Holidays & Vacations

Fiscal year 2023-2024 has 13 holidays (including 2 floating holidays).

The total number of holidays awarded to state employees fluctuates annually due to certain holidays sometimes falling on Saturday or Sunday. Institutions of higher education may rearrange state holidays and establish their own holidays in order to provide more effective work schedules consistent with the academic calendar.

2023-2024 Holiday Schedule

Download the Schedule

What happens to…

• Clinical Operations and Support on Holidays
  • UT Southwestern hospitals are fully operational every day, thus requiring appropriate staffing on holidays.
  • Employees who work on standard holidays will be granted state compensatory time in lieu of those holidays.
  • State compensatory time off must be scheduled within twelve (12) months following the work week in which it was earned.
  • State compensatory time off must be used before vacation hours. (See EMP-261 Holiday Leave and EMP-204 Overtime Compensation.)
  • State compensatory time off may also be used to observe alternative religious holidays, optional holidays (below), or a state or national holiday not officially observed by UT Southwestern.
• Floating Holidays
  • Two floating holidays (16 hours) are distributed over the 12-month fiscal year.
  • Use of floating holiday hours require approval of employee’s immediate supervisor.
  • Newly hired employees are eligible to use floating holidays.
  • Regular, benefits-eligible employees who work less than 40 hours per week will accrue floating holiday hours proportionate to their appointment percentage.
• Optional Holidays

  A holiday-pay-eligible employee may observe optional holidays (below) by either working on any standard holiday on which appropriate staffing is required or by using applicable accrued leave.

  • Rosh Hashanah
  • Yom Kippur
  • Good Friday
  • Cesar Chavez Day
• Unused Holiday & Vacation Hours
  • Employees are encouraged to utilize their holidays and vacation time in the year it is earned.
  • The number of unused vacation hours that can carry forward from one fiscal year to the next is shown below.
  • Holiday hours are not included in the maximum hours that can carry forward.
  • Unused holiday hours must be separately accounted for and can carry forward from one fiscal year into the next.
  • Unused vacation leave in excess of the maximum carry forward amount will be credited to the employee’s sick leave balance on September 1.
  • Maximum carryover and accrued hours for part-time benefits-eligible employees are proportionate to their appointment percentage. See EMP-252 Vacation Leave.

Vacation & Floating Holiday Accrual Rates

The vacation accrual rates and floating holiday accrual rates for full-time employees are as follows:

Related Policies

• EMP-204 Overtime Compensation
• EMP-252 Vacation Leave
• EMP-261 Holiday Leave 

Questions about holiday and vacation policies?

University Employee Relations
214-648-9891

employeerelations@utsouthwestern.edu