Shared Leave

Shared Leave FAQs
Shared Leave Request Form (pdf)
Shared Leave Donation Form

The Shared Leave Program allows an employee to donate sick and/or vacation leave to another qualified employee who is out of leave (or nearly out of leave) and experiencing (or caring for a family member who is experiencing) an extreme, or life threatening illness or injury.

Shared leave for an extreme or life threatening condition will only be granted for extreme, or life-threatening illnesses, injuries, impairments or physical or mental conditions which have caused, or are likely to cause, you to take leave without pay or terminate employment. Shared Leave will not be granted for common or minor illnesses, injuries, impairments or physical or mental conditions.

Eligibility

All faculty and staff who are appointed to a regular position and meet the following requirements are eligible to participate in the shared leave program as leave recipients or as donors:

  • You have, or are caring for a family member who has, an extreme, or life-threatening illness, injury, impairment or physical or mental condition, which makes you unable to perform your regular work duties;
  • The above condition has caused, or is it likely to cause you to take leave without pay or terminate employment (because you are out of leave or will be out of leave);
  • You have six months of continuous regular service with the State of Kansas;
  • Have a satisfactory attendance record for the 12 months prior to any shared leave approval.  Unsatisfactory attendance includes but is not limited to: documented discipline (Written Reprimand, Suspension, Involuntary Demotion, Dismissal) for attendance and/or placement on attendance restrictions;
  • Have not been subject to disciplinary action (Suspension, Involuntary Demotion, Dismissal) within the 12 months prior to any shared leave approval, as determined by HR;
  • Have not received an overall rating of "unsatisfactory" on most recent performance evaluation.

Extreme or Life Threatening Condition

To request shared leave for an extreme or life threatening medical condition, please carefully follow and complete the following guidelines:

Review and Determination of Shared Leave for an Extreme or Life Threatening Condition

HR will pre-screen your shared leave request for eligibility. If your request meets eligibility requirements, the Shared Leave Committee (SLC) will then approve, disapprove, or return the request to you for additional information or clarification.

Please note, requests received by HR before 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be reviewed by the SLC and a determination will be made by 5:00 p.m. on Friday the following week. Requests received by HR after 5:00 p.m. on Thursday will be reviewed by the SLC and a determination will be made by 5:00 p.m. two weeks after the date it was submitted.

Shared Leave Donations

Donations of leave must be made in full-hour increments using the Shared Leave Donation Form. If you are a staff member and wish to donate, you must have a vacation leave balance of at least 80 hours after the donation is made. If you are a faculty or staff member and wish to donate, you must have a sick leave balance of at least 480 hours after the donation is made. Faculty are only allowed to donate sick leave, with a maximum donation of 80 hours per fiscal year. The leave balance requirements are not applicable if the employee is separating from employment with the University.

*An accessible version of the documents on this site will be made available upon request. Please contact our office at hrdept@ku.edu to request the document be made available in an accessible format.