Editors note: A joint VCA/VCF email to faculty & staff was sent on 10/30/23 and will outline additional service impact details for various departments. An updated email was re-sent on 10/31/23 to correct a link/date. Additionally, VCA's Facilities Services announced their campus heating/ventilation curtailment impacts in a 11/13/23 CALMessage to faculty & staff.
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During specific timeframes in the months of November & December ‘23, Berkeley Regional Services (BRS) is planning to operate on a periodic modified schedule and/or be closed as this will allow staff the opportunity to take accrued vacation time, rest and rejuvenate, and to ramp up for 2024. Here are the details:
Thanksgiving week - campus holidays: Thursday 11/23 - Friday 11/24
BRS regions will be open but many staff will be on vacation during the days leading up to the campus holidays (11/20-22). Due to these increased vacations, there may be delayed response times. For specific details, please reach out to the regional teams in the ERSO, BEST, ProS, SHARE, or BEARS regions, as applicable.
Winter Curtailment: 12/25/23 - 1/2/24
Regions are planning to observe the upcoming annual winter curtailment period which will occur between Monday, 12/25/22 and Tuesday, 1/2/24. These dates have been finalized with UCOP and were communicated to campus on 9/8/23 by People & Culture Below are details and BRS deadlines to help departments in their efforts to submit service requests by year end.
| Team | Details/Deadlines |
|---|---|
|
Human Resources / Academic Personnel Support (HR/APS) |
To ensure requests are processed by calendar year end, campus clients will again experience earlier-than-usual deadlines for HR-based transactions. The deadline for HR-based requests is: 12/1/2023. These requests could include:
* Note: See the usual BRS payroll deadlines on the Timekeeping/CalTime page. Also refer to the bi-weekly or monthly paid CalTime Timecard Approval Deadlines. Go to the CalTime website to find complete details. |
| Regional Onboarding Services |
Onboarding Services offered to new Berkeley employees will be suspended during the December holiday and curtailment period. The regional HR teams will have limited coverage during curtailment. Look on the ASE/GSR and Lecturer Hires webpages for additional details and applicable deadlines for Spring ‘24 hiring. Note: When a recruitment requires a Background Check, we encourage you to select a candidate by 12/1/23 for a start date during the first week of January 2024. Remember that new employees must now pass their background check before starting employment. |
|
Purchasing & Reimbursements (P&R) |
As they are received, BRS regional P&R teams will strive to complete transactions as quickly as possible, given the current staffing levels. For an estimate on the timeframes of requests the teams are currently working on, contact your respective regional P&R team. As a reminder: The Direct Enter process introduced by the Controller’s Office must be used for all non-complex travel reimbursement requests. |
|
Research Administration (RA) |
Research Administration & Compliance (RAC) / Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) has published their ‘23-’24 deadlines on their website and will process proposals due in December 2023 and January 2024 according to the VCR’s four-day proposal submission policy. Below are the corresponding BRS deadlines. |
| Sponsor's Proposal Due Date (by 5PM) | Notify BRS RA's (by 8AM) | Draft due to SPO (by 8AM) | Final Proposal due to SPO (by 8AM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tues. 12/19/2023 – Tues. 1/2/2024 | Mon. 12/4/2023 | Thurs. 12/14/2023 | Tues. 12/19/2023 |
| Wed. 1/3/2024 | Tues. 12/5/2023 | Fri. 12/15/2023 | Wed. 1/3/2024 |
| Thurs. 1/4/2024 | Wed. 12/6/2023 | Mon. 12/18/2023 | Thurs., 1/4/2024 |
| Fri. 1/5/2024 | Thurs. 12/7/2023 | Tues. 12/19/2023 | Fri. 1/5/2024 |
As a courtesy, here are additional curtailment details for some of our other campus partners:
Vice Chancellor of Finance - Controller’s Office - CalTime
Check out the Office of the Chief Financial Officer website for their winter curtailment details. Their CalTime webpages also contain related curtailment details.
Supply Chain Management (SCM)
SCM typically features their holiday/curtailment details in their BearBUY Newsletter. Check out their November '23 edition on their Archives webpage.
Berkeley Technology (IT)
The IT Client Services (ITCS) Service Desk will be operating with reduced staff on winter curtailment dates between 9:00AM to Noon and 1:00-4:00PM and is available to provide emergency support via email or online. Requests will be prioritized by urgency. Updates to system outages and maintenance will be available on the System Status page.