Dear Bureaupat,

I am a newbie to the Federal Government who just converted to a permanent employee. While waiting for this milestone, I explored other opportunities and just received an offer from another agency. If I were to accept this offer, what will happen to my annual leave from my current position? Does it carry over to the other federal agency or do I cash it out?

Dear Transitioned,

Congratulations on surviving your first three years in federal service!  As a permanent member it will be much easier for you to get other federal jobs and move up the management ladder.

If you like this new opportunity with the other agency, you'll have no worries about the transfer from a policy perspective, which I will soon address. However, procedurally you'll need to keep your last Statement of Earning and Leave as proof of your leave balance and pay close attention to your new leave and earnings statement to ensure everything transferred properly.

I have heard many horror stories where employees had to ride their pay offices for over six months to get everything right. Hopefully, this will not be your experience.

In general, when an employee moves without a break in service between positions or agencies, annual and sick leave will be transferred. But credit hours or compensation time is usually closed out from the losing agency as a lump sum and reflected in your last Statement of Earning and Leave.

Please note, only whole hour units of leave time may be transferred between Federal agencies. Fractional hours of leave are transferable within a department as long as the gaining organization has a reciprocal leave usage policy; otherwise, they must be forfeited.

If you must take leave before the official leave record is received, your supervisor will determine whether you have enough leave available to cover the absence and your leave balances reflected in your last Statement of Earnings and Leave is considered acceptable evidence.

If it is not possible to make such a determination, the supervisor may grant an advance of leave to the extent permissible under the your current appointment or charge the absence to leave without pay pending receipt of the employee's official leave record.

In the rare instance when a fed moves to a position under which annual leave cannot transfer or can only be transferred in part, the employee may elect a lump sum payment of the untransferred leave or have it held for recredit pending the employee's return without a break in service of more than 52 continuous calendar weeks to the leave system under which it was earned. If the employee does not return within 52 weeks, the untransferred leave must be liquidated by lump sum payment.

All this talk of leave makes me want to go on vacation again. Wish I could! 

Yours in Gov,

Bureaupat

Read More Q&A from Bureaupat:

[+] What should I do about hazards on my Air Force Reserve Base?

[+] Is myPay changing its login access requirements?