A voluntary reduction-in-time program will kick in July 1 for eligible staff on the Davis campus.

The UC Office of the President put forth the Employee-Initiated Reduction in Time Program as a proposal on March 30, and, this week, after a review period, announced that the campuses had been authorized to implement ERIT if they chose.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi and Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph J. Hexter said, yes, the Davis campus will participate — and Human Resources is now making the announcement.

“I think we have quite a few people that would be interested in this proposal … both to help save co-worker jobs and to balance family time,” said Anita Nalley, a student services representative.

The health system will not participate, due to staffing requirements, nor will the School of Medicine.

There will be exceptions as well for Davis campus staff — in that departments and units will decide for themselves if they can support ERIT requests, and participation for represented employees is subject to collective bargaining. Also, members of the Senior Management Group are not eligible. (Academic appointees are not eligible, either, “because alternative options are being considered for them,” according to a set of questions and answers prepared by UCOP.)

Employee participation in ERIT is voluntary and subject to supervisory approval. The program will run for one year, through June 30, 2012, and participants must take a minimum 5 percent reduction (full-time equivalent). The maximum reduction is 50 percent (full-time equivalent), and an employee’s work schedule cannot be reduced more than 50 percent in any month.

The minimum term is one month, the maximum 12 months.

ERIT is similar to the expired START Program with this primary difference: START participants received full service credit toward retirement, whereas, under ERIT, service credit will be reduced to correspond with reduction in time.

“Clearly, this was an important change for the health of our retirement system,” said Associate Vice Chancellor Karen Hull, who heads Human Resources.

However, as with START, employees who take reduced time will continue to accrue vacation and sick time at their pre-ERIT levels.

“Although this program (ERIT) is not a long-term solution to our budget challenges, the Human Resources Advisory Committee supports the program’s implementation, believing it serves as another tool that can be used to address near-term fiscal issues,” Hull said in a letter to Katehi and Hexter.

Complete program details and eligibility requirements are available online. The website also includes links to a program overview, and a set of questions and answers.

The Davis campus’s Voluntary Separation Program, or VSP, another tool in the ongoing budget crisis, began Feb. 15 — and as of June 2, according to Hull, 37 separations had been processed through the program, leaving vacancies that are saving the university $2.3 million in gross annual salary and benefits.

VSP applications are due by Aug. 15, 2012, and separations must take effect by Oct. 1, 2012.

Earlier coverage of VSP.