Types of Leave
Information on the Type of Leave Provided to FCPS Employees
Sick Leave
Employees assigned a specific number of contract/work days accrue sick leave. Accrual rates are based on the employee's contracted work schedule as shown below:
- Monthly paid employees who work 12 months per year earn at a rate of 0.0538 times the eligible hours worked each month. This would be approximately 14 days per year for employees who work an entire 12 months of the year.
- Monthly-paid employees who work less than 12 months earn at a rate of 0.0632 times the eligible hours worked each month. This would be approximately 12 days per year for employees who work 10 months of the year.
- Biweekly paid employees earn at a rate of .0538 times the eligible hours worked in the two-week work period.
Sick leave will be granted to the employee upon reporting to their first contracted day of work at the start of each contract year. If an employee starts after their first scheduled day or has a full-time and/or schedule change during the contract year, the employee's sick leave will be prorated and/or adjusted accordingly.
You may use sick leave for personal illness/injury and/or for the care of immediate family members as defined by FCPS.
If you are transferring from another public school division in Virginia, you may request to have up to 60 work days of accumulated sick leave transferred to FCPS. This request must be in writing to the Office of Payroll Management and must be submitted within the 12-month period after separation from the previous school district.
Personal Leave
FCPS allows less-than-twelve-month employees, instructional staff, and all other employees who work fewer than twelve months each year to use up to five (5) days of sick leave as personal leave. Personal leave not used in one contract/work year is carried over to the next contract/work year as sick leave only.
Annual Leave
Only 12-month employees are eligible for annual leave. The earnings rate is dependent on the number of eligible years of service with FCPS. See the schedule below:
Years of Service | Maximum Days Earned Per Year |
---|---|
0 | 13 |
1 | 14 |
2 | 15 |
3 | 16 |
4 | 17 |
5 | 18 |
6 | 19 |
7 | 20 |
8 | 21 |
9 | 22 |
10 | 23 |
11 | 24 |
12 | 25 |
13+ | 26 |
During the first 10 continuous years of employment, 12-month employees may accumulate up to a maximum of 30 days of annual leave. Beginning in year 11, 12-month employees can accumulate up to a maximum of 40 days of annual leave. Any unused annual leave beyond those maximums will be converted into sick leave at the beginning of each new fiscal year (July 1).
Similar to sick leave, annual leave will be granted to the employee upon reporting to their first contracted day of work at the start of each contract year. If an employee starts after their first scheduled day or has a full-time and/or schedule change during the contract year, the employee's sick leave will be prorated and/or adjusted accordingly.
Leave Entitlements
All FCPS employees who are eligible for sick and/or annual leave will receive their annual entitlement at the beginning of each fiscal year (July 1). Employees who join FCPS or have a position change after July 1, will see their available annual leave one month in the arrears. Employee’s on short-term disability, long-term disability, leave of absences and/or workers’ compensation leave status will have their who leave prorated leave granted when they return to work. Leave is processed one month after the leave is taken.
The Leave Donation Program
Effective November 1, 2023, FCPS has implemented a leave donation program, which allows a voluntary transfer of sick leave balances between specific employees. To be able to participate in this program, both the leave donor and leave recipient will both need to meet specific program requirements as described below:
- The leave donor (the employee with leave) must donate leave to a specific employee referred to as a recipient (the employee who needs leave). The donor will complete the Leave Donation form. To be eligible to donate, the donor must be actively working at the time of the donation and must be able to maintain a minimum balance of 180 hours after the requested leave donation is transferred to the recipient. Donations cannot exceed 160 hours per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30).
- The leave recipient is the employee receiving the sick leave transfer. The recipient must be eligible to earn sick leave and must have exhausted all available leave balances. Additionally, the recipient must be on approved FMLA (excluding paid short-term disability), pending worker’s compensation, or pending short-term disability. The recipient can receive leave from multiple donors but will not be provided their names.
After the leave donation form is submitted via StaffConnect, the Disability and Leaves Section will verify the status of the recipient and advise Payroll Services. If approved, Payroll Services will process the leave donation one month in the arrears. If you would like to discuss your desire to donate leave or receive leave, please contact us at 571-423-3200.
The leave donation process is outlined in Regulation 4819.
For More Information
Refer to Regulations 4819: Sick Leave, 4813: Annual Leave, 4810: Administrative Leave - Emergency, 4814: Administrative Leave - Civil, and 4817: Religious Accommodation for Employees.