Along with your supervisor, it is your responsibility to maintain an accurate, up-to-date balance. If you do not already have a method for tracking your vacation, check to see what method your department recommends. Many departments use the Vacation Tracker, an Excel-based tool that calculates the amount of vacation you earn each month. Instructions for using that tool can be found below.
In addition to Administrative Staff, this section applies to Technical Instructors with 12-month appointments.
Get the Tracker
The Vacation Tracker is an Excel file. When you open the file, be sure to click only in the yellow cells. The other cells are protected from editing, and if you click in a protected cell, you may see a password request. If this happens to you, just click only in the yellow cells intended for users. If you need help using the tracker or have questions about MIT's vacation policies, please email hrpolicies@mit.edu.
Notes on Using the Tracker
- The first column (month ending) will fill in automatically once you enter your Leave Accrual Rate Date and/or Month/Year to Begin Tracking.
- If your current Vacation Tracker has run out of lines, download a fresh copy. Use the last month/year listed on your old vacation tracker as the month and year to start tracking, and copy over your ending balances, as shown in the example below.
- For every 30 days of unpaid leave, known as a Leave Without Pay (LWOP), taken since your last anniversary, change your Monthly % Effort to zero for one month. This will adjust your vacation accrual according to MIT policy.
Instructions for Use
Fill in the yellow shaded cells as indicated below.
Leave accrual rate date
Use your first day as a vacation-eligible MIT employee unless you’ve had a break in MIT service. If you don’t know what date to use, check with your supervisor or HRO, or email hrpolicies@mit.edu.
Month and year to begin tracking
If you are new employee, leave these boxes blank; otherwise, enter the month and year when your last method of vacation tracking ended.
Ending balance (under regular vacation accrual)
If you are a new employee, enter 0; otherwise enter your vacation balance as of the date specified.
Balance (under 5th week credit)
Enter your 5th week vacation balance, if any, as of the date specified. (This will only apply to employees with 10 or more years of service.)
Notes
This field can be used to indicate the source of your initial starting balances (if applicable), the specific dates on which you take vacation each month, and details related to any changes in % effort. Some people also use it to record sick days and other time off, even though these other absences do not count against your vacation balance.
Days used
Enter the number of vacation days you use each month.
If you are a part-time employee, keep in mind that 1 day in the Vacation Tracker is always equivalent to a standard full work day, so a day of vacation for you might be less than 1. For example:
- I currently work part time (75% effort) – approximately 6 hours/day, 5 days/week. How do I record my vacation?
Because a "day" for you is 75% of a typical full work day, you should record .75 in the "Days Used" column for each day of vacation you take. - I currently work part-time (60% effort) by coming in three full days each week. How do I record my vacation?
Because you normally work full days, each day of vacation should be recorded as 1. - I currently work part-time (50% effort), two full days and one half day. How do I record my vacation?
It depends on the day. If you take vacation on a typical full day, enter that as 1. If you take vacation on one of your half days, enter that as .5. - I am a full time employee (100% effort), but I work a compressed schedule of 4 long (approximately 10-hour) days. How do I record my vacation?
Because a "day" for you is 25% longer than the average work day, each of your vacation days should be recorded as 1.25.
Monthly % effort
By default, this is set to 100%. If your level of effort changes, just update the % effort for that month, and the new number will be carried down.
- I changed my percent effort on August 21st, but my initial date of hire was on the 15th of the month. What do I type in the % effort column for the month ending September 14th?
This is partially at the discretion of you and your supervisor. One option would be to "round" your transition date to the closest month for purposes of vacation tracking. In this case, that would mean using your new percent effort for the full month ending September 14th. Alternatively, you could try to estimate an average percent effort for the transition month and use that number. Either way, be sure to note your method - and your new schedule - in the "Notes" column.
- I was on a Leave Without Pay from May 15 to July 19 (66 calendar days). How do I record that on my Vacation Tracker?
For each 30 days on LWOP, reduce one month's Monthly % Effort to zero. In your case, you could use June and July. For the following month, August, return your Monthly % Effort to the normal level.
Need Help?
For technical assistance downloading or opening the file, email hrweb@mit.edu. If you need help using the Tracker, please email hrpolicies@mit.edu.
