Miscellaneous Benefits

If you work at least 1,000 hours per year in an appointed position, you earn annual leave. If you are not full-time, but work more than 1,000 hours per year, you earn annual leave in amounts proportionate to the time worked.

Annual leave is cumulative. You cannot have accrued a total of more than 240 hours leave on January 1 of each year. Your total leave may exceed240 hours during the year, but any amount over 30 days is lost if not used by December 31 of each year.

If you are transferring, without a break in service, between state agencies and/or state-supported institutions of higher education which are covered by these policies, you retain all accumulated annual leave if the position you're transferring into is eligible for annual leave.

Requests to use annual leave must be in advance and approved by your supervisor. Your supervisor has the right to refuse leave requests at any time when your absence makes it difficult for your work unit to function properly.

Annual leave must be earned before it can be used. You may not borrow from amounts expected to be earned, and you may not use annual leave earned by other employees. You continue to earn annual leave at your normal earning rate when you are on a paid leave status.

You do not earn annual leave during a month when you are on leave without pay for ten or more days or an equivalent portion if your appointment is less than 100%.

You are paid a lump sum amount for earned but unused annual leave (not to exceed 30 days) when terminating employment with the University.

Classified Employees

Years of employment, as listed in the table above, mean total years of state employment. In figuring your annual leave earning rates, any seniority you may have as a rehired employee is given for completed years of service only. For example, if you worked for a total of two years and ten months before leaving. After a period of time, you are rehired and will then be eligible to receive credit for completed years of prior service. In this case, the credit would be two years. After one more year is completed, you would be eligible to advance tot he higher earning rate on the timetable.

Non-Classified Employees

Non-classified staff earn annual leave at the rate of fifteen (15) hours per month.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Leave of absence without pay may be granted to employees of the University for the following reasons:

• Extended absences in the interest of the University
• Necessary absences due to a serous medical condition of yourself, your spouse, or an immediate family member, disability, or personal reasons, when such absences extend beyond available earned vacation and sick leave.
• Birth, placement of child in foster care or adoption of a child (limited to 12 weeks).
• Military Leave.
• For disciplinary reasons.
• Leave of absence without pay cannot be granted until all annual leave has been used, except in cases of birth or adoption leave, disciplinary action, military leave.

Leave of absence without pay cannot exceed six (6) continuous months unless the Chancellor grants approval.

You will not earn annual or sick leave if you are on leave without pay for ten (10) or more days during a calendar month. You will not be paid for official University holidays while on leave without pay.

Requests for leave without pay must be made to and approved by your department head.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Any employee serving as a witness or juror shall be entitled to your regular University pay in addition to any fees paid by the court for your services or necessary appearances, and your absences from work will not be counted as annual leave. You should return to work as soon as your services are no longer needed by the court.

When your service on a jury would cause a hardship to the operation of your work unit, the Chancellor may petition the judge, in writing, asking that you be excused from jury duty. However, if the request is denied or no response is received before the date your jury duty is to begin, you must report for jury duty.

If your service as a witness can be handled by the taking of a deposition rather than court appearance, the deposition is preferable. Depositions or statements which involve the University may be taken during working hours. All others should be handled on personal time.

If you are accepted by the court as an expert witness and are paid a fee in excess of the normal witness fee, you will be required to take annual leave for the time needed for your testimony.

If you are involved in personal litigation or are a paid witness in a case outside the scope if your University employment, you will be required to take annual leave.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Educational leave is a period of training during which time you pursue a regular full-time course of instruction to acquire a specific skill which is beneficial to the University.

Educational leave may be granted to appointed employees with or without pay and must be approved by the Chancellor.

If you are paid a salary and/or funds for the cost of training during a period of educational leave, you will be required to work for the University for a period of time as statutorily required, or in the absence of a specific law, at least twice the length of the course of training. You will be required to sign a written contract setting forth all terms of an agreement for educational leave. You will retain all rights to the position you held at the time the leave was granted or to a comparable position.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Eligibility Information

To verify eligibility and obtain additional discount information please contact the Treasurer office:

Eligibility: If you work at least 1,000 hours per year in a regular appointed position, you earn sick leave. You earn sick leave at rates proportional to rates of time worked if you work less than full-time but more than 1,000 hours per year. You do not earn sick leave if you work less than 1,000 hours per year.

Accrual: You earn sick leave at the rate of one day for each complete month of work. You cannot have more than 120 days of accrued sick leave on January 1 of each year. Your total sick leave may exceed 120 days during the year, but any amounts over 120 days will be lost if not used by December 31 of each year. You may donate some sick leave accrual in excess of 120 days to the Catastrophic Leave Program if you wish. If you work less than full-time but more than 1,000 hours per year, you earn sick  leave in the same proportion to your time worked.

You do not earn sick leave for the month when you are on leave without pay for more than ten days (or 80 hours) or an equvvalent proportaion if your appointment is less than 100%.

You continue to earn sick leave at the normal rate when you are on a paid leave status.

Sick leave is granted on the basis of workdays, not calendar days. Non workdays, such as holidays and weekends, are not charged to sick leave.

Use: Sick leave is used for the following purposes only:

• Inability to work because of mental or physical illness, injury, or medical, dental, or optical treatment for you or your family.
• Death or serious illness of an immediate family member. Immediate family means spouse, child, father, mother, grandchild, grandparents, sister, brother, in-laws, or any individual acting as a parent or guardian of an employee.
• Supplement to Workers' Compensation. If you are entitled to Workers Compensation benefits, and are absent from work due to temporary work injury or illness, you may use your sick leave as a supplement. The combination of Workers' Compensation benefits and sick leave pay cannot equal more than your normal salary.

Application and Approval: Requests to use sick leave for medical, dental, or optical examinations, hospital stays, funerals, etc. should be made in advance.

Whenever you fail to report to work at your regularly scheduled time because of illness, you must notify (or have someone notify) your supervisor within the first hour of the workday. Notification must be made the first day and each subsequent day.

Return to work with Medical Restrictions: If you have been recuperating from an injury, an illness, or surgery and your doctor approves your return to work but places medical restrictions on your work effort, the University will make every effort to reasonably accommodate the restrictions. Your supervisor must review the restrictions to determine whether you can successfully carry out your responsibilities within the limits of the restrictions established.

Your physician may be contacted to obtain information regarding your "return-to-work restrictions." The University Health Center may also be used for second opinion consultation when necessary.

You should give your supervisor as much notice as possible when returning to duty after an extended absence due to injury, illness or surgery.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Maternity leave will be treated as any other leave for sickness or disability, except that an employee who is unable to work because of pregnancy may elect to take leave of absence without pay without exhausting accumulated annual leave and sick leave. Up on return from maternity leave, the employee will be given the same position or a position comparable to the one she occupied prior to the leave. The employee is expected to give her supervisor as much notice as possible prior to beginning maternity leave and at least two weeks notice prior to returning to work. Both notices must be in writing.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

Act 160 of 1991 authorized the establishment of a Catastrophic Leave Bank Program for State of Arkansas agencies. The Catastrophic Leave Bank Program allows eligible employees to donate annual leave and sick leave to assist eligible University employees through medical emergencies, injuries, and illnesses after they exhaust all of their earned sick leave, annual leave, holiday, and compensatory time due to a catastrophic illness or injury incurred by the employee of a qualifying family member (spouse, parent, or dependent* child). Subject to policies developed by the Office of Personnel Management, the specifics of the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Catastrophic Leave Bank Program are:

Definition of Catastrophic Illness: A medical condition of an employee or a qualifying family member (spouse, parent, or dependent* child) as certified by a physician which requires an employee's absence from duty for a prolonged period of time and which results in a substantial loss of income for the employee because of the exhaustion of all earned sick, annual, holiday, and compensatory leave time. The State defines a medical condition as a personal emergency limited to catastrophic and debilitating medical situations, severely complicated disabilities and severe accident cases which cause the employee to be incapacitated, require a prolonged period of recuperation and require the employee's absence from duty as documented by a physician.

Eligibility Requirements: To be considered for benefits under the program , the employee must:

Donation Drive: A donation drive is generally held each November at the University where active 100% appointed employees may donate up to 32 hours of combined vacation and sick leave hours to the Bank. Terminating employees may donate up to 32 hours of combined vacation and sick leave hours at the time of termination. Donations can only be made in one (1) hour increments, and an employee may not donate over a maximum of 32 hours of combined vacation and sick hours per plan year. An employee may not donate to the Bank if such a donation will reduce their combined accrued sick and annual leave balances to less than 80 hours. Donations are strictly voluntary and one need not donate to be eligible to receive a Catastrophic award. The Chancellor reserves the right to extend the donation period and the maximum amount of hours an employee may donate on a case-by-case basis.

*A child who may be claimed as a dependent under the Arkansas Income Tax Act of 1929.

For more info please contact 575-7618.

There are twelve official University holidays per year. If you are a full time appointed employee, you are entitled to observe these holidays at full pay. If you are a one-half time or greater employee, your holiday pay will be proportionate to the time worked. You must be in a paid status the workday before the holiday and the workday after the holiday.

Non-Student, regular hourly employees are eligible for pay for University holidays equivalent to the number of hours per day they usually work. Providing they work their scheduled day before and their scheduled day after the University holiday and they regularly work 20 hours or more per week.

In addition, if the Governor proclaims any other holiday for state employees, the University will grant that day or another day off.

Holidays which occur on a Saturday (except December 25) will be observed the proceeding Friday. When December 25 occurs on Saturday, the following Monday is observed.

Holidays which occur on a Sunday (except December 24) are observed the following Monday. When December 24 occurs on a Sunday, the proceeding Friday is observed.

If you are assigned an unusual work schedule which requires you to work on regularly scheduled holidays, you may be granted time off on another date, or if eligible, you may be compensated according to the Federal Fair Labor Standards regulations. The choice is subject to your supervisor's approval.

Click Here for the Current Holiday Schedule

For more info please contact 575-7618.

The Employee Development Program seeks to develop and maintain an on-going schedule of training for personal and professional development. For more information contact HR.Training@uark.edu at 575-5351.

The Dual Career Employment Network is designed to be responsive to the needs of dual-career families relocating to Northwest Arkansas.

The program's goal is to inform the community of the availability of talented professionals as well as serve as a resource of employment opportunities for relocating partners (clients). The University of Arkansas administers the Dual Career Employment Network. A Coordinator in University of Arkansas Human Resources manages the program. The program is co-sponsored by the University of Arkansas and NOARK (Northwest Arkansas Human Resource Association).

For further information please see the Dual Career Employment Network Page or contact:

Medical Services

Our medical clinic provides outpatient care including acute care for illness or injuries, preventive care and urgent care.

CAPS - Counseling and Psychological Services

Professional counseling for developmental concerns, life stresses, and psychiatric illnesses is provided by Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

Services are also provided for severe depression, relationship problems, intense anxiety, chemical dependency and eating disorders. While the emphasis is on time-limited treatment, usually ten sessions or less, service may be extended for those who require additional care. Therapy is offered for individuals, couples and families. Several therapy groups are offered each semester as well.

Travel Clinic

The University Health Center offers a comprehensive Travel Clinic which includes immunization for Yellow Fever, Typhoid Fever, Cholera, Hepatitis A &; B, Tetanus, and Diphtheria, as well as TB testing and Malaria Prophylaxes.

The Travel Clinic also offers important information about health conditions and appropriate management strategies while traveling overseas.

For more information contact:

Pat Walker Health Center
525 North Garland
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701

Phone: (479) 575-4451
Fax: (479) 575-7438

TTY: (479) 575-4124 (Hearing Impaired)