Leave & Holidays

The University of North Carolina recognizes that it is important for employees to have time away from work. Below you will find the University’s holiday schedule and a brief description of some of our leave programs.

UNC-Chapel Hill Holiday Schedule for 2017-2018:

Holiday 2017 2018
New Year’s Day Monday, Jan. 2 Monday, Jan. 1
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, Jan. 16 Monday, Jan. 15
Spring Holiday Friday, April 14 Friday, March 30
Memorial Day Monday, May 29 Monday, May 28
Independence Day Tuesday, July 4 Wednesday, July 4
Labor Day Monday, Sept. 4 Monday, Sept. 3
Thanksgiving Thursday-Friday,
Nov. 23-24		 Thursday-Friday,
Nov. 22-23
Winter Break Monday-Wednesday,
Dec. 25-27		 Monday-Wednesday,
Dec. 24-26
University Closed Day* Thursday, Dec. 28 Thursday-Friday,
Dec. 27-28
New Year’s Eve Friday, Dec. 29 Monday, Dec. 31

*On a University Closed Day, the University is closed and leave must be used. Employees can use vacation leave, bonus leave, or accrued compensatory time.

If you have any questions about the holiday schedule, please contact the Benefits unit in the Office of Human Resources at 919-962-3071.UNC Health Care employees may follow a different holiday schedule than the University.)

UNC-Chapel Hill Holiday Schedule for 2019-2020:

Holiday 2019 2020
New Year’s Day Tuesday, Jan. 1 Wednesday, Jan. 1
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Monday, Jan. 21 Monday, Jan. 20
Spring Holiday Friday, April 19 Friday, April 10
Memorial Day Monday, May 27 Monday, May 25
Independence Day Thursday, July 4 Friday, July 3
Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2 Monday, Sept. 7
Thanksgiving Thursday-Friday,
Nov. 28-29		 Thursday-Friday,
Nov. 26-27
Winter Break Tuesday-Friday,
Dec. 24-27*		 Thursday-Tuesday,
Dec. 24-29*
University Closed Day** Monday, Dec. 30 Wednesday, Dec. 30
New Year’s Eve** Tuesday, Dec. 31 Thursday, Dec. 31


*12/27/2019 and 12/29/2020 represents the Veteran’s Day holiday
**Employees will be required to use leave

Twelve-month faculty are entitled to 24 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year. The amount of annual leave is adjusted proportionately for part-time faculty members in covered positions who work half-time or more. Leave is earned on a monthly basis. The monthly earnings amount is equal to one-twelfth of the annual leave accrual rate for each month the faculty member works or is on an approved least with pay at least half the working days of the month.

Nine-month faculty members do not earn either vacation or sick leave. They are eligible for paid serious illness and parental leave (see Leave of Absence section for additional details).

Permanent employees regularly scheduled to work at least 20 or more hours per week, and who are in pay status for at least one-half of the days in a month, are eligible to earn leave. Permanent full-time employees (40 hours per week) earn vacation and sick leave according to the chart below. Employees who work less than 40 hours per week earn leave on a pro-rated basis according to the number of scheduled work hours each week.

Years of Service
Vacation Leave
Annual Accrual
Sick Leave
Annual Accruals
 0-5
112 hours
96 hours
5-10
136 hours
96 hours
10-15
160 hours
96 hours
15-20
184 hours
96 hours
20+
208 hours
96 hours

EHRA Non-Faculty Employees are entitled to 24 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year. The amount of annual leave is adjusted proportionately for part-time employees in covered positions who work half-time or more. Leave shall be earned on a monthly basis. The monthly earnings amount is equal to one-twelfth of the annual leave accrual rate for each month the employee works or is on an approved least with pay at least half the working days of the month.

The Chancellor, Provost, Deans and Directors of major centers who are classified as EHRA Non-Faculty Tier 1 Senior Academic and Administrative Officers are entitled to 26 days of vacation leave and 12 days of sick leave per calendar year.

The University has a voluntary “Shared Leave” program that allows one employee to assist another employee in the case of a prolonged medical condition that exhausts the employee’s available leave and would otherwise force the employee to be placed in leave without pay status, resulting in a loss of income and benefits.

Learn more

The University recognizes the importance of community involvement and encourages employees to participate in volunteer activities by providing flexibility in work schedules and paid leave opportunities. Community Service Leave is a paid time off program for participation in the educational process of children through the high school level and to support other community service volunteer activities for non-profit organizations.

The University makes available a variety of leave programs for employees including: