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ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY
HR26
Applies to:
All employees
Date of Board Approval:
January 2014
Review Date:
January 2017
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INTRODUCTION
1
The aim of this policy is to provide a uniform and equitable approach within the NHS LA
to the calculation of annual leave and Bank Holiday entitlements, which takes into
account the entitlements and arrangements under Agenda for Change.
2
The policy is in accordance with the Working Time Regulations (1998; Amended 2003
and 2007), the Part-time workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment)
Regulations (2000) and Agenda for Change terms and conditions. It applies to all
employees, including those on Very Senior Managers terms and conditions.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
3
As part of its development, this policy and its impact on equality have been reviewed in
consultation with trade union and other employee representatives in line with the NHS
LA’s Equal Opportunities Policy and the Public Sector Equality Duty. The purpose of
the assessment is to minimise and if possible remove any disproportionate impact on
employees and service users in relation to the protected characteristics: race, sex,
disability, age, sexual orientation, religious or other belief, marriage and civil
partnership, gender reassignment and pregnancy and maternity. The policy includes
arrangements for employees who work fewer than five days a week and imposes no
maximum on the period of annual leave which can be taken at any one time to allow for
long journeys, subject to the needs of the service. No other detriment was identified.
COMPLIANCE WITH STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS
4
The NHS LA recognises the entitlements of its employees to request annual leave in
accordance with The Working Time Regulations (1998; Amended 2003 and 2007).
These regulations also allow the NHS LA to require workers to take their entitlement to
annual leave at specified times, provided appropriate notice is given.
5
The Part-time workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations (2000)
require that part-time employees should not be treated less favourably than full time
staff. The NHS LA will ensure the prevention of discrimination or less favourable
treatment in the provision of annual leave by the granting of pro rata entitlements to
part-time workers.
ENTITLEMENT
6
The annual leave year is 1 April to 31 March.
7
The basic annual leave provisions under Agenda for Change are:
Length of service
On appointment
After 5 years’ service
After 10 years’ service
Annual leave + General Public and Bank
Holidays per annum
27 days + 8 days
29 days + 8 days
33 days + 8 days
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8
Your line manager is responsible for calculating and agreeing your entitlement to
annual leave and Bank Holidays. The form for recording annual leave is included in
appendix 2; this is also on the intranet.
9
Your entitlement includes the consolidation of all extra-statutory days and additional
days for long service or previously granted by organisations which have merged with or
been taken over by the NHS LA.
ANNUAL LEAVE TO BE CALCULATED IN HOURS
10
If you are a part-time employee or if your working pattern is something other than the
standard five days of equal length each week, your annual leave entitlement and Bank
Holiday entitlement is calculated in hours to ensure consistency with other employees.
If this applies to you, you have to apply some of your entitlement to any absence,
including scheduled Bank Holidays; please see the examples in appendix 1 and the
annual leave calculator on the intranet for further information.
PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT FOR ANNUAL LEAVE PURPOSES
11
If you have previous employment with an NHS organisation, this will count as
reckonable service in respect of annual leave regardless of whether or not there has
been a break in service. It is your responsibility to provide adequate documentary
evidence to support a higher entitlement based on previous NHS employment; the
documentary evidence should be provided to Human Resources prior commencing
employment with the NHS LA
ENTITLEMENT ON JOINING
12
As a new employee, you are entitled to annual leave on a pro-rata basis, 8.33% (1/12)
of the annual entitlement for each calendar month to be worked, and each of the eight
Bank Holidays still to come in the leave year.
13
Your entitlement in your first year is calculated on the number of complete calendar
months you are due to work after the date of joining and before the end of the leave
year. If your employment begins in the first seven days of the month, you will receive
the full annual leave entitlement in respect of that month; if it begins on or after the
eighth day of the month will not receive leave entitlement for that month.
MINIMUM PERIODS OF ANNUAL LEAVE
14
You are encouraged to take all your annual leave entitlement in the annual leave year
in which it accrues. However, to comply with the Working Time Regulations, you must
take a minimum of 5.6 weeks (28 days pro-rata) of your entitlement to annual leave
and Bank Holidays during each leave year and should not work in any capacity for the
NHS LA or for any other organisation during this time.
15
You are required to be absent from work for at least one complete working week in
each leave year, 1 April to 31 March, using your annual leave entitlement, unless you
are prevented from doing this as a result of long-term sickness (longer than four
weeks), maternity leave, parental leave, paternity leave or any other agreed long-term
leave. This will help you in using your full entitlement to annual leave and in getting
appropriate periods of rest.
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16
You must take annual leave in periods of not less than ½ a working day on any one
occasion.
CARRYING OVER ANNUAL LEAVE
17
You are encouraged to take all your entitlement to annual leave in the leave year in
which it accrues and your line manager will work with you to plan through the year to
ensure that this happens if at all possible. However, subject to the requirements of the
service and with the written consent of your line manager, up to 5 working days (prorata for part-time staff) of your annual leave (averaged if the hours vary from one week
to the next and so a maximum of 37½ hours ) may be carried forward from one annual
leave year to the next.
18
Where you have, exceptionally, been prevented from taking your full entitlement to
leave before the end of the year due to service demands then you will be allowed to
make up the shortfall during the following leave year at a time to be mutually agreed
with your line manager, subject to the minimum period of leave which must be taken
each year as set out above.
ANNUAL LEAVE AND SICKNESS
19
If you become sick during a period of annual leave, then, provided you have followed
the NHS LA’s sickness notification procedures during the period in which you were
sick, and you make a request to your line manager, the period covered will be treated
as sick leave, and you will be allowed to take the annual leave later.
20
You are entitled to receive up to 5.6 weeks of outstanding annual leave accrued per
year during a period of sick leave including where this carries into another leave year.
If on return from sick leave you have the opportunity to take annual leave
after recovery, you should request and take the annual leave before the
expiry of the leave year. If you choose not to do so, this annual leave
entitlement will be lost and cannot be carried over or compensated for on
termination.
MATERNITY LEAVE AND SICKNESS
21
On return from Maternity Leave, you are entitled to receive outstanding annual leave
accrued during your maternity leave even where this means that more than five days or
pro-rata is carried over into the next leave year. Under exceptional circumstances you
may request that outstanding leave that exceeds more than five days (pro-rata) can be
paid in lieu where this is carried into another leave year.
22
You are not entitled to an additional day off if you are sick on a Bank Holiday.
INCREASED ENTITLEMENT
23
When your entitlement increases after reaching five and ten years of NHS service, the
increased entitlement applies immediately on a pro rata basis in the current annual
leave year, based on the number of full calendar months remaining. For example, if
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your entitlement increases from 27 to 29 days on 15 September, you are entitled to one
additional day's holiday in that leave year.
ENTITLEMENT ON CHANGING CONTRACTED HOURS
24
When you change your contracted working hours, your entitlement to annual leave will
be recalculated by your line manager based on the completed months on the new and
the old contracted hours to give the full year’s entitlement.
25
When you reduce your contracted hours part way through a month, you should not lose
any entitlement; for example, if you reduce your weekly working hours from 37½ to 30
on the 10th day of the month, your entitlement for that month will be based on 37½
hours.
BANK HOLIDAYS
26
As an NHS employee, you are entitled to eight paid Bank Holidays a year. A Bank
Holiday is defined as any period of normal duty that starts within the period of 24 hours
from midnight to midnight on which a Bank Holiday has been gazetted by the
government; if you are a part time employee, you are entitled to the eight Bank
Holidays on a pro rata basis.
27
The NHS LA requires you to be absent from work on Bank Holidays and to apply some
of your entitlement to annual leave to cover this absence where it is added together.
28
There will be some years when more or fewer than eight Bank Holidays fall within the
leave year because Bank Holidays follow the calendar year and the Good Friday and
Easter Monday Bank Holidays can fall in either March or April. Where this occurs the
correct numbers of bank holidays will be used to calculate entitlement to bank holidays
for the year in question.
ENTITLEMENT ON LEAVING
29
When you leave the employment of the NHS LA, you will receive 1/12th of your annual
leave entitlement for each complete calendar month worked in the current leave year,
less any annual leave taken. In addition, if your entitlement is calculated in hours, you
will be entitled to the benefit of any outstanding Bank Holiday hours for Bank Holidays
that have occurred in the year before your leaving date, but which you have not used.
30
You will receive payment in lieu of annual leave on a pro rata basis for each full
calendar month worked in the year less any annual leave taken.
31
Where you have taken more leave than your entitlement, an appropriate deduction will
be made from your salary. Where this is not possible, the NHS LA will seek to recover
the amount due direct from you.
DEATH IN SERVICE
32
If you die in service, an allowance equivalent to that part of the annual leave
entitlement not taken by the date of death will be paid to your estate. No deduction
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from the final salary payment will be made in respect of annual leave taken in excess of
entitlement at the date of death.
NOTICE FOR TAKING ANNUAL LEAVE
33
You may request annual leave up to twelve months in advance.
34
You are encouraged to give as much notice as possible when making a request for
annual leave, to allow your line manager to plan for the absences across a department.
This also makes it more likely that your request will be granted. Normally the minimum
period of notice required is twice as long as the period of leave being requested, for
example, four weeks’ notice for two weeks of annual leave or two days’ notice for one
day’s annual leave. However, any request will be accommodated if possible, provided
it is reasonable and does not have a detrimental impact on the cover provided by the
department or the delivery of a service.
35
You are advised not to confirm any bookings or make any payments for holidays until
your request for annual leave has been granted. Leave has not been approved until it
has been confirmed as such by your line manager’s written approval.
36
Your line manager will give you a reason if a request for annual leave cannot be
granted, in writing if you request it. Once approved, leave should be taken unless a
request not to take it is subsequently agreed by your line manager. Line Managers do
not need to agree to changes, especially when it is likely that you will not take the
minimum period of leave during a year or exceed the maximum carry forward.
37
You may make a request for one day’s annual leave at short notice, including on the
day requested itself by telephone, provided your line manager agrees to the request,
the service is not adversely affected by your absence and you take responsibility for
making any necessary cover arrangements.
MAXIMUM PERIOD OF ANNUAL LEAVE
38
The NHS LA does not set a maximum period of annual leave which you may take at
any one time. If you wish to take an extended period of annual leave for any reason,
you should discuss your requirements with your line manager and give as much notice
as possible to facilitate the granting of your request. Leave cannot be carried forward
from one year to the next, other than as set out above. If a request cannot be granted
for any reason, your line manager will give you a reason and remind you about the
other forms of leave available. If longer periods of leave are required, you may like to
request a period of unpaid leave.
LOCAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR TAKING ANNUAL LEAVE
39
Departments may have local procedures and forms for the requesting and granting of
annual leave and protocols for the maximum number of employees who can be absent
at any one time and for the making and granting of requests at popular times of the
year, such as during school holidays, to ensure that appropriate cover can be
maintained. However, these procedures and protocols should be in accordance with
the principles of this policy and the NHS LA’s Equal Opportunities Policy and not
unfairly or illegitimately discriminate against employees. Line managers may seek the
advice from HR if there are any queries in relation to this.
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FRAUD
40
In relation to annual leave, fraud would include deliberate attempts to take more annual
leave than is due or to secure payment for leave to which you are not entitled or to
falsify records. This may lead to formal disciplinary action, which may result in
dismissal for gross misconduct. Suspicions of fraudulent activity will be reported to the
Local Counter Fraud Specialist and may result in civil or criminal proceedings being
initiated. Genuine mistakes are not fraud, but should be reported at the earliest
opportunity so that they can be corrected.
41
The provisions requiring employees to be absent from work for at least one week each
year are recognised as assisting in preventing fraud.
Related policies
HR01 Equal Opportunities
HR06 Special Leave
HR13 Parental Leave
HR22 Flexible Working
HR14 Maternity Leave
FIN003 Fraud & Corruption
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APPENDIX 1 – Examples of calculations
There is a calculator on the intranet for calculating annual leave in hours.
Bank Holiday calculations for part-time employees should be calculated in hours and
rounded up to the nearest half working day. The entitlement is applied on a pro rata
basis regardless of the days of the week worked by the employee. There is a chart
for keeping a record of holiday in hours on the intranet.
Example 1
A full time employee working 37½ hours on five days each week would get 8 Bank
Holidays each year. This is 60 hours per year (37.5 hours per week/5 days x 8 Bank
Holidays). A part time employee working 15 hours per week on two days each week
would get a Bank Holiday entitlement for a full year of 26.25 hours (24 hours (15/37.5
x 60) rounded up to 3½ seven-and-a-half hour-working days), regardless of the days
of the week normally worked.
Example 2
A full time employee working 37½ hours on five days each week would get 8 Bank
Holidays each year. This is 60 hours per year (37.5 hours per week/5 days x 8 Bank
Holidays). A part time employee working 15 hours (five hours on three days each
week would get a Bank Holiday entitlement for a full year of 25 hours, regardless of
the days normally worked, to be added to the entitlement to annual leave. This is
because 60 x 15/37.5 makes 24 hours, which is equivalent to 4.8 five-hour working
days, which is then rounded up to five working days (15/3).
Example 3
An employee starts to work for the NHS LA 25 hours on four days per week on 24th
August. This employee has no previous NHS service and the standard full-time
working week is 37½ hours.
The annual leave entitlement for a full annual leave year would be 135 hours
((25/37½) x (27 x 7.5)) plus the entitlement to Bank Holidays, which is 40 hours (8 x
7.5) x (25/37½), which is equivalent to 6.4 of this employee’s 6¼-hour working days
and so needs to be rounded up to 40.625 hours so that this employee receives 6.5
working days for Bank Holidays.
As this employee started working for the NHS LA on 24th August, the annual leave
entitlement is 7 months’ worth, that is, 7/12ths of 135 hours, 79 hours’ annual leave.
The Bank Holiday hours must be added to this. This total will vary depending upon
where the Bank Holidays fall during the calendar year but for the purposes of this
example, there are 4 Bank Holidays remaining in the leave year.
Therefore, 4 Bank Holidays x 6¼ hours per Bank Holiday = 25 hours. So the total
leave entitlement for this employee for the partial leave year will be 79 hours + 25
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hours = 104 hours or just over 16 days’ worth (104/6.25) to be taken by the 31st
March, subject to the carry forward provisions.
Example 4
An employee with ten years of NHS service working full-time 37½ hours but on four
9.375-hour days each week rather than five days a week would have a total annual
leave entitlement of 247.5 hours (33 x (37.5/5)) and a Bank Holiday entitlement of 60
hours (8 x (37.5/5)), making a total of 307.5 hours in a complete year. This employee
would then use 9.375 hours of this entitlement for each day of absence, whether or
not it was a Bank Holiday.
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