Leaves of Absence & Benefits

An academic appointee is considered to be on a leave of absence any time they take a leave from normal duties during the prescribed periods of service. All Health Sciences faculty and academics are eligible for a leave of absence with prior approval. Please note that academic appointees who take leave without obtaining formal approval are in violation of University Policy.

For MSP Staff Physicians, please work with Health Human Resources (HHR) to organize leave approvals.

Expected Timeline for Processing a Leave Request:

Leaves of ten (10) working days or less requires approval from the Department Chair. Leaves lasting greater than ten (10) working days requires additional documentation preparation and approval. Requests for leaves should be submitted to the Academic Resource Center at least one month prior to the requested effective date to allow sufficient time for processing. Sabbatical requests should be requested one quarter (three months) in advance of the effective date.

Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP) Leave Options & Elegibility:

Employee and/or the department/school may initiate outreach to explore leave HS compensation plan options and eligibility.

Leaves of Absence

Medical Leave Due to Extended Illness

For personal illness, injury or disability.

HSCP Benefit: 6 weeks consecutive or intermittent paid medical leave at Pre-incentive Salary (X, X’, Y, and Negotiated Z) with each ten-year period of University of California service.
Eligibility and leave options may vary for each individual. For precise leave options, please have your physician complete the “HCP-Employee’s Serious Health Condition” form and submit the completed form to ARC.

Child and Family Related Leave

Childbearing Leave

For temporary disability related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

HSCP Benefit: 12 weeks of paid childbearing leave at Pre-incentive Salary (X, X’ + Y, and Negotiated Z). If the period of temporary disability related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions lasts less than 12 weeks, the remaining period of paid childbearing leave (for a leave in progress), may be used for bonding, up to the maximum period of 12 weeks.

Eligibility and leave options may vary for each individual. For precise leave options, please have your physician complete the “HCP-Pregnancy Disability” form and submit the completed form to ARC.

Parental Leave

Twelve weeks to bond with your newborn, adopted child or foster child. The child may be the appointee’s biological or adopted child or that of a spouse or domestic partner.

HSCP Benefit: Non-birth parent will be granted 12 weeks to be taken in two six-week blocks of continuous full-time or fixed part-time leave. The first six-week block will be paid at Pre-incentive Salary (X, X’, Y, Negotiated Z). The second six-week block will be paid at Base Salary (X, X’). Paid leave blocks should be used consecutively and must be used within 12 months of the birth, adoption or placement of a child.

Birth Parent: See childbearing section above. If leave is not taken as indicated in that section, you may use available Pay for Family Care and Bonding (PFCB) at Base Salary (X,X’), or vacation time as allowed by policy. The ARC LOA team will identify all of your applicable options upon receipt of the completed “HCP-Pregnancy Disability” form.

Care of Family Member with Serious Illness

To care for a family member with a serious health condition.

UCSD Benefit: PFCB benefit which will pay up to 8 weeks at Base Salary (X,X’). Applicable to FMLA eligible employees only.

Eligible Relationships: A child of any age, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling with a serious health condition. “Child” means a biological, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, a legal ward, or a child of an employee or the employee’s domestic partner, or a person to whom the employee stands in loco parentis. “Parent” includes a biological, foster, or adoptive parent, a parent-in-law, a stepparent, a legal guardian, or other person who stood in loco parentis to the employee when the employee was a child.

For precise leave options and eligibility confirmation, please have your family member’s physician complete the “HCP-Family Members Serious Health Condition” form and submit the completed form to ARC.

Active Service-Modified Duties

Active Service-Modified Duties (ASMD) is NOT considered a type of leave but a modification of normal duties due to substantial responsibility for the care of a newborn, adopted, or foster child under 5 years of age. ASMD normally occurs from 3 months prior to the 12 months following the birth or placement of the child. The possible duration of time is up to 2 quarters of ASMD and childbearing leave for the birth mother for each birth and 1 quarter for all others for each event, birth or placement.

Family and Medical Leave

Family and Medical Leaves under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are available for all eligible faculty or academics, which entitles them to take an unpaid leave or to substitute accrued paid leave for up to 12 weeks per calendar year. This type of leave can be taken for the following reasons:

the appointee’s own serious health condition
to care for the appointee’s child, parent, spouse, or domestic partner with a serious health condition
to care for the appointee’s newborn child or a child newly placed with the appointee for adoption or foster care.

Bereavement Leave

Time off for funeral/bereavement leave.

A leave of absence of up to ten (10) working days per death may be granted in the event of the death of an appointee’s child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, grandparent, or grandchild. In-laws or step relatives in the relationships listed, including relatives of the domestic partner who would be covered if the domestic partner were the appointee’s spouse, are also covered. This provision also covers other persons residing in the appointee’s household.

A leave of absence of up to five (5) days per calendar year may be granted for the death of an individual who is not a family member.

Eligible faculty shall be granted paid leave at Pre-incentive Salary (X, X’, Y and Negotiated Z) for bereavement if participating in the Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP). Upon conclusion of your time off, please complete and submit the “Bereavement Leave Request” form to ARC.

Government Related Leave

Jury Duty

An academic appointee who has been called to jury service should discuss the required absence from University duties with the department chair. Eligible faculty shall be granted paid leave at Pre-incentive Salary (X, X', Y and Negotiated Z) if participating in the Health Sciences Compensation Plan (HSCP). Upon conclusion of your service, please complete and submit the applicable document under FORMS.

In cases when jury duty absence would create a hardship on the University, it is the employee's responsibility to seek postponement and/or excuse from service. The individual may request a letter from the department chair describing the nature of the hardship to present to the court as an excuse from jury duty service. However, the University cannot guarantee that an excuse will be granted.

Military Leave

Individuals who have been in service to UCSD for a full year prior to the military leave will be granted a leave with pay for the first 30 calendar days of military leave. Leaves for greater than one year require approval from the Senior Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs, except for salaried Clinical faculty in which it is the School of Medicine Associate Dean’s authority. All requests are submitted to the SOM Academic Affairs Office.

Government Service

Leaves for consulting or providing other services to government agencies require the faculty member to submit application materials relating to their intended leave. They are eligible for full or partial pay, and leaves of more than one year require approval from the Senior Vice Chancellor - Academic Affairs.

Research Related Leave

Professional Meeting

With approval from the Department Chair, School of Medicine (SOM) faculty and academics may take leaves with pay to attend professional meetings or conferences for up to 10 service (working) days. The SOM Associate Dean of Academic Affairs may approve longer leaves with pay (up to 30 calendar days). Vacation leave must be requested for professional leaves of more than 30 calendar days in length. After all vacation time is expended, any additional extensions, if approved by the Associate Dean, will be granted as a leave without pay (up to one year).

Regular Sabbatical Leave

Only Ladder-Rank faculty are eligible for sabbatical leaves, which enable the faculty member to engage in intensive programs of research and/or study, becoming more effective teachers and scholars and enhancing their services to the University. School of Medicine (SOM) faculty members earn a maximum of 4 sabbatical credits each fiscal year for service at 50% time or more and cannot accrue more than 40 sabbatical credits. Credits are not accrued during periods of leave without pay, leave with pay for 3 or more months, and sabbatical leave. Application for sabbatical leave using the ALAS form is submitted to the Academic Resource Center and includes a detailed description of the proposed project or sabbatical plan. The Department forwards requests to the SOM Academic Affairs Office for processing and approval. A sabbatical leave is approved with the understanding that following the leave, the faculty member will return to service for a period equal to the period of the sabbatical leave or they are obligated to refund the entire salary received for the period of the leave. Upon return from the leave, a sabbatical report MUST be submitted to the Department Chair within 90 days. The report is forwarded from the Department to the SOM Academic Affairs Office. Sabbatical leaves may be taken at various percentages with prorated credits used.

Sabbatical Leave In Residence

An "In Residence" sabbatical differs from a normal sabbatical in that it requires the faculty member to teach at least 3 hours each week or to substitute significant University service for some or all of the teaching requirements; however, substitution of significant service requires Executive Vice Chancellor approval as an exception. This leave requires fewer sabbatical credits, but may only exempt faculty from administrative, university, and/or departmental service. These leaves require the usage of about two-thirds of the number of sabbatical credits required for a full sabbatical.

Leave with Pay in lieu of Sabbatical

Faculty in the In Residence, Clinical X, Salaried Adjunct, and Health Sciences Salaried Clinical series are not eligible for sabbatical leave. However, they are entitled to request a leave with pay in lieu of sabbatical if appropriate funding is available. Eligibility for this type of leave is based on length of service and is patterned after the sabbatical policy, except there are no credits accrued or deferred.

Leave from Professional Duties to Conduct Research

The purpose of this type of leave is to allow a ladder-rank faculty member to take leave from professorial duties to focus exclusively on research while remaining at UCSD. This will require a change to the Professional Research series since the faculty member is generally paid from grant funding under a research title for the duration of the leave. No ALAS form is required when research is conducted at UCSD; however, the department should submit a memo to the Associate Dean, Academic Affairs 3-4 weeks before the effective date outlining the proposal. An ALAS form is only required when the research is conducted at a location other than UCSD or the faculty member leaves UCSD for more than 10 service or 14 calendar days during the course of the leave.

Approval Authority for ALAS Leaves

Length of Leave	Approval Authority
1-14 calendar days (10 working days)	Department Chair (ALAS only required for international travel)
15 days - 1 year	Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs (ALAS Required)
Over 1 year and all exceptions	Sr Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs (ALAS required)**

**Approval for Salaried Clinical Faculty Members rests with the Assistant Vice Chancellor, Academic Affairs.

Forms & Policy

Forms

Policy

BENEFITS

Important Information

University of California offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, legal, health savings account, flexible spending account, and supplemental benefits such as a life insurance, disability, accidental death and dismemberment, accident, critical illness and hospital indemnity as well as well as access to adoption assistance, identity theft protection, pet insurance, auto and home insurance.

Many of these benefits are available within the employees first 31 days of employment (Period of Initial Eligibility). Medical, dental, and vision, can be added during open enrollment. The remaining supplemental plans may only have one opportunity to enroll unless there is a life changing event or in the case for disability and life insurance, a full statement of health, physical exam and the carrier will review for approval. (Approval is not a guarantee).

A description of the plans and costs can be found at UCnet.