Committee Reports
UT Staff Council Meeting July 17, 2003

Compensation and Classification Committee | Miscellaneous Benefits Committee

Compensation and Classification Committee Report
UT Staff Council Meeting July 17, 2003

Issue 2003-6: Guidelines for vacation requests

Proposal: Supervisors should be required to approve vacation requests within 3-5 working days. Approval should be based on 3 criteria:

1. Does the employee have the accrued time?
2. Is the section covered for work duties?
3. Is the employee requesting time off during non-peak period?

Discussion: The Compensation and Classification Committee met April 24, 2003 and reviewed the current Handbook of Operating Procedures (HOP) 7.F.1 ANNUAL LEAVE and compared it to the proposal. The committee agreed that placing a timed response on the supervisor would in effect give similar responsibilities to what their employees should follow, Section 7.E.1 – Advance Notice – “When foreseeable, employees shall give at least thirty calendar days advance notice …”

The committee declined to specifically address all of the proposed criteria guidelines because they are too subjective to be incorporated into an official policy and they could in fact be used against employees to deny them from ever taking annual leave. The only criteria that could be addressed is covered in the policy, Section 7.D.3 – Use and Exhaustion – “Annual leave may not be used before it is accrued …”

After discussions and several scenario examples, the committee recommends the adoption of the following revision.

Recommendation: The University Policy Committee revise HOP 7.F.1 Annual Leave, Section M, Supervisor and Department Responsibilities which now reads, “The supervisor must review and approve the leave, verify the employee has accurately recorded the leave use, and sign the time report.”

to

“The supervisor must review employee’s request based on University and Departmental guidelines and approve or deny within 5 working days of receipt. Employee time reports should be verified for accuracy and signed.”

Jim McElroy
Chair, UTSC Compensation and Classification Committee

Miscellaneous Benefits Committee
UT Staff Council Meeting July 17, 2003

Issue 2003-2: Staff Educational Benefit [dissertation hours] and Issue 2003-7 [summer semester]

Update: Faye Godwin, Human Resource Services, May 28, 2003, reports that Kyle Cavanaugh has discussed both issues with the Provost and other University officers. The two issues will be discussed with a number of groups including the University Budget Council. After that process is complete, the results will be communicated to the UTSC.

Issue 2003-5: Child care at UT-special needs (specifically, second shift workers, single parents, low-income families)

Chuck Pearson, Miscellaneous Benefits Committee Chair, discussed this proposal with the director of the UT Childcare Center, Sandra Briley. She states that while this a worthy idea, it has been tried in the past and ended due to lack of participation. Ms. Briley recommends that an online survey be conducted to determine potential interest in this program and that her office would be willing to assist in conducting a web based survey to gauge potential participation.

Estimated costs per full-time worker's child, based on five nights a week, would be $500.00 per month. This figure assumes the availability of facilities at no cost, leveraging UT's existing childcare facility investment. John Hibbitts has done extensive research into the availabilities of grants and financial aid potentially available to subsidize this program and made this information available to the Miscellaneous Benefits Committee. It appears that there several possible funding sources which may, if the program is implemented, allow a sliding fee scale based on need. It would seem that a survey would be a logical first step.

Recommendation: UTSC establish an ad hoc committee to pursue this proposal in depth.

Chuck Pearson
UTSC Miscellaneous Benefits Committee