How to read your vacation balances within Workday

Posted 8:22 a.m. Monday, Feb. 2, 2026

Read for a brief synopsis of University of Wisconsin Job Aid: Time Off Balances and Reports Overview-Employee.

HR will be providing a monthly review of important employment policies and procedures. The following information is a brief synopsis of University of Wisconsin Job Aid: Time Off Balances and Reports Overview-Employee. This Job Aids provides an overview, tips, and recommendations for reading the vacation tables and balances. 

Human Resources has opted to highlight one of the several ways to view your Time Off Balances. As this post is only a synopsis, it is recommended to review the Job Aid in full here: Time Off Balances and Reports Overview-Employee.

Time Off Balances Overview

Absence Balance Table in your Worker Profile

Shows both current pay period & year-to-date time off balances as of today.  

The Absence Balance chart does not reflect future dated time off or accruals, including per pay period accruals that accrue at the end of the pay period (Sick, Vacation YTD, etc.). 
Time off requests with an effective date on or before today that have not been approved are reflected in the Balances ‘As Of Date’ (Includes Events Awaiting Approval) column. 
If you would like further detail, please click on any blue linked number to drill into details.

Navigation to the Absence Balance Report: 

Click on your Profile icon, then View Profile in the dropdown menu. 
Click Absence, then the Absence Balance tab.

Definitions in the order as they are seen on the report:

Balance Period: the reporting fiscal year, July 1- June 30, for the time off plan.
Accrual: An adjustment made to the time off plan balance. May be positive or negative amounts.
Beginning Year Balance - the number of hours on July 1 at the beginning of the fiscal year. 
NOTE: For Vacation Year to Date, the beginning period balance on July 1 may show less than the full allotment of hours if July 1 is in the middle of a pay period. 
Carryover Balance - the remaining balance of hours carried over from the previous year. When employees use time off from this time off plan it first subtracts from the Carryover Balance. 
Accrued Year to Date - the number of hours accrued since the beginning of the year.
NOTE: For time off plans that accrue at the end of the pay period (e.g. Sick, Vacation Year to Date, etc.) the Accrued Year to Date will include time off accrued for the entire pay period that includes July 1.  
Absence Paid Year to Date - the number of hours used since the beginning of the year. 
NOTE: Vacation, Postdoc Medical, and Postdoc Personal time off used is noted in this column for the Available plans and is subtracted from the Accrued Year to Date for the Year-to-Date plans.  
Beginning Period Balance - the time off balance as of the beginning of the pay period. 
Accrued in Period - the number of hours accrued during the pay period. 
NOTE: For the Year To Date plans for Vacation and Postdoc time off plans, this will display time off earned/accrued minus time off used in the pay period, so the balance may display a negative number. If the report provides the option to click on the Accrued Year to Date value, you can see the breakdown of the Vacation Used and Vacation Accrual in the Accrued in Period column.  
Absence Paid in Period – the number of hours paid during the pay period from this time off plan.  
Carryover Forfeited in Period - The number of hours forfeited or expired in the period due to policy rules, including:  
- Expiring Vacation Carryover. 
- Expiring Personal Holiday from the previous fiscal year. 
- Compensatory Time greater than 80 hours. 
- Expiring Legal Holiday. 
Balance As of Date - the time off balance as of the date set for the report, reflecting time off that has been approved.  
- Some time off plans such as Legal Holiday and Vacation and Postdoc Year to Date allow employees to use anticipated accrued time off before it is earned. If the employee has used more time off than they have accrued as of the effective date, this balance will be negative.  
- A negative balance at the end of the fiscal year or if employment is terminated will be recouped by the University.
Balance As of Date (Includes Events Awaiting Approval) - the time off balance as of the date set for the report, including time off requests entered but not yet approved. 
As of Period - indicates the pay period for which the hours have been calculated. 
Total - the total number of hours across all time off types in the Balance As of Date columns. 
NOTE: This number may not be accurate because it adds together both Available and Year to Date balances for Vacation, Postdoc Medical, and Postdoc Personal. Since the Available plans include the hours for Year to Date, the Year-to-Date hours are double counted in the totals.

Troubleshooting Tips

Click on the blue linked text in any report to find additional information. 
Time off balances projected into the future are based on current FTE/job setup and the expectation of continued employment. Position changes may impact the actual totals available.  
Time off balance estimates for employees update once the Termination or Change Job business process status is complete. 
NOTE: a business process may have steps after reaching completed status.  
If on continuous leave of absence, leave will not accrue until time off is entered.  
If there is a negative accrual balance in the Accrued in Period column of a report, it is likely due to the employee using more time off than was accrued in that period. 
A Change Job with a time off eligibility change may require a manual adjustment that would occur after the change effective date and Workday projected balance changes may not initially be correct. Shared Services will review automatically – no ticket required.

Employee Resources 

UW-La Crosse Office of Human Resources, 608.785.8013, hrinfo@uwlax.edu.  

The University of Wisconsin System provides information regarding UW-System policy    

Tagged departments: Human Resources
Other tags: EAP and Employee Assistance Program

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