Benefits and Paid Time Off
Benefits
Postgraduate Associates are classified as Yale employees and therefore eligible for full benefits at the Yale employee rate. These benefits include Health, Dental, Vision, Life, FSA, Long Term Disability, and Retirement Savings Plan.
Postgraduate Fellows are classified as non-Yale employees and eligible for health and dental benefits only, and at full cost.
More information on benefits and the types of coverages available can be found at Yale Benefit Summary and My Benefits by Job Classification.
Note: Postgrads fall under the Postdoctoral Job Classification when it comes to benefits.
If hired on first of the month, benefits begin that day. If hired any other day of the month, benefits begin the first of the subsequent month e.g., start date of April 5, benefits would begin on May 1. A postgrad MUST ENROLL in their Benefits in Workday within 30 days of Date of Hire.
Postgrads may be able to defer student loans during their time at Yale, but need to work directly with their Servicer to determine eligibility. Postgraduates are not eligible for the Graduate Fellowship Deferment as this is only available to Postdocs.
Paid Time Off
Paid time off (PTO) is designed to provide Postgraduate Appointees time away from work to attend to personal responsibilities and balance the demands of both their professional and personal lives. Postgraduates are entitled to University holidays each year. Please note recess days are governed by department policy. Appointees are additionally entitled to 12 business days as PTO during each one-year appointment, prorated for appointments of less than 12 months. All PTO should be scheduled in advance with the faculty mentor, and it is recommended that a written record of time used be maintained. PTO does not accrue from one year to the next and is not paid out if unused by the end of an appointment.
In addition to 12 days of PTO, Postgraduates may receive 9 sick days annually but require medical documentation from a health care provider if an absence exceeds 7 consecutive days. Sick time may be used when the appointee is ill, injured, or caring for an ill family member (child, spouse, parent, parent-in law, and same sex domestic partner). Sick days do not accrue from one year to the next and are not paid out if unused by the end of an appointment. Appointees who exhaust their sick day allowance and need additional days may use Paid Time Off or apply for an unpaid disability leave of absence.
Please note, for short-term appointments paid time off is prorated. For example, if you are in a six month postgraduate appointment you are entitled to six days of paid time off and 4.5 days of sick time.