Department of Pharmacy Policies & Procedures

Number: 2:02

Effective Date: August, 1990

Revisions: 7/97; 9/99; 5/09

Approval: October, 1999

Subject: ATTENDANCE

 

A. POLICY

The pharmacy seeks to establish a balance between employee time off (vacation, sick, holiday, etc.) and the department’s need to maintain adequate staff to fulfill its mission. Accrued time must be used by employees in a responsible manner. The Unapproved Absences policy for UAMS will guide all procedures in the pharmacy department.

B. VACATION PROCEDURES

1. Vacation days are to be scheduled in advance using the "Leave or Clocking Exception Request" form. This should be turned into the immediate supervisor.

2. Vacation requests are to be made to the employee’s immediate supervisor at least one week in advance of the first requested vacation day. Preferably, requests should not be made sooner than three months before the desired time.

3. Vacation requests are approved by the supervisor after consideration of the staffing requirements of the department. In the absence of the supervisor, the Director of Pharmacy Services will authorize vacations.

C. HOLIDAY PROCEDURES

1. Employees working a Monday through Friday schedule will take holidays on the day they occur. Exceptions are the holidays for the employee’s birthday and the anniversary of the date of employment, which should be taken as soon as possible after they occur.

2. In the event of a workload crisis, an employee may be scheduled to work on a holiday. When this occurs a holiday credit is accumulated for the hours worked up to eight hours.

3. Shift employees will work the days scheduled. If work occurs on a holiday or if the day is a scheduled day off, a holiday credit (up to 8 hours) is accumulated.

4. Scheduling holiday credits will be arranged between the employee and supervisor. Approval can be given with only 24 hours coordination with the supervisor. Approval will depend upon the workload experienced and the available staff scheduled for the day desired.

5. The OPC pharmacy is closed on holidays; therefore, employees will take holiday time off on the actual day of the holiday. However, in the event a pharmacist or technician is required to work on a holiday, they will be granted holiday time at another date. Requests for this time will be determined using the vacation time procedure.

D. SICK LEAVE PROCEDURES

1. Sick leave is accumulated for use by the employee when absences are necessary due to illness or the need for diagnosis and treatment for themselves or their immediate family.

2. Employees who are sick should notify the pharmacy of their inability to work as far ahead of the shift as possible so that arrangements may be made to cover their shift. All notification must be given to the supervisor or senior pharmacist on the shift in which they report the absence.  Failure to provide appropriate notification will be cause for disciplinary action.

3. Sick leave will not be scheduled for any other purpose than a doctor’s appointment, a planned hospitalization, or a convalescent period prescribed by a doctor. Sick leave should be requested as far in advance as possible. Requests for sick leave should be made to the supervisor using the "Leave or Clocking Exception Request" form.

4. Excessive use of sick leave will be monitored and appropriate actions will be taken as defined in the UAMS Unapproved Absences policy HR 2.02.