will in general be operating at normal holiday closure levels.

If you have any questions about the holiday schedule, please contact the Benefits & Leave Administration Unit in the Office of Human Resources at 919-962-3071. UNC Health employees may follow a different holiday schedule than the University.

The University recognizes that not all employees share the same beliefs or celebrate the same holidays. As such, an employee can request to exchange the paid Spring Holiday (Good Friday) or Winter Holidays (Christmas) for another religious holiday within the employee’s religious faith, provided that meaningful work can be accomplished by the employee on the University’s regularly scheduled holiday.

The unscheduled religious holiday and the University’s scheduled holiday must occur in the same calendar year. Alternatively, employees may also use available vacation, bonus, or other available paid time off to take leave on the unscheduled religious holiday.

For more details, view the Alternate Holidays section of the Holiday & Holiday Pay Policy.

For TIM instructions, go to the Training and Development page of the finance.unc.edu website:

  • Scroll to the Other Finance Training section.
  • Click the TIM tab.
  • Scroll to the TIM Administrators and Manager Instructor-Led Training Resources section.
  • Click the document titled Alternate Holiday Religious Observance in TIM.
The University recognizes the importance of community involvement and encourages employees to participate in volunteer activities by providing flexibility in work schedules and paid leave opportunities. Community Service Leave (CSL) is a paid time off program for participation in the educational process of children through the high school level and to support other community service volunteer activities for non-profit organizations.

Learn More about Community Service Leave

The University makes available a variety of leave programs for employees including:

In accordance with Governor Cooper’s June 6 Executive Order 262, UNC System President Hans and Chancellor Guskiewicz have authorized UNC-Chapel Hill to provide paid Personal Observance Leave to ensure that University employees have an opportunity to observe days of personal, cultural or religious importance.

This leave will be available for SHRA and EHRA Non-Faculty staff and for faculty who earn leave. Full-time employees will receive eight (8) hours of Personal Observance Leave each calendar year. Part-time employees who work at least half-time will receive a prorated amount based on their number of hours compared to a full-time schedule. Temporary employees, interns, and contractors are not eligible for Personal Observance Leave.

Personal Observance Leave is available to eligible employees annually on a calendar-year basis and must be taken by the end of that calendar year; it cannot be carried into the next calendar year. All eight (8) hours of this leave must be used in one work shift.

For more details, view the full policy on Personal Observance Leave and the campus message from the Vice Chancellor.

Vacation & Sick Leave for faculty

Twelve-month faculty are entitled to 24 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year. The amount of annual leave is adjusted proportionately for part-time faculty members in covered positions who work half-time or more. Leave is earned on a monthly basis. The monthly earnings amount is equal to one-twelfth of the annual leave accrual rate for each month the faculty member works or is on an approved least with pay at least half the working days of the month.

Nine-month faculty members do not earn either vacation or sick leave. They are eligible for paid serious illness and parental leave (see Leave of Absence section for additional details).

Learn more about leave for faculty on the Faculty Leaves webpage.

Vacation & Sick Leave for SHRA Employees

Permanent employees regularly scheduled to work at least 20 or more hours per week, and who are in pay status for at least one-half of the working days in a month, including holidays, are eligible to earn leave. Permanent full-time employees (40 hours per week) earn vacation and sick leave according to the chart below. Employees who work less than 40 hours per week earn leave on a pro-rated basis according to the number of scheduled work hours each week.

Years of Service
Vacation Leave
Annual Accrual
Sick Leave
Annual Accruals
 0-5
112 hours
96 hours
5-10
136 hours
96 hours
10-15
160 hours
96 hours
15-20
184 hours
96 hours
20+
208 hours
96 hours

 

Vacation & Sick Leave for EHRA Non-Faculty Employees

EHRA Non-Faculty Employees are entitled to 24 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year. The amount of annual leave is adjusted proportionately for part-time employees in covered positions who work half-time or more. Leave shall be earned on a monthly basis. The monthly earnings amount is equal to one-twelfth of the annual leave accrual rate for each month the employee works or is on an approved leave with pay at least half the working days of the month.

The Chancellor, Provost, Deans and Directors of major centers who are classified as EHRA Non-Faculty Tier 1 Senior Academic and Administrative Officers are entitled to 26 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year.

The University has a voluntary “Shared Leave” program that allows one employee to assist another employee in the case of a prolonged medical condition that exhausts the employee’s available leave and would otherwise force the employee to be placed in leave without pay status, resulting in a loss of income and benefits.