Policy
In accordance with Illinois law, effective January 1, 2024 (P.A. 102-1143), the University established the Personal Plus Time benefit.The Personal Plus Time benefit, which is offered in addition to other time off benefits (as determined by the employee's classification), is intended to offer eligible employees the ability to have paid benefit time to use for any reason of the employee's choosing, within the procedures outlined in this policy.
Eligible Employee Classifications
Employees in the following employment classifications are eligible for the Personal Plus Time benefit:
- Administrative Professionals, continuous and non-continuous.
- Civil Service employees, including extra help.
- Faculty Associates, continuous, non-continuous, and Substitute teachers.
- Non-Tenure Track Faculty.
- Tenured/Tenure-Track Faculty.
Graduate assistants and hourly student employees are not eligible for the Personal Plus Time benefit.
Personal Plus Time Allocation
Effective January 1, 2024, Eligible employees are allocated 40 hours of Personal Plus Time each fiscal year (July 1 – June 30).Personal Plus Time that is not used in the fiscal year in which it is allocated does not carry over to the next fiscal year and is not payable upon separation from employment. An individual employee will be allocated no more than 40 hours of Personal Plus Time per year. Personal Plus Time will be allocated on a per employee basis only, regardless of the number of positions an employee holds during a fiscal year with the University.
Employees who leave employment and are rehired within the same fiscal year will not be allocated a new 40 hours of Personal Plus Time, but rather, their Personal Plus Time balance at the time of separation will be restored upon the employee's rehire date.
Employees who transfer or promote to a different position within the University in the same fiscal year will not be allocated a new 40 hours of Personal Plus Time and will continue to have access to their Personal Plus Time balance available to them at the time of their transfer or promotion unless they were previously employed in positions that did not qualify for Personal Plus Time.
New employees to the University and former employees who are rehired in a different fiscal year will be allocated 40 hours of Personal Plus Time on the employee's hire date.
For all Eligible employees, Personal Plus Time is available for use on the date of allocation.
Personal Plus Time Request and Reporting Procedures
When requesting time off, an employee may choose whether to request use of available Personal Plus Time in accordance with this policy or to request use of any other time off benefit provided for under State law, an applicable collective bargaining agreement, or in University policy. If other benefit time is requested (e.g., vacation, sick, compensatory, personal, etc.), appropriate departmental procedures surrounding the request and use of that benefit time must still be followed.
If the need for use of Personal Plus Time is foreseeable, the employee should provide their supervisor with at least seven calendar days' notice before the Personal Plus Time is to begin. If the need for use of Personal Plus Time is not foreseeable, the employee must provide notice to their supervisor as soon as is practicable through the ordinary department call-in or notice procedures, with the employee clearly indicating their intention to use Personal Plus Time to cover the employee's absence.If the use of Personal Plus Time is not clearly indicated, or if Personal Plus Time has already been exhausted for the year, alternative benefit time applicable to the reason for the absence will be substituted, if available, and the ordinary procedures regarding use of that benefit time will be applied. Personal Plus Time cannot be used to retroactively replace other previously reported benefit usage, and Personal Plus Time cannot be changed to another type of benefit after the request has been processed through the timekeeping system of record.
Personal Plus Time may be requested orally or in writing, may be used for any reason of the employee's choosing, and the employee cannot be required to provide a justification for requested Personal Plus Time off. Documentation in support of proof of the need for requested Personal Plus Time is not required and cannot be requested from the employee. Departments should approve requests to the greatest extent possible but may deny requests based upon operational necessity (for example, minimum staffing requirements for operations would not be met; event-specific requirements (move-in; commencement)).
Personal Plus Time must be taken and reported on the employee's timesheet to the nearest quarter of an hour. In no instance shall an employee be allowed to report more Personal Plus Time in a day than the employee would have normally been scheduled to work.
Employees are not required or obligated to search for or find a replacement to cover time away from work when utilizing Personal Plus Time. Working days and hours cannot be changed to avoid the utilization of Personal Plus Time. Personal Plus Time absences will not be considered for performance evaluations, Civil Service unscheduled absence/hours tracking, or disciplinary actions.
Failure to Comply
Failure to comply with the procedures outlined in this policy may result in the denial of benefit usage and disciplinary action.
Your Rights
If you feel your rights under this policy have been denied, please forward your appeal to the Associate Vice President for Human Resources.