UK Graduate Medical Education provides a generous leave package. Residents and Fellows are eligible for leave time as outlined below: 

Vacation Leave- 15 paid vacation days per contract year. Vacation days are available as soon as you start your employment.

Holiday Leave- 9 days (10 during presidential election year) and 4 floating or 'bonus' days.

Temporary Disability Leave (TDL/Sick Leave)- 12 days per contract year. Unused TDL carries over into next contract year. TDL days are available as soon as you start your employment.

Wellness Leave- 2 of the 12 TDL days are wellness days. In general, an excuse from work from a healthcare provider is not required. 

Funeral and Bereavement Leave- Paid leave time, following UK HR policies: https://hr.uky.edu/policies/funeral-leave

Educational Leave- Programs may allow residents/fellows to have educational leave for conference or courses that further education. 

Family Medical Leave-  30 days paid leave per program. See below for more information.

Jury Duty Leave- Submit a copy of the call to jury to the Program Director as soon as possible. The GME Registrar can provide a request for temporary postponement. 

Military Leave- Submit a written request alongside copy of military orders to the GME Office and Program Director. 

Family Medical Leave Process:

• If you are interested in Family Medical Leave please contact the GME Benefits Coordinator. 
• The GME Benefits Coordinator will send you information on the FML Policy, along with the GME FML Request Form. In order for the FML Request to be approved, it must be sent directly to the GME Office by the resident/fellow's physician.
• When the GME Office has received the FML Request Form, you will receive a confirmation email from the GME Office.
• The GME Benefits Coordinator will then reach out to the Program Coordinator and work together to complete the FML Agreement Form. This form is then signed by the resident/fellow and the department/ Program Coordinator. 
• Lastly, a 'Status Closed' email will be sent to the resident/fellow and Program Coordinator. The main purpose for this final email is for record keeping and to provide ease of mind so you know that all requests are approved and processed.

*Please make sure to send all forms to the GME Office and not UK Human Resources 

• Effective 7/1/2022, all residents/fellows will have a one-time allotment of 30 days (6 work weeks) paid leave per training program for an approved, qualified Family Medical Leave (FML) event. Paid FML leave is in addition to other paid vacation, holiday, floating bonus days, and TDL days. Paid FML leave is available to any resident/fellow with an approved, qualified FML event, at any time during a training program, starting the first day the resident/fellow is required to report for training for the program.
• If you use 5 consecutive Temporary Disability Leave (TDL or sick) days, or if you plan to use Paid FML, you will be required to submit a GME FML Request form from a provider.
• Paid FML can be used intermittently during the duration of the qualified event.  For example, the standard FML leave time for care of a newborn is 12 weeks, so if you chose to do so, you could use the 6 weeks of paid leave intermittently during the 12 week period.
• In some cases, residents/fellows opt to use vacation time rather than TDL for a qualified event, to avoid submitting FML paperwork.  This is not encouraged as vacation time does not roll over each contract year, and taking advantage of the Paid FML protects your vacation time for use later in your contract year.
• Training credit and successful completion of each PGY level is determined by your program and CCC, please defer to your program if you have any specific questions about impact of leave time on training.

When should a resident/ fellow let their program know they will be needing FML? Preferably, as soon as possible. If the FML event is unexpected please communicate with your program and make it a priority to have the FML Request Form sent to the GME Office. 

Is it possible to use TDL, Vacation or Holidays to be paid for additional FML time? Yes. Since only 6 weeks of paid FML is offered, you can use other paid leave if you are in need of additional time. However, that time needs to be accounted for in the FML Request documentation sent in via your healthcare provider. 

Can I have multiple FML events? Yes. The FML process will still have to be followed. Be mindful that residents and fellows only have 30 days of paid FML for the entirety of their program. These days do not reset at the beginning of a new contract year.