PCES Annual Leave Usage – 13YG013HR000
- Directorate:
- Human Resources and Support
- Program Area:
- Human Resources & Support
- Responsible Postal Official:
- Chief Human Resources Officer and Executive VP
- Start Date:
- 01-10-2013
- Estimated Report Date:
AUDIT OVERVIEW
Postal Career Executive Service (PCES) employees earn leave at the rate of eight hours per pay period, for a total of 208 hours per year. In addition to taking annual leave to go on vacation, rest, or just take a break from work, etc, PCES employees are eligible to exchange annual leave hours for a lump-sum payment or donate annual leave to persons with serious health conditions. However, Postal Service policy is not clear on what constitutes annual leave usage. Our objective is to gather information regarding use, exchange and donation of annual leave by PCES employees.
Questions:
What do you think constitutes annual leave usage?
Any EAS employee can take leave ‘around’ a business trip if it (and the trip) is approved by their manager in advance and (most important) if the trip expenses paid by the USPS are not more than they would have been otherwise. The assumption is that the ‘approved’ business trip is necessary and not just to benefit the employee.
Thank you for your input “K”. What would you suggest instead?
To constitute required PCES use of annual leave the user should actually take time away from work charging these hours as annual leave taken. Other uses such as transfers/donations or redemption of unused annual leave hours would not constitute ‘true use’ of annual leave for any employee.
What?!! Donations of leave to other employees should not be considered using leave? Then explain where the funds for OTHER employee being away from the job would come from, please. Once leave hours are donated they belong to the other employee and that employee and are not returned, even if the employee returns to work, retires, etc. I think a suggestion of this type states to give PCES employees the allotted leave but donate any amount to anyone they want and never run out–never mind the rules for anyone else.
Tom thank you for your response. We will take your comment into consideration for a future audit.
Rather than asking what constitutes annual leave, the question should be whether PCES should be allowed to take “business trips” and then attach annual leave to that trip, thereby having their travel expenses paid by the company.
Well said.