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Calculate Vacation Accrual

When exempt, non-exempt or Bargaining Unit employees terminate their employment mid-month, Stanford payroll administrators must calculate vacation accrual to include that amount in the employee’s termination check.

Calculate Vacation Accrual

Understand the roles and responsibilities of HR and payroll administrators in managing employee compensation. Learn more in the Topic Overview: Paycheck Administration.

  • Employee years of service
  • Employee FTE (i.e., Full-time 100%, Part-time 50% or 75%)
  • Employee pay group from PeopleSoft

  1. Determine the employee's years of service and their pay group's accrual rate
    Learn more in the Administrative Guide Policy 2.1.6: Vacations

    The accrual rates for Bargaining Unit (BU) employees match those of Non-Exempt Staff.

For Exempt Staff
  1. Refer to the Vacation Accrual Calculator
  2. Enter the employee's STF Service Date where indicated (J3)
    • The accrual rate appropriate for their years of service will populate in the Rate column
  3. Enter the number of days the employee worked in the Paid Work Days column
    • This includes any paid time off taken, such as vacation, PTO, sick or holiday
    • Do not include any days the employee was on leave without pay or on approved short-term disability/family leave
    • Enter partial days as decimals or fractions (0.5 or 1/2 days).
  4. The Accruals column shows the accruals for the month

    Use this calculator for partial month calculations by entering only the days for which you wish to calculate the accruals.

For Non-Exempt (and BU) Staff

Non-exempt accruals are based on work hours and may differ from month-to-month.

  1. Refer to Vacation Accrual Calculator
  2. Enter employee's STF Service Date where indicated (J3)
    • The accrual rate appropriate for their years of service will populate in the Rate column
  3. Enter the number of straight time hours worked in the Hours worked this month column
    • This amount of hours is found in the employee’s timecard or paychecks, and should include all paid time taken, such as vacation, PTO, sick or holiday
    • Do not include any days the employee was on leave without pay or on approved short-term disability/family leave
  4. The Accruals column shows the accruals for the month

    Use this calculator for partial month calculations by entering only the days for which you wish to calculate the accruals.

What Happens Next?

Request a final paycheck. Learn more in the Cardinal at Work: Manager Toolkit.

Last Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Questions?

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