Understanding Leave Balances in HBS and UCPath

How Leave Accruals and Service Credit Are Calculated

UCPath is UCSF’s system of record for leave accruals, usage and balances, as well as for employment service credit. During payroll processing, after each regularly scheduled payroll cycle has been confirmed, the Absence Management (AM) module of UCPath calculates employee leave accruals and employment service credit. Leave accrual details and balances are transmitted to UCSF’s local time and attendance system – Huntington Business Systems (HBS) – and posted the following day.

Adjustments or changes to accrual balances are not reflected on the Leave Balances page in UCPath online until AM processing has completed for each pay cycle. Leave accrual processes and timing are different depending on pay frequency. UCPath leave and service credit accrual period end dates can be found on the Monthly and Biweekly Payroll Calendars.

Monthly Accrual Process

1. UCPath runs AM Processing to calculate entitlement and accrual balances following the monthly pay confirm.
2. Accruals are posted in employee self-service in UCPath online around the first of the month and in HBS the following day.
3. Employment service credit, expressed as months of service, is posted at the same time accruals are posted.
4. Monthly employees submit leave one month in arrears, therefore leave usage for the current month is NOT known at the time of calculation.

Biweekly Accrual Process

1. Biweekly pay cycles do not evenly align with monthly calendars, therefore leave and service credit are accrued every four weeks according to an established quadri-weekly schedule.
2. UCPath runs AM Processing to calculate entitlement and accrual balances following the biweekly pay confirm that aligns with the end of the quadri-weekly period.
3. All leave usage for the quadri-weekly period is recorded in UCPath at the time of the leave accrual calculation.
4. Accruals are posted in employee self-service in UCPath online after 5 p.m. the Monday prior to the payday and in HBS the following day.
5. Employment service credits are calculated on a separate quadri-weekly period and post in UCPath online and HBS two weeks after the leave accrual.

UCPath vs HBS Leave Balances

It is recommended that employees view leave usage and balance data in HBS for the following reasons:

• Ending balances in UCPath only reflect absences that have been processed as of the date displayed. For monthly employees, balances will not include leave usage reported in the current month.
• UCPath leave balances do not reflect future leave requested/approved in HBS. Because HBS includes a running balance of leave usage inclusive of leave not yet transmitted to UCPath, it provides a more complete view of leave information.

To learn more about accessing, reporting and navigating leave balances in UCPath and HBS:

• View the Review My Leave Balance (opens in new window) tutorial for instructions on navigating to your balance in UCPath Online.
• Review Requesting, Reporting, and Changing Leave in HBS.

Understanding Vacation/PTO Maximum Caps

Vacation/PTO maximums are prorated based on the eligible employee’s FTE in alignment with policy and applicable labor contracts. An employee whose balance exceeds the maximum vacation/PTO accrual limit will no longer accrue additional vacation/PTO hours until the balance is reduced below the maximum. The employee will not lose already accrued vacation hours, but the employee will not accrue additional hours until their balance falls below the maximum.

It is important for department administrators to note that when an employee reaches vacation accrual maximum, the department will continue to be charged vacation leave assessment (opens in new window), for future pay periods, even when the employee is not eligible to accrue beyond the established maximum.

Consult the following resources for leave accrual factors and maximums:

• UCSF Health Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy (opens in new window)
• Personnel Policies for Staff Members (PPSM) (opens in new window)
• Academic Personnel Manual (APM) (opens in new window)
• Bargaining Unit Contracts (opens in new window)

Vacation Accrual Timing for Monthly Employees at Their Vacation Maximum Cap

As monthly employees report leave one month in arrears, UCPath will not have up-to-date vacation usage data to accurately calculate accruals. As a result, an employee at their vacation/PTO maximum will not accrue leave during AM Processing for the month. However, when the leave usage is transmitted to UCPath the following month, UCPath will correct the accrual and balance to replace any lost accruals.

Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exceptions

When an employee reaches their maximum accrual limit, no additional vacation leave/PTO may be accrued until the employee’s balance falls below the maximum, unless an extension has been requested and granted prior to the employee reaching the maximum accrual. Employees granted an extension will be allowed to accrue the equivalent of three or four additional months of leave, per the employee’s applicable policy or collective bargaining agreement.

• For employees in the Professional & Support Staff, Managers & Senior Professionals, and Senior Management Group Members personnel programs, Section III.B.5 of the Absence from Work Policy (PPSM-2.210) describes the maximum vacation accrual limit and the extension that is allowed per policy under certain circumstances.
• For employees covered under the UCSF Health Paid Time Off (PTO) Policy 4.02.03, Section C, Paragraph 1 describes the maximum PTO limit and the extension that is allowed per policy under certain circumstances.
• Academic employees covered under Academic Personnel Programs (APM) (opens in new window) are not eligible for the Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exception. Academic employees who have previously accrued above their maximum will maintain those balances but will not accrue until they are below their allowed maximum.
• Employees covered under the AFSCME EX contract currently receive an automatic grace period in UCPath, and the additional vacation accrual is converted to Comp time earned.

Eligible employees must follow the standard process to request a Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exception to accrue above the maximum for up to an additional four months. Complete the Vacation/PTO Accrual Extension Form, obtain all required approvals, and follow the form instructions to submit the request for processing.

Viewing Vacation/PTO Balances When an Exception or Grace Period Is Granted

Employees granted an exception or grace period who have a vacation/PTO balance over the max will see their vacation/PTO hours converted into two leave balance buckets in UCPath:

• Vacation/PTO: This entitlement bucket will maintain vacation hours up to the maximum.
• Additional Vacation/PTO: This entitlement bucket will maintain hours over the maximum.

Employees will continue to accrue hours over the maximum during the grace period. When the grace period ends, new accruals will stop, and employees will no longer see additions to these accruals. New additions to these accruals will resume once balances fall below the vacation/PTO max. UCPath contains logic to decrease the Additional Vacation/PTO balance bucket first when recording any usage.

When a Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exception is applied in UCPath a vacation/PTO accrual limit override is created and will end in four months. The override allows for accruals to continue until either the four-month end date is reached or the Additional Vacation/PTO maximum hours are reached, whichever comes first. The Additional Vacation/PTO maximum hours are equal to an employee’s monthly accrual hours multiplied by four. For example, an employee who earns 10 hours of vacation a month will have an Additional Vacation/PTO maximum equal to 40 hours. This maximum is prorated based on the employee’s FTE on their job in UCPath.

If the Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exception is retroactive to a date, the four-month override will begin from the retroactive date. UCPath will automatically recalculate and update lost leave accruals during the exception period during the next available AM processing.

If a Vacation/PTO Maximum Grace Period Exception is requested for an employee who has already exceeded the Additional Vacation/PTO maximum hours based on the vacation accrual tier, the employee will not accrue until they bring their hours below the Additional Vacation/PTO maximum hours during the grace period.