Employees who have rendered satisfactory service and resign after three or more years receive in a lump sum all accrued leave due and thirty days’ half salary. For example, an employee who has received $1800 per annum and has served five years without taking any leave in excess of the four weeks’ vacation leave allowable annually would draw $1025 were he to resign.
The school sessions amount to forty weeks per annum and the school vacations to twelve weeks per annum.[7] Teachers receive an annual salary and draw full pay during vacations as well as during school sessions. Every third year they are allowed to visit the United States or foreign countries with an allowance of sixty days’ half-pay travel time in addition to the ten weeks’ long vacation, and on completing two years of service after return to the islands they are entitled to their travelling expenses from place of residence in the United States to Manila or from port of embarkation in a foreign country to Manila.
It is interesting to compare these provisions with the regulations governing leave of absence in the British colonial service:—
(1) There is no distinction between sick leave and ordinary leave, the leave of absence on account of sickness being charged against the ordinary leave allowable.
(2) There are two classes of leave: vacation leave on full pay and half-pay leave.
(3) The vacation leave amounts to three months every two years, and must be taken during the two years, as it does not accumulate.
(4) The half-pay leave amounts to two months for each year of service, but cannot be taken until after a period of six years’ resident service in the Colony, except in cases of serious indisposition supported by medical certificate, or of “urgent private affairs,” the nature of which must be stated to the governor. In either case, the governor and council must be satisfied that the indulgence is indispensable.
Half pay in African and Asiatic colonies may accumulate for twelve years’ service—i.e. twenty-four months’ half-pay leave.
(5) After the exhaustion of all vacation leave and half-pay leave, an advance of six months’ half-pay leave may be made on special grounds (“urgent private affairs” or illness supported by a medical certificate), the advance being charged against leave accruing subsequently.
(6) For the purpose of visiting home, an officer may be granted the vacation leave due him (which is never more than three months) on full pay, and his accumulated half-pay leave, to commence at the expiration of his vacation leave.