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Annual and Bonus Leave

I. FACULTY AND INSTRUCTIONAL PARAPROFESSIONALS

A. Annual Leave

Annual leave for faculty and instructional paraprofessionals shall consist of all days that the College is not in session, except those days required for faculty and/or student orientation and other officially designated workdays, graduation programs, special occasions, or other days as determined necessary by the President. Except as stated herein or otherwise required by law, faculty and instructional paraprofessionals do not earn any other annual leave.

The College is considered to be in session from the first required workday of the semester through the last required workday, including graduation as specified in the official academic calendar. Official College holidays which fall between the beginning and ending dates of a semester shall be holidays for faculty and instructional paraprofessionals.

B. Bonus Leave

From time to time, the General Assembly has offered bonus leave days for certain classes of employees in lieu of or in addition to a raise in salary. There is a limit to the amount of bonus leave that can occur at any one time without jeopardizing the quality of instructional services. Therefore, the use of these days must be approved in advance by the Dean and Vice President of Academic and Student Services and Institutional Assessment prior to being taken. Providing appropriate class coverage at no additional cost to the College and the quality of instruction and learning will be determining factors in granting the request. The Dean will coordinate this coverage with the faculty member requesting the leave. Requests for bonus leave should be submitted on the Faculty Leave Request Form and must be made, when possible, 30 days prior to the requested leave. Bonus leave cannot exceed two days per semester unless recommended by the Vice President and approved by the President.

II. STAFF

A. Amount Earned

Staff who is in a pay status (working, on paid leave, or is receiving worker’s compensation benefits) for one-half or more of the regularly scheduled workdays and holidays in any month earns annual leave. The rate is based on the length of creditable state service.

A permanent part-time employee on annual contract who is employed on a continuing basis for as much as half-time shall earn annual leave on a half (.5) time pro-rata basis if he/she worked one-half or more of the scheduled work days in a month. The leave shall be computed based on the total amount earned by a full-time employee.

Annual leave for employees shall be computed at the following rates:

Annual Leave Rates
Years of Creditable State Service Hours Earned in one Month Hours Earned in One Year
Less than 2 years 7 hrs. 40 min. 92 hours
2 but less than 5 years 8 1/2 hrs. 102 hours
5 but less than 10 years 10 1/4 hrs. 123 hours
10 but less than 15 years 12 1/4 hrs. 147 hours
15 but less than 20 years 14 hours 168 hours
20 or more years 16 hours 192 hours


Years of creditable state service, for the purpose of calculating annual leave, will be determined on the anniversary date of each employee. It is the responsibility of each employee to notify the Human Resources office of a change in eligibility for annual leave. Anniversary date is determined by using the creditable state service.

B. Maximum Accumulation

Annual leave may be accumulated without any applicable maximum until December 31 of each calendar year. However, if the employee separates from service, payment for accumulated annual leave shall not exceed 225 hours (30 days), except in cases where employees have been awarded bonus days by the North Carolina General Assembly. On December 31, any employee with more than 225 hours (30 days) of regular earned annual leave shall have the excess accumulation transferred to sick leave so that only 225 hours (30 days) are carried forward to January 1 of the next calendar year.

C. Bonus Leave

From time to time, the General Assembly has offered bonus leave days for certain classes of employees in lieu of or in addition to a raise in salary. Staff may use bonus leave in the same manner in which they could use annual leave.

D. Advancement

New employees may be granted leave only as it is earned through the first six (6) months of service. After six (6) months, an employee may be advanced that amount of leave he/she would earn during the remainder of the calendar year if requested in writing and approved by the President.

E. Scheduling Annual Leave

Annual or bonus leave may be taken only upon authorization of the immediate supervisor who shall designate such time or times when it will not interfere with the efficient operation of the College. Unless the employee first receives permission from his/her appropriate Vice President and the College President, employees may not use annual or bonus leave on those days mandated by the President (i.e. Professional Development, Convocation, etc.). When possible, employees shall request the use of annual or bonus leave thirty days prior to its use.

Hours taken are cumulative to and reported as the nearest quarter (.25) hour.

F. Leave Charges

Only scheduled workdays shall be charged in calculating the amount of leave taken. Saturdays, Sundays, and/or holidays are charged only if they are scheduled workdays.

G. Other Uses of Annual and Bonus Leave

Annual and bonus leave may be used for the following additional reasons:
  1. Vacation;
  2. Medical appointments;
  3. In lieu of sick leave;
  4. For absences as a result of adverse weather conditions;
  5. Personal matters or time lost by reporting late to work;
  6. For days in excess of bereavement leave policy in the death of a member of an employee’s immediate family;
  7. Illness in the immediate family; and
  8. As donations to an employee or immediate family member who is an approved voluntary shared leave recipient.

H. Annual Leave Transferable

Unused annual leave and/or bonus days may be transferred when an employee transfers from the College to another state agency. Annual leave and/or bonus days may also be transferred to other recognized public agencies if the agency is willing to accept the leave; otherwise, the employee leaving College service will be paid in a lump sum for accumulated leave. When a local employee transfers from one of the agencies listed above to a state agency, annual leave (not to exceed 225 hours – 30 days) or any portion of unused leave may be transferred to the state agency. If a person requests and is paid for unused annual leave and/or bonus days at the time of transfer to or from a local agency, this will not preclude consideration for transferring sick leave. Any unused annual leave and/or bonus days of an employee transferring to the College from another state agency will not be accepted.

I. Separation - Payment of Annual Leave and Bonus Leave

  1. Lump sum payment for annual leave and bonus leave is made only at the time of separation. Separation for the purpose of this section shall occur if the employee leaves state government or changes to non-leave earning status. An employee shall be paid in a lump sum for accumulated leave not to exceed a maximum of 225 hours (30 days). The exception to the ability to exceed 225 hours is bonus days that have been awarded by the North Carolina General Assembly in lieu of monetary compensation.
  2. Should an employee separate from service before earning all of the advanced annual leave taken, it will be necessary to make deductions from the employee’s final paycheck for overdrawn leave.
  3. Payment for annual leave may be made on the regular payroll reflecting the number of hours of annual leave and the amount of payment. The payout of annual leave will be charged to the respective budget allocation which the employee's position was charged.
  4. Retirement deduction shall be made from all leave payments.
  5. In the case of a deceased employee, payment for unpaid leave and unpaid salary shall be paid, upon establishment of a valid claim, to the deceased employee's administrator or executor. In the absence of an administrator or executor, payment must be made to the Clerk of Superior Court of the county of the deceased employee's residence. A copy of the death certificate must be submitted to the Business Office for the files.
  6. An employee ceases to earn leave and ceases to be entitled to take sick leave after the date of separation. The last day of work is the date of separation, except when an employee exhausts sick and annual leave before disability retirement then the date separated will be the ending date of annual leave taken. When exhausting leave, the employee continues to accumulate leave, is eligible to take sick leave, is entitled to holidays and is eligible for salary increases during that period.
  7. Bonus leave balance will be paid in addition to regular vacation leave if the employee leaves state government or changes to a non-leave earning status.

III. ANNUAL AND BONUS LEAVE RECORDS

It is the responsibility of the Business Office to maintain annual records for annual and/or bonus leave earned and taken for each employee. The crediting and balancing of an employee’s leave record is to be done each month. Leave balances are listed in the employee’s payroll advice each month. Leave reports and time sheets submitted to the Business Office must be signed by the employee and supervisor or designee.

The College will retain annual and bonus leave records for all separated employees for a period of at least four years from the date of separation.

Employees classified as part-time permanent prior to May 12, 2009 who currently work at least twenty hours or up to twenty-eight hours per week shall earn annual and sick leave on a pro-rated basis. No new assignments will be made under this classification after May 12, 2009.

Policy Number: 302-03-00BP

Adopted: June 29, 2010

Reviewed: May 2019

Amended: September 24, 2019

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