This document provides answers to frequently asked questions regarding the Winter Recess process in Workday.

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1. What is the Winter Recess?
   1. The Winter Recess is the period between the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays when all non-essential University operations close. Some departments or functions that provide critical or essential services may remain open and will need to maintain enough staff to ensure operations continue during this time.
   2. For more information, refer to Policy 532 – Winter Recess Policy and Policy 510 – University Holidays.
2. What period is Winter Recess for 2025?
   1. For 2025, Winter Recess will take place from Friday, December 26 through Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
3. Are employees expected to work during Winter Recess, or do they need to request paid time off?
   1. No. Employees are not expected to work during this period because all non-essential operations are closed. However, employees who support essential functions related directly to the health, safety, and welfare of the University, as well as certain critical research functions, may be required to work during Winter Recess.
   2. Employees cannot work during Winter Recess unless required by their supervisor.
   3. Per to Policy 532 – Winter Recess Policy, employees, both those who are not working and those who are scheduled to work, cannot use personal holiday or vacation time during Winter Recess.
4. Are employees who are not working during Winter Recess paid for the days they are off?
   1. Only benefits-eligible staff employees are paid for any days they are off during the Winter Recess period.
5. For benefits-eligible staff employees who will not be working during Winter Recess, should they request time off in Workday to ensure they are paid for the days they will be off?
   1. No. They do not need to take any action in Workday. The paid days off will be automatically entered and processed based on their regularly scheduled daily hours.
6. If a benefits-eligible staff employee is required by their supervisor to work during Winter Recess, will they lose the paid time off benefit they would have received if they were not working?
   1. No. If an employee is required to work during Winter Recess, they will not lose the paid time off they would have received. Instead, those hours will be banked and added to the employee’s Winter Recess 2025 time off balance. These hours may be used in 2026 and must be used between January 2 and June 30, 2026.
7. What should be done to ensure the hours employees work during Winter Recess are banked and added to their Winter Recess 2025 time off balance?
   1. The process to bank hours is different for biweekly and monthly benefits-eligible staff employees:
      1. Biweekly benefits-eligible staff employees
         1. Employees should record their hours worked by following the standard process they typically use. Helpful Knowledge Base Articles include:
            1. Entering Time as a Timesheet User in Workday
            2. Using the Time Clock Swiping Device
            3. Using the Web Clock in Workday
         2. If an employee works fewer hours than their regularly scheduled daily hours (for example, they work 1 hour of an 8-hour shift), the Time Approver or HR Partner must enter the remaining hours (in this example, 7 hours) to ensure the employee receives a full day of pay. These hours should be entered as time off using Other Absences - Paid as the Type of Absence. For detailed instructions, refer to Entering Paid Time Off On Behalf of a Worker in Workday Knowledge Base Article.
            1. Please note that Time Approvers or HR Partners should enter Other Absences - Paid hours only when an employee works fewer hours than their normally scheduled daily hours. If these hours are not entered, the employee will be underpaid.
         3. Upon approval, only the hours actually worked during Winter Recess will be banked into the Winter Recess 2025 time off accrual. Other Absences - Paid hours are not banked into the Winter Recess 2025 time off plan.
      2. Monthly benefits-eligible staff employees
         1. Employees should request time off in Workday for the dates they worked during Winter Recess, using Banking Winter Recess Hours 2025 as the Type of Absence. Doing this will move a full day of hours into their Winter Recess 2025 time off balance. For more information, refer to Requesting and Canceling Time Off in Workday Knowledge Base Article.
8. If an employee is scheduled to work during Winter Recess but needs to take time off due to sickness, bereavement, or jury duty, will those hours be added to their Winter Recess 2025 time off balance?
   1. Yes. Employees who are scheduled to work during Winter Recess but are approved to use accrued sick time, bereavement leave, or jury duty time will accrue paid time off for those hours.
   2. To ensure proper compensation and accurate banking of hours into the Winter Recess 2025 time off balance, employees must submit a time off request in Workday using the appropriate Type of Absence (Bereavement Leave, Jury Duty, or Sick Leave). Instructions can be found in the Requesting and Canceling Time Off in Workday Knowledge Base Article.
   3. For biweekly benefits-eligible staff employees who do not take a full-day absence and do not work the remaining hours needed to reach their regular scheduled daily hours (e.g., an employee has 4 hours of jury duty and works 2 hours during an 8-hour shift), Time Approvers or HR Partners must enter the remaining hours in Workday (2 hours in this example), following the instructions in step 7.a.i.2.
      1. Upon approval, only hours submitted under the appropriate Type of Absence (Bereavement Leave, Jury Duty, or Sick Leave) and hours actually worked during Winter Recess will be banked into the Winter Recess 2025 time off accrual. Other Absences - Paid hours will not be banked into the Winter Recess 2025 time off plan.
9. How can employees use the hours available in their Winter Recess 2025 time off balance?
   1. Employees may use their Winter Recess 2025 time off hours only between January 2 and June 30, 2026. To use these hours, they must submit a time off request in Workday following the steps in the Requesting and Canceling Time Off in Workday in Workday Knowledge Base Article and select Winter Recess 2025 as the Type of Absence.
   2. Any Winter Recess 2025 time off hours not used by June 30, 2026, will expire and cannot be carried forward.
10. What happens to an employee’s unused Winter Recess 2025 time off hours if their employment with the University ends?
    1. Upon termination of employment, employees will be paid for any accrued, unused Winter Recess 2025 time off hours that have not expired.