[Ucrfacultyandstaff] Winter Holiday Closure

Tue Oct 14 08:05:35 PDT 2025

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*October 14, 2025 *

*To:    *

Campus Partners

*From:  *

Central Human Resources

*Re:   *

Winter Holiday Closure

This communication is to inform you of UC Riverside’s plan to observe a
Winter Holiday Closure during the 2025-2026 holiday season.

The campus is scheduled to close beginning Wednesday, December 24, 2025,
and will reopen on Friday, January 2, 2026. Pursuant to Personnel Policy
2.210: Absence from Work <https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406/PPSM-2.210>
and relevant provisions of our collective bargaining agreements, the campus
will observe the holidays on the following days.

*Campus Winter Holiday Closure Dates:*

*Wednesday, December 24, 2025*

Campus Closed – Christmas Eve**

*Thursday, December 25, 2025*

Campus Closed – Christmas Day**

Friday, December 26, 2025

Campus Closed – Curtailment Day*

December 27 - 28, 2025

Campus Closed - Weekend

Monday, December 29, 2025

Campus Closed – Curtailment Day*

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Campus Closed - Curtailment Day*

*Wednesday, December 31, 2025*

Campus Closed – New Year’s Eve Observed**

*Thursday, January 1, 2026*

Campus Closed – New Year’s Day**

Friday, January 2, 2026

Campus Reopens

** *Non-paid days during the holiday closure period unless an employee
elects to use vacation accruals or compensatory time.

****University paid holiday.

Four (4) university-paid holidays (*December 24, 25, 31 and January 1*)
will be observed while the campus is closed. However, three (3) days
(December 26, 29, and 30) are considered curtailment leave days and are not
paid holidays. Employees have the choice of the following options to cover
the non-paid days during the holiday closure period.

   - Employees may use vacation days in advance of their actual accrual.

   - Newly hired employees, represented and policy-covered, may use their
   vacation accruals before completing six (6) continuous months on pay
   status.

   - Employees with accrued compensatory time may elect to use it to cover
   the three (3) days off or to offset the use of vacation time.

   - Employees who do not wish to use vacation or compensatory time off may
   request leave without pay, pending departmental approval. In this case,
   employees will not lose hourly vacation or sick leave accruals for these
   three (3) days.

In accordance with regular procedures for scheduling vacation, employees
should notify their supervisors in advance as to which option or
combination of options they choose to use.

For represented employees, closure days will be processed in accordance
with existing contract provisions and are subject to discussion and/or
collective bargaining where applicable.

As in previous years, certain essential services will not be closed during
this period. Employees who might be expected to work should check with
their supervisors for confirmation.

Researcher access to critical research facilities will continue and select
research facilities requiring access will continue to be maintained by
Facilities Services. In addition, grading deadlines will remain unchanged.

Comments or questions regarding application of personnel policies during
the winter closure may be sent to Central Human Resources Policy at
hrpolicy at ucr.edu. Comments or questions regarding application of collective
bargaining agreements may be sent to Labor Relations at
labor.relations at ucr.edu.

*Frequently Asked Questions:*

1.      *Are all policy covered staff employees eligible to use up to three
(3) days of vacation leave for December 26, 29, and 30, 2025?* Employees
who accrue vacation may use vacation leave for December 26, 29, and 30,
2025, if they would have been scheduled to work had these days not been
winter curtailment days.

2.      *What about employees who have a waiting period before they can use
accrued vacation leave?* Employees who normally have a waiting period will
be allowed to use accrued vacation even if their required waiting period
has not been completed.

3.      *What if an employee doesn’t have enough vacation hours available
to cover the three (3) unpaid curtailment days (i.e., December 26, 29 and
30, 2025)?* Three (3) days of vacation leave may be used in advance of
actual accrual during the winter curtailment period. Please refer to
appropriate *policy* <https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406> and *collective
bargaining agreements*
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/>
 for specific information.

4.      *How many vacation hours can a part-time employee "borrow" to cover
the three (3) unpaid curtailment days (i.e., December 26, 29 and 30, 2025)?*
 A part-time employee can "borrow" vacation hours for those days where they
would have been scheduled to work had those days not been winter
curtailment days. They may “borrow” on a prorated basis according to their
appointment percentage and schedule.

5.      *When can an employee use vacation if they “borrow” vacation
resulting in a negative leave balance?* If an employee “borrows” vacation,
they will not be able to use vacation leave until they have once again
accrued enough vacation hours to cover the anticipated request.

6.      *Can an employee use accrued compensatory time off (CTO) to cover
the unpaid curtailment days (i.e., December 26, 29, and 30, 2025)?* Employees
with accrued CTO may elect to use these hours to cover their scheduled time
off or to offset the use of vacation time for December 26, 29, and 30,
2025, if they would have been scheduled to work had these days not been
winter curtailment days.

7.      *What if an employee does not wish to use vacation or CTO to cover
the unpaid curtailment days, (i.e., December 26, 29, and 30, 2025)?* Employees
who do not wish to use vacation or CTO may elect to use up to three (3)
days of leave without pay (LWOP) during the curtailment period. The use of
LWOP during the winter curtailment period may impact holiday eligibility,
vacation accruals and sick accruals. Please refer to appropriate *policy*
<https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406>and *collective bargaining agreements*
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/>
 for specific information. See Question #10 for additional information.

8.      *Is an employee eligible to use sick leave if they become ill
during winter curtailment?* An employee may use sick leave if they have a
sick leave accrual balance; if their sick leave is authorized by their
supervisor; and/or if they are on approved medical leave of absence, and
the use of sick leave is in accordance with *policy*
<https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406> and *collective bargaining agreements*
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/>
.

9.      *What if an employee wants to work during the winter curtailment
period?* As in previous years, certain essential services will not to be
closed during this period. Some employees may be expected to work during
this time period. Any staff employee, regardless of their work location,
including remote work, may work only with the explicit approval of their
principal officer/designee and supervisor.

Researchers who need access to critical research facilities will need to
coordinate with their department for continued access to research
facilities during the curtailment period.

10.  *Will there be an impact on an employee’s vacation and sick leave
accruals if they take leave without pay (LWOP) during the winter
curtailment period instead of using vacation, “borrowed” vacation or
accrued compensatory time off?* For all groups of employees, under winter
curtailment provisions, up to three (3) days of unpaid leave shall be
considered time on pay status for the purposes of accruing vacation and
sick leave only.

11.  *What impact will there be on an employee’s holiday pay and vacation
and sick leave accruals if they take leave without pay (LWOP) during the
winter curtailment period or fall below 50% of the working hours?*

   - *SICK LEAVE:*

o   *Biweekly – Non-Exempt Employees*: In order to accrue sick leave, all
employees must be on pay status at least 50% of the working hours of any
given quadri-weekly cycle to accrue proportionate sick leave. Although up
to three (3) days of LWOP shall be considered as time on pay status during
a curtailment period, any additional days of LWOP could result in the
employee not accruing sick leave if they fall below 50% of the hours of the
quadri-weekly cycle.

o   *Monthly - Exempt Employees:* In order to accrue sick leave, all
employees must be on pay status at least 50% of the working hours of any
given month (88 for December 2024) to be eligible to accrue proportionate
sick leave. Although up to three (3) days of Leave without Pay (LWOP) shall
be considered as time on pay status during a curtailment period, any
additional days of LWOP could result in the employee not accruing sick
leave if they fall below 50% of the hours of the month.

   - *VACATION LEAVE:*

o   *Biweekly – Non-Exempt Employees*: Employees accrue vacation leave
based upon hours on pay status. For those part-time employees represented
by AFSCME (SX and EX) and Police Officers Unit (PA), an employee must be on
pay status at least 50% of the working hours in any given quadri-weekly
cycle to accrue proportionate vacation leave. Although up to three (3) days
of LWOP shall be considered as time on pay status during a curtailment
period, any additional days of LWOP could result in the employee not
accruing vacation leave if they fall below 50% of the hours of the
quadri-weekly cycle. For all other groups of non-represented and
represented employees, there is no 50% threshold in order to accrue
vacation and accrual is proportional to time on pay status in the
quadri-weekly cycle. Thus, up to three (3) days of LWOP will be considered
as time on pay status during the curtailment period. Any additional days of
LWOP could result in the employee not accruing full leave.

o   *Monthly - Exempt Employees*: Employees accrue vacation leave based
upon hours on pay status during the month. Although up to three (3) days of
LWOP shall be considered as time on pay status during a curtailment period,
any additional days of LWOP could result in the employee not accruing full
vacation accruals.

   - *HOLIDAY PAY: Note: Except for SX and EX employees, holiday earnings
   for employees who are paid on the biweekly pay cycle are calculated based
   on the UCPath holiday quadri-weekly cycle. Taking Leave without Pay during
   the curtailment may affect January holiday eligibility due to the UCPath
   holiday quadri-weekly look-back cycles. Please consult with your Payroll
   Administrative Specialist with any questions.*

   - *Monthly – Full-Time Exempt Employees*: Exempt employees must be on
   pay status during the week in which the holiday falls to receive holiday
   pay.

   - *Biweekly – Non-Exempt Employees*:

o   *Part Time*: Depending upon policy or collective bargaining agreement,
all part-time non-exempt employees receive proportionate holiday pay based
upon hours on pay status in the month or UCPath holiday quadri-weekly
cycle, excluding holiday hours. Part-time non-exempt employees must be on
pay status at least 50% of the hours of the month or holiday quadri-weekly
cycle, excluding holiday hours, to receive holiday pay. If a part-time
employee falls below 50%, they will lose their holiday pay for the month or
biweekly period.

o   *Full-Time*: Generally, LWOP taken during the winter curtailment period
will not result in loss of holiday pay for a full-time non-exempt employee.
However, depending upon the *policy* <https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406>*
or **collective bargaining*
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/>
agreement,
LWOP taken outside of the winter curtailment period may result in loss of
holiday pay. In most cases, full-time non-exempt employees must be on pay
status during the week in which the holiday falls, as well as their last
scheduled workday before the holiday and first scheduled workday after the
holiday to receive holiday hours. Please refer to *policy*
<https://policy.ucop.edu/doc/4010406> and *collective bargaining agreements*
<https://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/resources/employment-policies-contracts/bargaining-units/>
 for specific guidance.

12.   *Will an employee**’**s final paycheck be reduced if they separate
with a negative vacation leave balance?* An employees’ final paycheck will
be reduced to recapture any remaining negative vacation leave balance(s).
If the university is unable to appropriately reduce the balance due to the
timing of the separation and final check being issued, UC may take
additional steps to collect the overpayment.

*Definitions:*

   - *Quadri-weekly cycle* – two consecutive biweekly periods.

   - *UCPath holiday quadri-weekly cycle* – the two consecutive biweekly
   periods *directly preceding* the biweekly pay period in which the
   holiday falls.

Comments or questions regarding application of personnel policies during
the winter closure may be sent to Central Human Resources Policy at
hrpolicy at ucr.edu.
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