HR News – March
Free resources to help employees lead with purpose
Learning and Talent Development offers UW–Madison employees free professional development opportunities designed to help them lead with purpose, align actions with values, and strengthen team engagement.
- Fully Prepared to Lead is a series of free courses or certificate program that build leadership skills for employees in any role.
- Principles of Supervision and Management is a free certificate program for supervisors and managers focused on creating a healthy, inclusive, and engaging work environment. Employees can also take advantage of Grow as a Leader, a campuswide collection of leadership resources.
- Personal Brand and Leadership Awareness is another free course focused on self-awareness and leadership identity.
Employee Wellness Network News!
You and your covered spouse could each earn $150 by mid-October! Please note that incentives are taxable income. Need assistance? Contact Alicia at benefits@ohr.wisc.edu.
Just three quick and easy steps:
- Health Assessment
- Spend 5–10 minutes completing the online questionnaire at WebMD’s Well Wisconsin portal
- Health Check Activity (choose one!)
- Annual physical: Submit a health care provider form
- Biometric Screening: Attend an onsite screening OR submit self-collection materials
- WebMD coaching session: One call or a series of online messaging interactions via Coach Connect
- Well-Being Activity
- Review the CHANGES to the activity options and requirements here.
The courses listed below are employer sponsored Well-being activities!
03/23/2026 Starting to Save 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Designed for employees 15-30 years from retirement. Learn how the choices you make today can affect your income and insurance options as a retiree. Employees can start thinking about retirement now, so they’re prepared for the future.
03/11/2026 Ready to Retire 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Designed for those who are less than 5 years away from retirement. Learn the process for retiring from UW–Madison—from giving notice, to choosing your pension design, to your insurance options and costs following the end of your employment.
You and your covered spouse could each earn $150 by mid-October! Please note that incentives are taxable income. Need assistance? Contact Alicia at benefits@ohr.wisc.edu.
Leave Swap Policy Update
UW-Madison has updated their Sick, Vacation, and Personal and Legal Holidays policies regarding leave swaps.
Leave swap policy before the change
Previously there was no limitation as to when swaps could be made.
Leave swap policy changes
Moving forward, any leave swaps with these leave types (sick, vacation, personal and legal holiday) must be completed by the end of the second pay period following the absence, or before the end of the fiscal year (June 30), whichever is sooner.
Example 1:
- Pay period 5 is February 8 – 21
- Pay period 6 is February 22 – March 7
*If an employee takes 8 hours of sick leave on February 9, then later changes their mind, and wants to swap the sick time for vacation time, their deadline to make that request is March 7, 2026.
Example 2:
- Pay period 14 is June 14 – 27
- Pay period 15 is June 28 – July 11
*If an employee takes 4 hours of sick leave on June 27, then decides they want to swap it out with personal holiday, their deadline to make that request is June 30 (the end of the fiscal year).
What should I be considering regarding these changes?
Leave Usage Planning: Continue to thoughtfully choose what leave types you want to use and always be aware of your leave balances. Personal Holiday, Vacation Carryover, and Legal Holiday all expire after June 30 of each year. This means any remaining hours in those buckets will be lost as there is no ability to carry them over. We strongly recommend using your Personal Holiday and Vacation Carryover before using your regular vacation, and using your legal holidays before June 30. It’s not unusual for employees to get close to June 30 and realize they still have personal holiday, vacation carryover, or legal holiday remaining. Previously we could swap these leave types with others, at the employee’s request, so they could avoid losing the time. We are now much more limited as to when swaps can be completed.
University Staff enrolled in Income Continuation Insurance (ICI): ICI premiums for University Staff employees are based on your eligible earnings and your accrued unused sick leave hours (premium category). The more sick leave hours you retain, the lower your premium.
Your eligible earnings and sick leave balance are evaluated at the end of every calendar year and premiums are adjusted the following April (starting in 2025).
Changes to leave outside of the deadlines may be permitted if the changes are associated with a Worker’s Compensation or disability claim.
This change has been made at the Universities of Wisconsin level and will be implemented across all campuses. Please review the following policies for additional detail. You can also contact your LinkUW for additional questions.