The annual conference session made a change to the clergy vacation policy that is effective July 1, 2016.
Under the new policy, all clergy members receive a minimum of four weeks of vacation, including Sundays. Churches may provide more vacation time, but four weeks is the minimum allotment. The policy encourages clergy to take all of their vacation time each year to help avoid burnout, but a provision has been made for accumulating additional vacation time that caps the amount accrued to 1 1/2 times the total amount earned in a year.
In other words, if a church allows the minimum of four weeks of vacation time, and the pastor takes no vacation time in one appointive year, he or she then can only accumulate two additional weeks, for a maximum of six weeks. He or she would not accrue any more vacation time until the pastor has used some of the time already accrued and would have to wait until the next appointive year to accrue any further vacation time.
Also as part of the policy, all earned vacation time will be paid upon termination of employment, including but not limited to a change of appointment. A local church may require a pastor to use the final weeks of an appointment as vacation rather than paying for unused vacation time.
To ensure vacation time is being recorded properly, it is expected that the Staff-Parish Relations Committee chair and/or staff person who keeps personnel records be notified when vacation time is used and that the information is recorded.
Download this form, which is a suggested means of recording used vacation time.
