When are Time Logs due?
Time logs are due on the first Friday of every month for the preceding month.
For example, your August time log is due Friday, Sept. 5, 2014.
What are my work hours?
VISTA members work "full time" according to the hours and custom of the host site. Typically, this means members work 40 hours per week. However, because VISTAs are viewed as 24/7 resources supporting the host site's poverty-fighting mission, VISTAs must be available on weekends and after hours to carry out service-related duties.
VISTAs are allowed 10 personal days and 10 sick (medical) days during your year of service. Please use these days wisely. You should notify your host site supervisor in advance before taking vacation or sick days. Talk with your supervisor to understand how and when to put in personal and sick day requests.
Any holiday that is NOT observed by your host site (including religious holidays) is a work day, unless you are approved to take a personal day.
If your office is closed for an extended period (4 days +), you must take PERSONAL days OR find an alternative way to serve (work at community partner or tele-work). Contact NC Campus Compact in advance to discuss these situations.
For more information on leave policies, see "More Information" below.
How do I log TIME OFF?
PERSONAL DAYS are logged using the letter P. You have 10 personal days for your year of service.
Should not be taken in your last month of service, except in family emergencies.
Do not roll over into your next year of service.
SICK DAYS are logged using the letter S. You have 10 sick days for your year of service.
Should not be taken in your last month of service, except in family emergencies.
Do not roll over into your next year of service.
COMP DAYS are logged by writing "comp" in the cell.
Depending on policy of host site and discretion of site supervisor, "comp days" (short for complimentary) may be taken if you have worked "overtime" hours.
Should be taken within 2 weeks of overtime. Your time log should reflect "overtime hours" that earned the comp day.
HOLIDAYS are logged using the letter H.
Some National Holidays are already marked on your calendar.
Office closings should be logged using H. You should not record more than 4 consecutive Holidays.
How can I make NOTES on my sheet?
Right clicking on a cell will open a small menu.
Click "insert note" to add a note about a specific cell.
The names of National Holidays are noted on your time log in this way.
What are the GREEN BOXES for?
The green boxes mark the start and end dates of your service.
Do I need to TOTAL my hours and days worked at the bottom?
Most of the time: Nope! Your hours, days worked, and any time off will be tallied automatically by the spreadsheet.
The sheet formulas are why it's so important to log your time off accurately.
HOWEVER, the formula cannot account for partial sick or personal days taken. So, if you take 0.5 or 1/2 Sick day you must count up your sick and personal days on your own at the bottom of the month column.
Who SEES MY TIME LOG?
Your VISTA Leader...adds up all your hours and copies them to a spreadsheet on our server.
Chad Fogleman...reviews your hours on the server.
Your Supervisor...reviews and approves your hours on a monthly basis.
More Information
For more info about VISTA leave policies, visit: http://www.vistacampus.gov/chapter-9-leave-benefits
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
AmeriCorps VISTA members enjoy the national holidays that are recognized by their sponsoring organization and are given as time off to the rest of the organization's personnel. Members do not get federal holidays that are not recognized by their sponsoring organization. For example, if your organization does not give its staff a holiday for Veterans Day, you are also expected to work unless you request and receive approval for one day of personal leave. Additionally, if you want the day off for a religious observance, you should request a day of personal leave.
If your sponsoring organization provides its staff additional "floating holidays," "spring breaks," "summer recesses," etc., you are expected to continue to serve on your assignment unless authorized to take the time off as part of your personal leave. Your work plan should spell out the assignments expected of you during these periods. If it does not, consult with your supervisor.
EMERGENCY LEAVE
In case of a death or critical illness in your immediate family, you may be granted up to 5 days of emergency leave. You must contact NC Campus Compact and receive approval from the CNCS State Office in order to obtain any emergency leave.
The sponsoring organization may grant you up to five workdays of emergency leave. Emergency leave is granted in two types of situations. First, it is granted if you serve in an area where a natural disaster occurs and requires you to leave the area temporarily. Second, emergency leave is granted if an immediate family member (spouse, domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, or guardian) becomes critically ill or dies. Additional time away from the project requires the approval of the Corporation State Office Director. Emergency leave does not count against your personal leave time.
If circumstances require you to take emergency leave, you should notify the sponsoring organization or supervisor at once and, if requested, provide the sponsoring organization or supervisor with some evidence of the emergency. If the sponsoring organization determines that an emergency exists, the sponsoring organization will inform the Corporation State Office.
If travel is required, AmeriCorps VISTA will pay for the fastest regularly scheduled means of transportation to and from the site of the emergency or to your home of record, provided the destination is in the United States or a U.S. territory. In exceptional circumstances, members may have to purchase their own tickets, which will be reimbursed at the lowest commercial bus or train fare available. In circumstances where air travel is the only option, tickets may be reimbursed at the lowest commercial air fare available. You will be reimbursed for actual travel expenses (e.g., tolls, parking), but you will receive no additional allowances for your travel.