Because of the short time frame for fulfillment of grant and contract responsibilities, California law specifies that employment within grants, contracts, and trust agreements, with a university foundation is temporary employment. Accordingly, either the employee or SPF can terminate the employment relationship at will at any time, with or without cause. All SPF employees are considered "at will." As a courtesy, all projects within SPF are encouraged to provide two weeks’ written notice of employment actions. Any oral or written statements or promises to the contrary are not binding upon SPF, unless agreed to in writing by SPF's management and/or its Board of Directors.

All Categories of SPF employees must be separated upon their employment ending. This is to ensure applicable benefits (e.g. sick leave, vacation, etc…) do not continue to accrue past the end of their appointment. Category A (Full-Time) or Category B (Part-Time) Employees shall be paid for accumulated vacation credit earned through the last working day. The vacation payout will be automatically added to the employee’s final check, charged against their last project worked. If the PI wishes to charge the vacation payout to another (or multiple) projects, they must contact SPF with different instructions.

Voluntary Separations: Supervisors are required to submit an HR Action through KRONOS on or before their last day worked to terminate employees. If the employee is a Category A (Full-Time) or Category B (Part-Time), Supervisors must submit the HR Action at least two weeks prior to their last day to ensure all benefit charges are cancelled and do not continue to be billed to their project(s) past the last date worked. 

Involuntary Separation/Termination: Supervisors must consult with SPF Management prior to taking any action to ensure compliance and documentation of the termination. 

For Involuntary Separation/Terminations, the employee’s final check should be presented to them at the time of separation. To accomplish this, Payroll requires adequate notice to process a final check. Supervisors must coordinate separations through SPF in a timely manner to ensure compliance with California Labor Laws. SPF strongly encourages the PI or Employee to submit HR Actions to terminate as early as possible or at least two weeks prior to their last day. If you have any questions regarding the separation process please contact our office for clarification prior to taking any action.