Federal Leave Accrual Explained: Annual and Sick Leave by Years of Service

Federal Leave Accrual: Annual and Sick Leave by Years of Service

Leave in the federal government is earned by the pay period, and the rate steps up as your service grows. That means two coworkers on the same team can build vacation time at different speeds. The Federal Employee Leave Accrual Calculator puts your tier, your hours and your balance together so you know what to expect.

Annual leave tiers

For a full-time employee:

• Less than 3 years of service: 4 hours per pay period, which is 13 days a year.
• 3 years to under 15 years: 6 hours per pay period, 20 days a year.
• 15 years or more: 8 hours per pay period, 26 days a year.

There are 26 pay periods in a year. Service for leave includes creditable military service and time in other federal jobs, so your tier can be higher than your time at the current agency suggests.

Part-time employees

Part-time employees do not earn a fixed number of hours. They earn one hour of annual leave for every 20 hours in pay status with less than 3 years, one hour for every 13 hours from 3 to 15 years and one hour for every 10 hours from 15 years. The calculator applies the right ratio when you enter fewer than 80 hours per pay period.

Sick leave

Full-time employees earn 4 hours of sick leave per pay period at any length of service, which is 13 days a year, and part-time employees earn one hour for every 20 hours in pay status. Sick leave carries over without a limit and, for retirement, can increase your service time.

The 240-hour carryover limit

At the end of the leave year most employees can keep a maximum of 240 hours of annual leave. Anything above that is forfeited, which is why people speak of "use or lose". Enter your current balance, the leave you plan to use and the pay periods that remain; the calculator warns you if the projected balance goes over the limit.

A worked example

An employee with 5 years of service starts the period with 120 hours and expects 13 pay periods. At 6 hours per period they earn 78 hours and finish with 198 hours if they take no leave. Another employee in the 15-year tier carries 280 hours into a full year of 26 periods and would reach 488 hours, so 248 hours would be forfeited at the 240-hour limit unless they take at least that much leave. Seeing the number early leaves time to plan a long vacation instead of losing days.

Using the tool

Enter years of service, hours per pay period and your balances. Leave the pay periods at 26 for a full year or use a smaller number for a forecast to a date. The headline shows the leave earned per pay period and per year; the details show the balance, the carryover limit and the hours at risk, and the sick leave balance. All tiers and limits are in editable tables, in case your agency has a special rule.

Special cases

Some employees, such as firefighters, certain overseas employees and members of the Senior Executive Service, have different rules. Leave earned after a break in service, restored leave and leave under a union contract may differ too. Ask your human resources office for your exact leave status.

This calculator is a planning aid. It does not read your leave records and is not an official statement of your balance.

Planning a year of leave

A useful habit is to run the calculator in January, in June and in October. In January you see how much leave you will earn over the year and how much you can take without any risk. In June you check whether you are on pace to stay under the limit. In October you still have time to schedule days off, or to ask your supervisor to approve leave, before the leave year ends. Remember that sick leave is a different bank: you cannot use annual leave rules to plan it, but you can see how it builds up for the day you need it, or for the day you retire and the unused hours count toward your service.