UCI Human Resources | Leave of Absence

UNDERSTANDING AND NAVIGATING A LEAVE OF ABSENCE

There may come a time during your UC employment when you need to take a considerable length of time off work due to a serious health condition or to care for a qualified family member. In cases like this, you will want to take a Leave of Absence.

What is a Leave of Absence?

A leave of absence is continuous time away from work or intermittent time off due to an employee’s own serious health condition or to care for a qualified family member.

How do I know if I should just take vacation, PTO, or sick time, or a Leave of Absence?

Leave of absences are for when you or a qualified family member have a serious health condition (the serious health condition must meet certain criteria determined by our Sedgwick partners) that may require time away from work to heal.

Employees should file a leave of absence if they are missing more than three (3) days off and they are not designating the time under the new protected sick leave. View PPSM-2.210 Absense from Work, page 20 for more eligibility information.

7 STEPS FOR LEAVES

There are seven steps in any leave process regardless of the type of leave you are taking:

There are many scenarios in which a leave is needed, for example, you are getting surgery, you or your partner are having a baby, or you need to care for a family member. Select the most applicable reason for your situation above to see next steps.

Will you need to be off work for a continuous block of time, or will you need periodic/occasional days off? If a continuous block of time off is needed, select continuous leave. If periodic/occasional days off are needed, select intermittent leave.

Certain requirements must be met to be eligible for state and or federal leave entitlements.

Depending on your type of leave, documentation may be required to support the need for your leave of absence.

Depending on the type and length of leave, your pay and benefits may be impacted.

Depending on your type of leave, documentation may be needed prior to returning to work.

If you still have questions, review the resources available for additional information.

SHOULD YOU TAKE A LEAVE?

Ask yourself the following questions to help determine whether you should request a Leave of Absence:

Will you be missing work for more than 3 days? If yes, file a leave of absence.

Do you need intermittent or sporadic days off due to appointments or illness related to a serious health condition? If yes, file a leave of absence.

Are you unsure if you should file a leave of absence? Please contact the UCI Employee Experience Center to discuss.

READY TO BEGIN YOUR LEAVE REQUEST?

START HERE:
Select the type of leave you need to take below. You will be directed to a detailed information page specific to your selected type of leave where you may begin your request.