Faculty Leaves Without Pay (LWOP)
- Ann Kelble
Overview:
A faculty member may request a leave without pay for academic reasons or personal reasons. Each situation comes with its own specific requirements and processes.
This article will go over different LWOP situations and how a COLA faculty member would request the applicable leave type. This article will focus on leaves without pay separate from an individual applying for coverage under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). FMLA is often accompanied by a request for unpaid time off, recording of available sick leave time off, or a combination of both. (See also Faculty Sick Leave)
Faculty requests for leave without pay are final-approved by the Provost’s Office.
Relevant Definitions:
LWOP: Leave without pay; [ELL-wop]; specifically, when an employee is removed from UT’s Payroll, either fully or partially.
There are a number of circumstances where a faculty member could go on LWOP, several of which we will attempt to describe here. The primary thing to keep in mind is that it doesn’t just “happen”.
There are two main categories of LWOP:
academic/professional - full- or part-time
personal/medical - full- or part-time
All LWOPs are final-approved by EVPP, but they also must route through Chair and Dean approvals.
Academic LWOP: an LWOP related to research or other professional activities; typically involves an invitation from another institution or an external fellowship. May involve receiving funds from an external entity (e.g., salary, stipend, award).
Will require prior approval via UT’s Conflict of Interest Office (see Process section) even before applying for the LWOP.
Personal LWOP: there are two basic subcategories of personal LWOP: medical and non-medical.
Medical LWOP: an umbrella term, for purposes of this article, to cover any LWOP related to FMLA, a health condition (of faculty member or faculty’s close relative, as defined by university policy), or similar scenario in which it would be appropriate to utilize paid sick time off. Please see Faculty Sick Leave for more information.
Non-medical personal LWOP: when a faculty member wants to request an LWOP so as to be free from their university responsibilities, for whatever reason(s) they might have, supported by their personal funds.
NOTE: COLA will not approve part-time non-medical personal LWOPs. Non-medical personal LWOPs should only be requested at 100% for either a long semester (Fall or Spring) or for the entire academic year (AY).
i.e., A faculty member may Not request a reduction in pay in order to reduce their teaching obligations.
Unpaid Time Off: University/Workday term describing a part-time LWOP and/or LWOP of less than 30 days of duration. Workday term for full LWOP of greater than 30 days is “Leave - Academic;” results in “(On Leave)” designation following faculty member’s name, once processed in Workday.
Return Rule: A requirement related to certain research-related faculty awards (e.g., FDLs, CSEFs, and SFAs), and specified in the award letter, in which a faculty member is released from teaching but remains on the instructional budget. Specifies that when the faculty member’s award period is over, they will return to their normal FTE appointment at UT Austin for a required amount of time, typically for one academic year following the completion of their award, or they will be required to re-pay the amount of salary provided by the award.
EVPP: The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, a.k.a. the Provost’s Office. Faculty Affairs is the area of EVPP which helps to oversee many/most processes related to academic staff and faculty, such as hiring, leaves, promotions, and related matters. Academic Personnel Services (APS) is a team within the larger umbrella of EVPP Faculty Affairs area; they typically help with processing faculty leaves, among many other things.
COLA HR: The human resources team in the Dean’s Office which supports the faculty, staff, and students of COLA. Contact us at COLA_HR@austin.utexas.edu
Process:
COLA Deadlines:
June 30 – Fall Semester Requests
October 31 – Spring Semester Requests
If Academic LWOP, start here:
Pre-approval step: Any request for leave without pay connected to a faculty member’s research activities (i.e., any Academic LWOP, full or partial), must include a prior approval request through the university’s Conflict of Interest office.
Individual faculty members must submit this pre-approval request on their own:
The pre-approval request form is available through the UT Research Management Suite: go to https://coi.research.utexas.edu
Click on the “COI” tab on the top banner.
Click on “Request Pre-Approval” found on the lefthand side of the screen.
For “type of request,” most research awards related to LWOPs will fall under the category found at the bottom: “Involvement in sponsored research not managed by UT Austin.”
If Personal LWOP, start here; if Academic LWOP, continue here:
Faculty member then reaches out to department staff--typically the department manager or whomever is responsible for supporting faculty HR within the unit--and Chair to request leave.
Faculty member ensures they follow guidelines established by COLA’s Research & Scholarship Office.
Staff should discuss with faculty member how taking leave may affect the following:
Benefits and premium sharing:
Faculty on 100% LWOP and not covered by FMLA may still be able to retain insurance coverage but are not eligible for premium sharing.
Faculty on Unpaid time off retain insurance coverage and premium sharing.
For a chart outlining different scenarios, please see: Faculty Leave Types and Benefits Impacts.
Please consult with COLA HR if you have specific questions about this.
Any previously committed return rules; if department does not have solid records of faculty leaves taken, check with COLA HR.
If a faculty member wishes to be on an approved Academic LWOP during the academic year following an award, but then plans to return to their full-time duties at the university in the following academic year, an exception to the return rule policy may be granted in exceptional circumstances. The request must include a description of their plans and their reason for not returning the year immediately following their award, and the request must be endorsed by their supervisor and dean. The request should be submitted via COLA HR.
NOTE: Return rules connected to an FDL cannot be waived.
Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis and, if an exception is granted, it will be contingent upon the faculty member’s subsequent return to their normal duties at the university as outlined.
If the faculty member is an Assistant Professor: Probationary status/promotion & tenure "clock"; see more information on tenure-track probationary period here.
Any departmental responsibilities the faculty member will retain while on leave.
Academic and Personal LWOP are both requested using the Faculty Request for Leave (FRL) form.
Complete the form based on the specific leave faculty member is taking.
The percentage faculty member will be on leave is based on their funding amount and their current salary.
The FRL is submitted to COLA HR via the faculty leaves submission portal without collecting any signatures. Please follow naming convention: "LWOP_YY-YY_DEPT_Lastname_Semester_FRL"
"YY-YY" = the fiscal year of the leave; ex. "28-29"
"DEPT" = 4-character UT Department code for your unit; ex. "PSYC" (Department of Psychology)
"Lastname" = faculty member requesting the leave
"Semester" = the semester for which the leave is requested (Fall, Spring, or AY, if full year)
NOTE: It is very important to follow the naming convention above and begin with “LWOP”. Since any LWOP must be approved by the Provost, and because of the payroll implications, it is critical for COLA HR to easily identify requests involving LWOP.
COLA HR will create a leave record in the CLASP database and begin processing.
There are instances when the leave cannot be processed until the faculty member’s academic rate for the upcoming academic year is known, but department staff should not wait to submit leave requests.
COLA HR will submit the request through the APS Service Now "Request for Leave" form. The form will route to the faculty member and department chair for approval.
Once approved, or denied, by APS, COLA HR will forward the Service Now notification to the requesting department.
In many, but not all (see -c.- below) cases, 100% LWOP and Unpaid Time Off are processed in Workday by APS, with no direct action is needed from the departments after the FRL has been approved, though it is useful for department staff to check that the Workday updates have been made.
For approved 100% LWOPs, the faculty member will appear in Workday with "(On Leave)" after their name.
For Unpaid Time Off, the unpaid time off would be listed under the "Time Off" tab.
When there are FMLA or Parental Leave hours to be tracked, departments must enter the faculty member’s time off via timesheets, a.k.a., the “Enter Time” business process in Workday. (See Faculty Sick Leave wiki)
If an LWOP is not requested by the department or faculty member with sufficient advance notice, the faculty employee may be overpaid by Payroll. In this instance you would:
Reach out to COLA HR to inform us of the overpayment.
Step 3 (the FRL) would need to be completed as soon as possible.
Once the LWOP has been input into Workday by APS, COLA HR will contact Payroll with information about the overpayment.
If there is FMLA/Parental Leave and the department inputs LWOP into Workday, the department must ensure the completion and final-approval of the time and then contact COLA HR so that Payroll can be notified.
Payroll will give us options for how the overpayment can be corrected. COLA HR will work with the department staff to contact the faculty member to determine how to correct the overpayment.
Related policies and information:
HOP 2-2210: Faculty Leaves and Special Assignments
Faculty Leave Information (EVPP Site)
Faculty Leave Types and Benefits Impacts (EVPP/HR Chart)
Insurance Options While on LWOP (Central HR Site)
Other Related Links:
Faculty Submissions Portals (wiki)