The opportunity to enroll in the University of Nebraska’s voluntary work-reduction program has been extended to Dec. 31.
The university introduced the program, available to most full-time office/service and managerial/professional employees, in an effort to lower labor costs and address the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The program allows office/service and managerial/professional UNMC/UNO employees the option to reduce their work hours, effectively receiving extra time off in exchange for reduced income. Enrollment is due Dec. 31.
Hours can be reduced by as much as 25%, or to 0.75 full-time equivalent (FTE).
Insurance benefits will remain the same under reduced schedules, although salary, vacation and sick leave benefits and retirement contributions will be adjusted in proportion to the schedule reduction.
Interested employees must fill out a form and deliver it to their supervisor by Dec. 31. (The form can be found here.) The employee, their supervisor and the chief administrative officer of their unit must approve the new schedule. Human resources also must be informed of the revised schedule.
Once the employee’s work schedule and FTE are reduced, the employee must remain at that FTE for a period to be determined by the supervisor. The reduced work schedule and FTE will become permanent after three years, or the university may decide to make the reduced work schedule permanent prior to that time.
Employees who are members of a collective bargaining unit or working while pursuing a visa or green card application are not eligible to participate. Employees hired on or after June 1 also are not eligible.
Questions regarding how a reduced work schedule may impact an employee’s participation in other benefit programs should be directed to the UNMC benefits office.