LEAVE BENEFITS

For information about employee leave options during Inclement Weather / Remote Learning, review the Employee Benefits > Special Leave page within this Employee Handbook website.

All Leave Benefits are determined based on the North Carolina Public Schools Benefits and Employment Policy Manual.

Sick Leave

Permanent full-time and employees who are working, or are on paid leave for one-half or more of the workdays in a monthly pay period, earn sick leave at the rate of one (1) day per month. Eligible permanent part-time employees earn sick leave equal to their percentage of full-time employment. Sick leave may be granted for the following: 

1. personal illness, injury, or other temporary disability (i.e. Pregnancy, childbirth, postnatal recovery),  or 

2. care for a child placed with an employee for adoption (up to 30 days of earned sick leave), or

3. illness in the employee’s immediate family, or 

4. death in the immediate family, or 

5. medical appointments, or

6. to care for a military covered service member.

The superintendent or designee (employee’s immediate supervisor) may require a statement from a medical doctor or other acceptable proof that the employee was unable to work due to illness.  Employees who anticipate using sick leave for a period of time must inform the principal or immediate supervisor in advance, so that continuity of duties may be maintained.

Any employee eligible to earn sick leave may have advanced at the supervisor’s discretion up to one (1) day of sick leave to which he or she is otherwise entitled for that upcoming pay month. In the event an employee separates from service before earning sick leave, which has been advanced, a deduction will be made from the final salary check for the total unearned sick leave used. Pay for unused leave is not permitted, except when an employee has been approved for long-term disability.

Sick leave may be transferred to and from a state agency, institution, community college or technical institute, or position covered by the State Personnel Act in county agencies if the receiving agency is willing to accept the leave. 

Upon retirement, accrued sick leave may be applied toward creditable state service. One (1) month of creditable service is allowed for each 20 days of unused sick leave and one (1) more month for any additional portion (greater than one (1) hour) when an employee retires.  If an employee separates from service prior to retirement, sick leave will be held for 60 months, five (5) years. After that time period, the benefits will no longer be available.  

Extended Sick Leave

Extended sick leave is available for up to 20 days each year to permanent full or part-time classroom teachers and media coordinators who require substitutes if they are absent due to their own personal illness or injury after all available sick leave and vacation leave have been exhausted.  Employees on extended sick leave receive full salary less the required substitute deduction of $50 per day.  Unused extended sick leave does not carry forward to subsequent school years. Requests for extended sick leave must be made and approved through the Human Resources Division. 

Annual/Vacation Leave

All permanent full-time and part-time employees who work or are on paid leave for one-half or more of the workdays in a monthly pay period earn annual vacation leave. Eligible part-time permanent employees earn leave equal to their percentage of part-time employment. State regulations and policies established by Chatham County Schools govern when vacation leave may be taken. Unused vacation leave can be accumulated and a maximum of 30 days carried forward to the next fiscal year which begins on July 1st. June 30th of each year, any accumulated days of annual/vacation leave in excess of 30 days are converted to sick leave days. When employees transfer between local educational agencies, vacation leave will also be transferred. Vacation leave may be transferred to a state agency if that agency is willing to accept it. 

Employees leaving the public schools will be paid for up to 30 days of accumulated annual/vacation leave.  If an employee separating from service is overdrawn with respect to annual vacation leave (i.e. - leave deficit or overdrawn vacation leave), a deduction in the appropriate amount must be made from the employee’s final paycheck.

Upon separation in order to retire, annual/vacation leave over 30 days may be converted to sick leave for creditable service toward retirement.  In case of death, the employee’s estate will receive payment for any accumulated annual/vacation leave up to 30 days. 

Instructional personnel who require substitutes (e.g., classroom teachers, media personnel, teacher assistants) and bus drivers are prohibited from using annual/vacation leave on student attendance days, except when the employee has a catastrophic illness or is caring for a newborn, adopted or foster child. Certain restrictions do apply to the above exceptions. 

The superintendent or designee (employee’s immediate supervisor) will have the authority to approve the vacation schedules of all personnel. To promote the efficient operation of schools, the superintendent may designate certain periods during the non-academic year as preferred vacation periods for 12-month employees. 

Vacation Leave Earning Rate 

Years of State Service

Days Earned Per Month 

Less than 2 years = 1.166 

2 but less than 5 years = 1.166 

5 but less than 10 years = 1.417 

10 but less than 15 years = 1.667 

15 but less than 20 years = 1.917 

20 years or more = 2.166 

Bonus Annual Leave

Occasionally bonus annual leave is awarded to eligible employees by the state or by local boards of education.  When this occurs, bonus annual leave can be used under the same circumstances and provisions as annual leave.  Bonus annual leave, with the exception of special bonus leave” is tracked separately and carried forward each year until used or paid out at separation of employment.

Continuous Leave of More Than Ten Days

All eligible employees will be provided with leave as required by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) and applicable State laws and State Board of Education policies. Teachers who request leave, with or without pay, will be required to write and leave lesson plans for the first 10 days of their leave period. 

Professional Leave

Employees are encouraged to attend and participate in relevant professional educational meetings and commendable programs. Approval for professional leave is required in advance from the immediate supervisor and in accordance with procedures adopted by the superintendent. 

Educational Leave

The school district encourages licensed employees to pursue additional coursework and advanced degrees. To this end, educational leave may be granted in semester increments not to exceed one (1) year per degree for licensed employees who have worked in the county for five (5) years or who are enrolled as full-time students at a college or university. Leave cannot be granted in consecutive years unless enrolled in a state fellows program.

To receive educational leave, the following requirements must be met: 

• the request must be made at least 60 days in advance of the opening of a new school year and must include a course of study that the employee plans to pursue. 

• the employee must provide verification or acceptance into a graduate program. 

• the employee is responsible for providing a transcript, copy of grades or official verification from college attended to be sent to the Licensure Specialist in Human Resources upon completion of each semester’s course work. 

• the employee is expected to notify the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources of any variance in the approved plan. 

Failure to meet the agreement for an educational leave of absence will be noted in the employee’s personnel file and could subsequently lead to further action, including dismissal.  Exceptions will be considered on an individual basis by the school system. 

Parental Involvement in Schools Leave

Any employee who is a parent, guardian or person in loco parentis may take up to four hours per fiscal year to attend or otherwise be involved at his or her child’s school. There is no requirement that the employer pay an employee while taking this leave. However, the school district may allow the employee to use eligible accrued leave in lieu of non-paid parental involvement leave. Consistent with 16 N.C.A.C. 6C.0405 and any rules adopted by the local board of education, a superintendent may grant a public school employee a leave of absence without pay in his discretion. Leave granted for this purpose is subject to the following conditions: (a) the leave shall be at a mutually agreed upon time between employer and employee, (b) the employer may require an employee to provide a written request at least 48 hours before the time desired for the leave, and (c) the employer may require that the employee furnish written verification from the child’s school that the employee attended or was otherwise involved at the school during the time of leave. 

For the purpose of this policy (and in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 95-28.3, “school” is defined as any: (a) public school, (b) private church school, church of religious charter, or nonpublic school that regularly provides a course of instruction, (c) preschool, or (d) child day care facility.

Paid Parental Leave (state approved benefit enacted July 1, 2023)

A permanent, probationary, or time-limited full-time employee who becomes a parent to a child under the age of 18 years by birth, adoption or placement in foster care may take the following paid parental leave: 1. Up to eight weeks of paid leave after giving birth to a child; or 2. Up to four weeks of paid leave after any other qualifying event. 

A permanent, probationary, or time-limited part-time employee may take a prorated amount of paid leave after giving birth. Part-time employees receive the same amount of leave as full-time employees. Employees who work less than full-time hours will receive compensation for paid parental leave based on the percentage of the total wages for that job that reflects the actual time worked. For the immediate twelve months preceding months, the employee must have been employed by a North Carolina public school in a permanent, probationary, or time-limited appointment without a break in service. The employee must have been in pay status for at least 1,040 hours in the previous 12-month period to qualify for paid parental leave.  Temporary employees, and independent contractors are not eligible for paid parental leave.

Unpaid Parental Leave

All full-time permanent or part-time permanent employees may take a leave of absence without pay for up to one calendar year from the date of birth or adoption to care for a newborn child or a newly adopted child.

Personal Leave

Permanent full-time classroom teachers and media specialists who require substitutes earn two (2) days of personal leave per year, cumulative to a maximum of five (5) days and are transferable between school systems.  Part-time personnel earn a pro-rata share of the rate for full-time teachers. Unused personal leave may be carried forward from one year to another and may be accumulated without limitation until June 30th. On June 30, personal leave in excess of five (5) days is converted to sick leave so that a maximum of five (5) days of personal leave are carried forward to July 1st. Upon retirement, any personal leave may also be converted to sick leave.

Personal leave may be used with the guidelines listed below.

• Personal leave may be used only upon the authorization of the immediate supervisor.

• Eligible staff shall not take personal leave on the first day the eligible staff is required to report for the school year, on a required eligible staff workday, on days scheduled for State testing, or on the day before or the day after a holiday or scheduled vacation day, unless the request is approved by the principal.

• Eligible staff who request personal leave at least five days in advance shall be automatically granted the request subject to the availability of a substitute. 

• Eligible staff making the request cannot be required to provide a reason for the request if the request is made at least five (5) days in advance.

• Personal leave may be used on any instructional day or workday except as noted above.

• Eligible staff using personal leave on qualifying student instructional days shall receive full salary if a reason for the request is provided. If a reason for the request is not provided, eligible staff will receive full salary less the required substitute deduction. If, however, no substitute is hired for a teacher, the substitute reduction shall be refunded to the eligible staff.

• Eligible staff using personal leave on non-protected workdays shall receive full salary. Eligible staff may use up to their accrued amount of personal leave on non-protected workdays in accordance with paragraphs a, b, c, and d above.

Holiday Leave

Twelve-month employees normally observe 11 holidays per year. Ten-month employees normally observe 10 holidays per year. When Christmas falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday an additional day of holiday leave is provided.  With the exception of Veteran’s Day, the Chatham County Board of Education determines when holidays are scheduled. 

Observance of Bona Fide Religious Holidays

Absence from school for bona fide religious holidays may be allowed for a maximum of two days within any one school year with prior approval from the superintendent. Days designated may not be already scheduled as vacation or other holidays in the school calendar. Absence for these religious holidays will be with full pay. The employee must agree to make up the amount of time for which his or her absence has been excused. The time must be made up at a time mutually agreeable with the employee and his or her supervisor. 

Voluntary Shared Leave

Voluntary shared leave is intended to provide economic relief for employees who face financial hardship due to a prolonged absence or frequent short-term absences caused by a serious medical condition. Voluntary shared leave may also be used during the required 60-day waiting period for short-term disability. An employee who is receiving benefits or is eligible to receive benefits from the Disability Income Plan and elects to use paid leave is not eligible to receive donated leave. 

Permanent full-time and part-time employees are eligible to receive donated leave. Eligible employees must exhaust available sick leave and vacation leave before using donated leave. Employees who are approved by the superintendent or designee to receive donated leave may receive annual vacation leave and sick leave from any employee including family members in the school system. Family members may donate annual vacation leave and sick leave to an immediate family member (see Section 1.1.12) in another LEA, community college or state agency. A public school employee shall not donate more than five (5) days of sick leave per year to any one non-family member. The combined total of sick leave donated to a recipient from non-family members shall not exceed 20 days per year.  A donor may not reduce his/her sick leave or annual vacation leave balance below one-half of what he/ she can earn in a year.

 Compensatory Leave

Only employees classified as “non-exempt” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) who work more than 40 hours in a work week are eligible for overtime pay. Compensatory time off in lieu of overtime pay may be given if agreed to by the employee and employer prior to the performance of the work. Compensatory time off is calculated at the rate of one and one-half hours for each hour of overtime worked. Compensatory leave may be accumulated to a maximum of 240 hours. When the maximum is reached, additional overtime hours worked must be paid at the overtime rate. If a non-exempt employee terminates employment, he/she must be paid for any unused compensatory time earned at a rate not less than

(a) the average regular rate received by such employee during the last three

      years of the employee’s employment, or

(b) the final regular rate received by the employee, whichever is higher. 

In compliance with Board of Education Policy 7500 "Workday and Overtime" (part C: Overtime and Compensatory Time), an employee's compensatory time balance will be exhausted before any sick leave or annual leave balances are used. 

Unauthorized Absences and Leave Deficit

To the extent permitted by law and policy, absence(s) without prior approval, failure to follow established leave procedures, habitual tardiness, or abuses of designated working hours are categorized as neglect of duty and shall result in disciplinary action by the employee’s supervisor up to, and including, dismissal. An employee who has neither earned nor will earn sufficient annual vacation leave to cover any annual vacation leave day scheduled in the school calendar will be placed on leave deficit. Note that "leave without pay" is reserved for specific health benefit entitlements to eligible employees and is not a self-selected leave option by an employee. An employee knowingly entering into a leave deficit in the absence of established health benefit entitlements or unforeseen circumstances (such as covered under the provisions of Board of Education Policy 7550: Absences Due to Inclement Weather) may result in disciplinary action from the supervisor.