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Staff Handbook

7. Paid and Unpaid Leave
  
7.13   Leave of Absence Without Pay

(Board Policy 420.1, 420.2; Universitywide Administrative Memorandum 435.2, 435.3; AHRMS Policy Manual 105-8)

Requests for leave of absence without pay should be made to and must be approved by your department head. Leave of absence without pay may be granted to University employees for the following reasons:

  1. An extended absence, requested by the employee, which is in the best interest of the University or which the University is able to accommodate. Classified employees may be granted up to six months' leave without pay, and non-classified employees up to one year's leave with out pay. You must make a written request to the Chancellor for approval of your leave of absence without pay, if it is for any reason except those which follow.
     
  2. Necessary absences because of your or your immediate family member's serious health condition (see 7.5 Family and Medical Leave) or because of disability or personal reasons when the absence extends beyond your available earned annual and sick leave. On a case-by-case basis, unpaid leave will be considered as a form of reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals with disabilities.
     
  3. Leave for the birth or placement of a child with you for adoption or foster care (see 7.5 Family and Medical Leave and 7.6 Maternity Leave).
     
  4. Military leave that involves active duty or active duty for specialized training (see 7.8 Military Leave).
     
  5. Employees may be put on leave of absence without pay for disciplinary reasons.

You must use all of your accumulated annual leave before you take leave without pay, except when the leave qualifies as maternity leave, certain types of military leave, or when the leave is for disciplinary purposes. You will not earn annual leave or sick leave if you are on leave without pay for ten or more days during a calendar month. You will not be paid for official University holidays while you are on leave without pay.

When you are on leave without pay, you may continue to participate in the University's group insurance programs. However, you must pay the total cost (your part and the University's matching part) of your coverage for any month when you are on leave without pay for ten or more consecutive days. For those benefits provided by the University, with no employee contribution (basic life insurance and long-term disability insurance), you must pay the amount of the University's contribution or risk loss of coverage, except when those benefits are protected by FMLA regulations (see 7.5, Family and Medical Leave).

If you fail to report to work promptly at the end of an agreed-upon period of leave without pay, your employment with the University may be terminated. If there is good reason for the delay, the University may extend your period of approved leave. The Chancellor must approve the extension if it causes your total leave to exceed six months.

7.13 Updated 7/1/2006