Employee Workday Help

Time Off

Last updated Wednesday, July 17, 2024

The information on this page is intended for Staff Campus employees; if you are not a Staff Campus employee, refer to the appropriate menu below for guidance.

Time offs in Workday are typically associated to a Leave of Absence. Refer to the Academic Personnel website for information on the leave policy; refer to your unit for questions regarding your leaves. Additionally, if you are a Librarian, find information about your Time Off.

Track and report your Time Off, including Holiday Time Off, in Kronos. Time off balances that appear in Workday are as of the end of the previous pay period; for current balances, refer to Kronos.


On This Page:


Time Off Types

An important part of managing your Time Off is understanding the various types of Time Off. Follow the links below for information and policies associated with each type of Time Off.

For information about other types of Time Off not listed above, refer to the below menus as well as UWHR’s Time offs, leaves & holidays pages.

If you are a sick and vacation time off-accruing employee with adequate time off balances, you may donate vacation, sick, or personal holiday Time Off to another employee. Refer to the following for information on donating your Time Off:

The University may allow unpaid Time Off if you don’t have enough accrued time off to cover your time away from work. Unpaid time must be approved by your supervisor. Follow the usual Enter Time or Enter Absence (Time Off) process to enter Unpaid Time Off.

Some absences, including those that may qualify for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Disability Leave, or Parental Leave require both a Leave of Absence (LOA) request and an accompanying request for Time Off. Learn more about Time Off vs. Leave of Absence.

Time Off Usage Hierarchy

Workday uses the below sets of validation rules to enforce a hierarchy for time off usage, per UW time off policies.

Time Off Usage hierarchies do not apply to employees on an approved Sick/Injured or Becoming a Parent Leave of Absence. These employees may use their Time Offs in any order.

For Professional Staff:
A Prostaff employee’s time off balance, based on already approved time off requests, is assessed in this order:

  1. Use up all Holiday Credit Time Off before using Compensatory, Discretionary and Vacation Time Off – to improve user experience this is not enforced in Workday; however, employees should still be aware that exhausting this Time Off first is UW policy
  2. Use up all Compensatory Time Off before using Discretionary and Vacation Time Off
  3. Use up all Discretionary Time Off before using Vacation Time Off
  4. Use up all Holiday Credit, Compensatory, Discretionary and Vacation Time Off before using Unpaid Time Off

For Classified Staff:
A Classified staff employee’s time off balance, based on already approved time off requests, is assessed in this order:

  1. Use up all Compensatory Time Off before using Vacation Time Off
  2. Use up all Holiday Credit, Compensatory and Vacation Time Off before using Unpaid Time Off

Administrators may additionally wish to refer to the Time Off Usage Hierarchy page in the Admins Corner.


Requesting Time Off

To submit a time off request in Workday, refer to the step-by-step instructions in the Enter Absence (Time Off) User Guide, linked below.

Enter Absence (Time Off) User Guide

In order to receive pay for hours on your normally-scheduled payday for the pay period, Time Off requests must be entered, submitted, and approved prior to the Timesheet Approval Deadline.

Submitted Time Off will automatically route to your designated Time & Absence Approver to review and approve.

Recording Holiday Time Off in Workday

Detailed information is available at the Recording Holiday Time Off page.

Using Your Personal Holiday

Detailed information is available at the Using Your Personal Holiday page.


Correcting Time Off

Even after your Time Off has been approved, you can correct your Time Off and resubmit to your Time & Absence Approver for up to 90 days.

Correct Time Off User Guide

If you have already submitted Time Off, navigate to your absence calendar, select the previously entered time off entry, and adjust the time off type or hours as needed. Submitted Time Off will automatically route to your designated Time & Absence Approver to review and approve.


Viewing Your Time Off Balances

Time Off-eligible employees can locate their accrued Time Off balances by type in Workday.

  • For your current Time Off balances, select Menu > Absence and refer to the “Time Off Balance as of Today” table.
  • For your estimated future Time Off balances, select Menu > Absence, then select the Request Absence button. On the left side of the next screen, under “Balances,” the Balance as of field indicates your estimated accruals for a future month and day.

To learn about your Time Off accrual rates (i.e., how much Time Off you accrue per month), visit UWHR’s Time Offs, Leaves & Holidays page.

Related Links

Refer to UWHR’s website for details about time off policies.