Employee Benefits

Insurance Plans

Foothills currently participates in Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) health, long-term disability (LTD) and life/accidental death and dismemberment (Life/AD&D) Insurance Plans. These plans can be found on the UUA website: https://www.uua.org/finance/compensation/health/eligibility and here https://www.uua.org/finance/compensation/health/premiums.

We offer multiple plans. Foothills will pay the cost of the High Deductible PPO Silver Level Plan. This benefit can be paid toward any plan that the employee chooses. In the event that an employee enrolls in an insurance plan that cost less than the High Deductible PPO Silver Level Plan, no additional wages will be paid out. The benefit will equal the lesser of the Silver Plan or another plan's cost. 

Foothills pays 100% of the cost of this coverage for employees working 30 to 40 hours per week (or .75 to 1 Full Time Equivalent, or FTE).

Employees who work 20-20 hours per week (or 1000+ hours in a year) are eligible to have 50% of the cost of the High Deductible PPO Silver Level Plan paid after 12 months of employment. If a part-time employee is not actively enrolled in a plan with the UUA at the time of qualifications must wait until open enrollment to enter the plan, and no additional wages will be paid out for the time between the date of qualification and date of enrollment. 

Employees working 15 to 29 hours per week (or .36 to .73 FTE) qualify for coverage through the UUA plans at their own expense. Family members may be added to health or life insurance at employee’s expense. 

Long term disability insurance is available only to the employee.

Any eligible employee may elect not to receive health insurance benefits, but such employee’s compensation will not be increased as a result. 

Dental & Vision Insurance

Group dental/vision insurance is currently available to eligible employees through the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), with coverage at the employee’s cost. At times, Foothills may offer opportunities to participate in dental and vision plans that are not organized through the UUA, in order to offer fair/affordable coverage. In keeping with the UUA, Foothills currently defines eligible employees as those who work at least 750 hours per year.  Employees are eligible to gain coverage on their first day of work.  However, eligible employees must enroll within the first 60 days from the hire date to avoid having to submit evidence of insurability or, for dental/vision insurance, having waiting periods for certain services. Specific plan information is available on the UUA website. Family members may be added at the employee's expense.

COBRA dental/vision coverage continuation election/refusal materials will be sent to the employee once UUA has been notified of their end of service. 

Retirement Plan

Foothills currently participates in the UUA 401(k) Plan.  The Church currently contributes 10% of the employee’s annual compensation for all eligible employees.  Eligible employees may also make voluntary employee contributions.  Specific and up-to-date plan details regarding eligibility, annual contribution limits, and investment options are available on the UUA website.  Find details here: https://www.uua.org/finance/compensation/retirement.

Eligible employees are currently defined as those who are employed 1,000 hours or more per year, who have reached the age of 18, and who have completed one year of service with any one or combination of UUA organizations. Eligible employees may be enrolled as participants in the UUA 401(k) on the first day of the month after meeting these requirements.  A year of service is defined as a twelve-month period in which an employee completes at least 1,000 hours of paid employment.  All participants have an immediate vesting and non-forfeitable interest in their assets in the Plan.

Professional Development

All staff are encouraged to learn and grow as a part of their ongoing employment at Foothills. All religious professionals will be provided an annual budget to support professional development opportunities. Other staff should approach their supervisor to identify opportunities, and we will do what we can to support any requests within the constraints of our budget. 

Paid Time Off

Employees are eligible for PTO after completing 90 days of employment. Arrangements may be made with your individual supervisor in the first 90 days, as needed.

At Foothills Unitarian Church, we expect employees to be passionately committed to serving our congregation and church vision. To maintain that passion and commitment, it is necessary to take time away from work to focus on other interests and parts of our lives.

We believe that taking time off work to recharge and to follow non-work-related pursuits leads employees to be happier and more productive when they are at work. Foothills is committed to ensuring that all employees feel comfortable taking enough personal or vacation time every year to refresh and to remain focused, productive, and genuinely happy to be at work.

Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) for Salaried Exempt and Full Time Employees

Foothills full time, exempt employees do not accrue vacation time or receive a fixed minimum or maximum amount of time off each year.

Instead, full time, exempt employees are encouraged to take the time that they need off to balance their personal and professional goals.  We trust employees to decide how much time they need but encourage all full-time employees to take a minimum of 3 weeks (or 15 working days) off per year in accordance with the guidelines described below.

While the total amount of PTO available is flexible and unlimited, for purposes of compliance with federal and state-mandated leaves of absence and/or personal leaves of absence, an employee may not request or be granted more than 3 consecutive weeks of PTO under normal circumstances.

Employees who require additional consecutive time off should speak to their supervisor to ensure that their job responsibilities are addressed fully and within the constraints of the organization’s resources. In the event an employee requests, qualifies for, and is authorized to take an extended leave of absence, only the first 8 consecutive weeks away from work is eligible to be paid.

Foothills Unitarian tracks employee time off for internal management purposes, to appropriately pay overtime, and to determine actual time worked, and to determine if/when leave laws or policies should be applied. In the event an employee appears to be abusing the flexible policy to the extent their work is not being accomplished, we reserve the right to investigate through all appropriate means and to take appropriate disciplinary action.

 Flexible Paid Time Off for Hourly, Non-Exempt Employees

Foothills also offers access to restful paid time off and sick leave for hourly employees. In accordance with record-keeping requirements under the Healthy Families and Workplaces Act, hourly employees must request and track paid time off. We offer part-time employees the opportunity to engage in a flexible work schedule that allows them to meet other personal priorities. Hourly employees are encouraged to utilize PTO for personal rest by taking off the equivalent of their regularly scheduled workweek at least twice per year and up to the equivalent of 3 weeks of paid time of their contracted, regular hours. If hourly, non-exempt employees are sick and unable to work, they may also take up to 5 days in row of paid sick leave. If paid sick leave exceeds 15 days per calendar year, approval for further sick leave may be required. 

Guidelines for Paid Time Off

Employees need to request days off in advance by following the Request for PTO/Vacation policy below. 

Some positions may require working during standard U.S. holidays. Your team will work together to ensure that as many team members can take off these days as possible. If you work one holiday, we will endeavor to facilitate your taking off another one, if you so choose. Alternatively taken holiday pay is not guaranteed and is up to the employee to work with their supervisor to directly make a plan.

Ideally, employees will give a 14-day notice when requesting time off. Exceptions will be allowed, but they should be rare and may limit the Foothills’ ability to approve your request.

Please try to spread your time off throughout the year and to consult the calendar for important all-staff times, and preferred vacation times. There are seasons in our church rhythm that are more difficult to accommodate requests, as we need more support. Please consider the following "all-hands-on-deck" dates before submitting a request:

Easter through weekend before Memorial Day: Transition to Summer
Aug 15 - Sept 15: Transition to fall+ Water Communion
December 10-25: Holiday events and special services

TBD Annually: Congregational Meetings (Typically 3rd weekend in May or 1st weekend in June AND Last week in Nov or First week in Dec).

TBD Annually: Other important events as communicated.

Conversely, March, June, July, and Christmas Day through the first two weeks of January are slower times and traditionally easier to accommodate longer times off.

Finally, the best rule to follow: “Do what’s right for you, and do what’s right for the church.” If what’s right for you appears inconsistent with what’s right for the church, let us know and we’ll seek a fair, middle course together.

In addition to personal rest, rejuvenation and vacation, all employee full time or otherwise may use PTO for any of the following reasons:

If the reason for the absence is one of the above, employees should notify their supervisor each day at the beginning of their shift when unable to come to work. In addition, they must let the supervisor know when they expect to return to work.

Because employees of Foothills Unitarian do not accrue PTO, there is no payout of unused PTO at the time of separation from the company.

Holiday Pay

Foothills Unitarian Church typically observes the following paid holidays for employees: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and the Friday after, and Christmas Day. 

All regular employees working a minimum of 20 hours per week receive holiday pay at the calculated average work day hours according their FTE.

In the event any of the above holidays occur on Saturday, outside the regularly scheduled workweek, the holiday will be observed on the preceding Friday. In the event the holiday occurs on Sunday, the following Monday will be observed as the holiday. All employees must be present the working day preceding or following the holiday to qualify for holiday pay, unless excused on PTO. All planned working time on a recognized holiday must be authorized in advance by the employee’s supervisor. Any employee who works a normal schedule of hours on a holiday will receive straight time pay or will receive compensatory time off.

Sabbatical Leave for non-ministerial Staff

Any employee working more than 30 hours per week is eligible for a paid sabbatical after five (5) continuous years (in 6th year of continuous employment) of employment. Employees are eligible to apply for one 6-week sabbatical every five years. The sabbatical benefit is intended to give employees a longer stretch of time off and must be taken all at once. Employees must submit a request to their supervisor and the Senior Minister at least one year prior to the date of the planned sabbatical. Granting of sabbaticals is always dependent on the budget and permission to take this leave is at the discretion of the Senior Minister. If an eligible employee chooses not to take a sabbatical in their 6th year of employment, the sabbatical can be deferred to a subsequent year, but only with prior approval, A deferred sabbatical cannot be combined with any other sabbatical in a subsequent five (5) year cycle (e.g. at the 10 year mark). Any unused sabbatical leave, when applicable, will not be paid out upon separation.

Additional Leave

Written requests for extended leaves of absence must be approved by the employee’s supervisor in advance of the first day of absence. The exact nature of the leave and its anticipated length must be included in the written request. PTO must be used first for any leave of absence; after which the time is considered unpaid leave. 

Employees are expected to return to work upon expiration of the leave as granted or to notify his/her supervisor as soon as possible if it is not feasible to return on that date.

With the possible exception of military leave, an employee is not guaranteed reinstatement to his/her position if they return to work more than 12 weeks from the first day of absence.  Any combination of leaves of absence may not exceed 12 weeks in any 12 month period.  The 12 month period is defined as the period of time that begins with the first day of leave and ends twelve months later.