Annual Leave Guidance HR 20

Transcription

1 Annual Leave Guidance HR 20 April

2 Document Management Title of document Annual Leave Guidance Type of document Guidance HR 20 Relevant to All Employees Author Department Directorate Andrew Stewart Human Resources HR Approved by Governance Committee Date of approval 7 July 2008 Version Number 1 Review frequency Bi-annually Next review date April 2010 Internal distribution , Intranet External distribution Availability Shared drive Intranet site (primary care staff) Contact details (of main contact for this document) Name: Andrew Stewart Address: Human Resources, Highfield Tel : andrew.stewart@northants.nhs.uk 2

3 ANNUAL LEAVE GUIDANCE Contents 1. Introduction Scope Definition Annual Leave Year Exclusions Responsibilities Entitlement General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) Annual Leave on the grounds of Belief/Religion Carry Over of Leave Sickness Occurring During Annual Leave or Bank Holidays Entitlement on Leaving the Trust Protection Agreement Acknowledgment Appendices

4 1. Introduction The aim of this Guidance is to provide a uniform and equitable approach to the calculation of annual leave and bank holiday entitlements, which take into account the entitlements and arrangements defined under Agenda for Change. 2. Scope The Guidance applies to all employees (except for Bank, Dental and Medical Staff) who are employed on Agenda for Change terms and conditions. 3. Definition The Trust Northamptonshire Teaching Primary Care Trust Trade Unions recognised and accredited by the Trust Agenda for Change the NHS Pay System 4. Annual Leave Year The annual leave period shall be from 1 April to 31 March. This may be reviewed at some point in the future. 5. Exclusions This Guidance is only applicable to staff for who are employed on Agenda for Change terms and conditions which excludes Bank, Medical and Dental staff (this list is not exhaustive) for whom separate provisions apply. Please contact HR if you require guidance on your annual leave where Agenda for Change terms and conditions do not apply. 4

5 6. Responsibilities 6.1. Responsibilities of Employees To be aware of the annual leave guidance. To know their entitlement to be taken. To request annual leave in line with guidance and departmental procedures Responsibilities of Managers To ensure employees are made aware of the procedure for requesting annual leave within their own department. To advise members of staff of their initial entitlement to be taken. To keep accurate annual leave records for all employees in their department. To enable employees to take regular breaks away from the workplace, whilst ensuring the needs of the service are met Responsibilities of Human Resources To maintain and update the annual leave guidance in line with any organisational or legislative change. To provide initial training and ongoing support for all managers in dealing with the management of annual leave and bank holidays. To provide advice and support to ensure that the guidance is applied fairly to all employees. To provide advice and support in application of the guidance in individual cases. 5

6 7. Entitlement 7.1. Entitlement for Complete Years The basic full time annual leave provisions under Agenda for Change, are contained in Table 1 below. Length of service On appointment to NHS After 5 years NHS service After 10 years NHS service Annual leave + General Public Holidays (GPH) 27 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year 29 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year 33 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year Table 1 The Trust guidance is to determine annual leave entitlement in hours, not days for all staff regardless of whether they are full time or part time. The benefit in calculating entitlement in hours is that it provides equity for all by ensuring that staff who work variable hours/shifts do not receive either more or less leave than colleagues who work a standard pattern. Appendix 1 provides annual leave entitlements calculated into hours for all weekly basic contracted hours. Hours have been rounded up or down to the nearest 0.5 decimal point (i.e. the nearest ½ hour). In addition to annual leave entitlement, employees are entitled to 8 paid General Public Holidays (Bank Holidays) in each calendar year. In the case of all part time staff this entitlement is pro rata to the full time allowance of 8. The calculation of this entitlement is always proportional to the number of basic contracted hours worked. In this way, all employees have a fair and equitable, static entitlement rather than their eligibility based solely on the normal days of work which would result in some part time employees never receiving the benefit of Bank Holidays unless they fall on their normal days of work. Similarly, this calculation, based on the number of basic weekly contracted hours, removes any potential for inequity in the case of staff whose working days vary. Appendix 2 contains the Bank Holiday entitlement for all staff for the full 8 Bank Holidays for a complete calendar year. 6

7 7.2. Calculation of Annual Leave Entitlement Formula is: Weekly Contracted Hrs X No. of Days Entitlement 5 To calculate an employee s total leave entitlement inclusive of Bank Holidays, Appendix 1-2 should be added together. They are shown separately so that the composition of an employee s full entitlement is clear. It is expected that annual leave will normally be taken in periods of not less than ½ working shift Administrating Annual Leave Where a member of staff works a fixed number of days a week and their hours do not vary annual leave can be converted from hours into days by line managers, where appropriate. Example: A member of staff works 37.5 hours per week, 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, 7.5 hours per day. Where days of the week and hours vary, annual leave should continue to be administrated in hours. Guidance on how to record leave can be found in Appendix Calculation of Reckonable Service An employee s continuous previous service with an NHS employer will count as reckonable service in respect of annual leave. In addition, aggregated NHS service, i.e. any period of time employed within the NHS where an employee is in receipt of a salary (not including bursaries), regardless of whether or not there has been a break in service, will count as reckonable service for annual leave. For purposes of aggregated service, time employed by organisations other than an NHS employer but where NHS Pension Scheme membership is available, will be counted as aggregated service. Examples include General Practice, Universities and Government departments working within specific health related fields and Direction Employers. Locum, agency and bank service will not count. For further information about qualifying reckonable service (within or outside of the NHS) please contact the Human Resources Department. 7

8 7.5. Determining the length of Reckonable Service In order to have previous service regarded as reckonable service, as detailed in Calculation of Reckonable Service, staff will need to provide formal documentary evidence of any relevant, reckonable service. Line Managers are responsible for verifying this evidence Entitlement on Joining All new members of staff will be entitled to annual leave in the year of joining the Trust, on a pro-rata basis. Entitlement in the first year is dependent on the number of full complete calendar weeks worked after the date of joining and before the end of the annual leave year. A complete calendar week commences from the Monday. Employees who commence part way through a week will have their annual leave calculated from the following Monday (Appendix 3). Annual leave entitlement for part years will be calculated using Appendix 1-3. This must be pro rata to the number of weeks in the leave year since joining. Annual leave is calculated based on 1/52 for each complete week (subject to the terms of the paragraph above). The Bank Holiday hours entitlement will be based on the number of Bank Holidays remaining in the current leave year from the date of joining. Example: A member of staff works 25 hours per week, their joining date is 24 th August 2005 and they are new to the NHS: Their annual leave entitlement for a full leave year would be 135 hours (see Appendix 1) As they started on 24 th August 2005, they are entitled to 31 days of annual leave (Entitlement multiplied by starter figure in Appendix 3) 135 hours x = = 80.5 hours annual leave. Bank Holiday hours must be added to this (see Appendix 2). This total will vary depending on the number of Bank Holidays remaining in the current leave year. For the purposes of this example, assume that there are 5 Bank Holidays remaining in the leave year. Therefore, using Appendix 2, if weekly basic hours are 25 then 5 Bank Holidays x 5 hours per Bank Holiday = 25 hours. So the total leave entitlement for the part leave year will be 80.5 hrs +25 hrs = hours to be taken by the 31 st March Entitlement on Changing Contracted Hours Where staff change their contracted hours, this will result in a recalculation of their annual leave entitlement based on completed weeks on the new and the old contracted hours to give the full year entitlement. 8

9 7.8. When Reckonable Service reaches 5 and 10 Years Service Where staff reach the anniversary of 5 and 10 years reckonable service, this will result in a re-calculation of their annual leave entitlement based on completed weeks prior to the anniversary on the old entitlement and after the anniversary on the new entitlement to give the full year entitlement. 8. General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) A General Public Holiday shall be defined as a period of normal duty that starts within the period of 24 hours from midnight to midnight of the stated Public Holiday day. Employees will be entitled to all paid General Public Holidays in the leave year (subject to the section on Entitlement on Joining). The 8 General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) in the calendar year are: (1) New Year s Day (2) May Day (3) Good Friday (4) Easter Monday (5) Spring Bank Holiday (7) Christmas Day (8) Boxing Day (6) August Bank Holiday It should be noted that there are not always 8 Bank Holidays in an Annual Leave Year (i.e. between April and March). This is dependent upon when Easter falls in the calendar year General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) Entitlement Entitlement will be calculated in hours, based on the employee s basic contracted weekly hours. Appendix 2 identifies the actual entitlement in hours for the full 8 Bank Holidays, for the total leave year. An employee s total leave entitlement is calculated by adding their annual leave entitlement (identified in Appendix 1) to the Bank Holiday hours entitlement (identified in Appendix 2). Where an employee starts their employment part way through a leave year they are entitled to the Bank Holidays remaining in the leave year. Appendix 2 identifies the actual entitlement in hours, subject to the employee s basic contracted weekly hours, based on the number of remaining Bank Holidays. Example: If there are 4 Bank Holidays in the remaining annual leave year for a new starter. You multiply the bank holiday number of hours per bank holiday (see Appendix 2) by 4 and round up or down to the nearest 0.5 On each and every occasion an employee takes paid time off on a Bank Holiday as part of their basic week, the appropriate deduction of their 9

10 normal basic working hours for that day will be made from their overall entitlement. Where operationally possible and subject to mutual agreement, an employee may change their days of working during a Bank Holiday week and therefore retain their leave entitlement in respect of the Bank Holiday. This can then be taken as time off at another time. Under these circumstances, Bank Holidays will not attract enhancements. Example: Employee A is not required to work on May Bank Holiday Monday. They are entitled to a full year s leave allowance. Their normal contracted hours of work are 18 per week. They would normally work 6 hours on a Monday and they have less than 5 years service. So, using the above principle, 6 hours will be deducted from their total entitlement of 126 hours (Appendix 1-2). Example: Employee B works 30 hours per week. They are entitled to a full year s leave allowance. They would normally work 7.5 hours on a Monday and have over 10 years service. They are required to work on May Bank Holiday Monday so their leave entitlement remains intact as this day has not been taken off as leave, under these circumstances the Bank Holiday will attract enhancements. They are not required to work on August Bank Holiday Monday so 7.5 hours will be deducted from their total leave entitlement of 246 hours (Appendix 1-2). Some part time staff may not be entitled to sufficient pro rata Bank Holiday hours for the number required due to their working patterns. In this situation any shortfall must be funded from their annual leave entitlement. In some circumstances, with management approval, arrangements may be made for the member of staff to make up these hours at a later date e.g. later in the week. This decision would be subject to service needs and budgetary constraints. Example: A member of staff is employed to work 15 hours per week over two days (Mondays and Tuesdays). Their Bank Holiday entitlement for a full year, assuming 8 Bank Holidays would be 24 hours. However, in a full year there are at least 5 Bank Holiday Mondays and, assuming the member of staff did not work on these Bank Holidays, they would therefore require 37.5 hours to be deducted for these days. This would leave a shortfall of 13.5 hours. Managers should consider the implications of this situation and ensure that staff are aware when requesting and / or agreeing to changes in workings patterns or when taking on new part time staff. 10

11 8.2. Administration General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) Where employees works a fixed number of days a week, their hours do not vary and are never required to work on Bank Holidays, Line managers should make a one off deduction for the total Bank Holiday leave entitlement at the beginning of the leave year. Example: A member of staff works 37.5 hours per week, 5 days a week, Monday to Friday, 7.5 hours per day. Managers can deduct 60 hours. Where days of the week and hours vary, Bank Holidays should continue to be administrated in hours to fall in line with examples in the section on General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) Entitlement. Line Managers can make a one off deduction for the total Bank Holiday leave entitlement or as and when the Bank Holidays fall dependant on how flexibly the employee works their hours. Guidance on how to record leave can be found in Appendix Transitional arrangements only Where existing staff, e.g. employed prior to assimilation onto Agenda for Change terms and conditions or 1 st April 2005, whichever is soonest, are affected by General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) Entitlement their entitlement to the full hours needed for Bank Holidays will be protected for 5 years from 1 st October Granting Leave on the grounds of Belief/Religion It is expected that managers and staff will approach leave on the grounds of belief/religion in the spirit of co operation. It means that if a member of staff request leave, on these grounds, they will support the service where other staff take leave on similar grounds for a different belief/religion Annual Leave on the grounds of Belief/Religion Managers should be sympathetic to staff requests for annual leave to celebrate religious festivals whilst also ensuring service requirements are met. Managers can contact Human Resources for further guidance if necessary General Public Holidays ( Bank Holidays ) on the grounds of Belief/Religion Where a service does not close on a bank holiday Managers should be sympathetic to staff requests for annual leave to celebrate religious 11

12 festivals whilst also ensuring service requirements are met. Managers can contact Human Resources for further guidance if necessary. 10. Carry Over of Leave The Trust expects that within the annual leave year staff should be provided with the opportunity to take all their annual leave. In exceptional circumstances, and with the agreement of the Manager, some annual leave may be carried over. This would normally be no more than the equivalent of one week of basic contracted hours. Where staff have been prevented from taking their leave due to service demands then the amount carried forward will be expressed in contracted hours and this should not normally exceed one week of basic contracted hours. 12

13 11. Sickness Occurring During Annual Leave or Bank Holidays If an employee falls sick whilst on annual leave, then the period covered will be treated as sick leave, allowing the employee to take the annual leave another time, providing that they notify their line manager on the first day of illness and a doctor s medical certificate is provided. In these circumstances self-certification will not be acceptable. In accordance with Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, employees will not be entitled to an additional day off if they are sick on a Bank Holiday that they would otherwise have been required to work as part of their basic week. Under these circumstances, employees will not be paid Bank Holiday enhancements. 12. Entitlement on Leaving the Trust Staff who leave the Trust will receive 1/52 of their annual leave entitlement (as per Appendix 1) for each completed week worked in the current leave year multiplied by figure in (Appendix 3), less any annual leave taken plus the benefit of any outstanding Bank Holiday hours for Bank Holidays that have occurred in the leave year prior to the date of leaving (the number of Bank Holiday hours that have occurred prior to the leaving date, can be identified by multiplying the number of bank holidays that have occurred by the hourly entitlement in Appendix 2). Managers must remember to deduct the allowance for any Bank Holidays occurring in the annual leave year after the leaving date, from the total hours leave when calculating outstanding entitlements. Where total leave taken is less than the earned total leave entitlement, leave should be taken prior to the leave date. In exceptional circumstances where leave cannot be taken prior to the leave date, by agreement with the line manager, an appropriate payment will be made in the final salary. Where total leave taken exceeds the earned total leave entitlement an appropriate deduction will be made from the final salary. 13. Protection Any existing member of staff whose leave and bank holiday entitlement is reduced under Agenda for Change will have their existing entitlement protected for five years from their date of assimilation into the new system. During this period staff may continue to claim existing entitlements until 30 September Staff currently working fewer than 37.5 hours, excluding meal breaks, will have their hours protected for a phased protection period. For the purposes of this Guidance during this phased protected period annual leave will be calculated upon the number of basic contracted hours worked. 13

14 14. Agreement Management and Trade Unions have jointly agreed this guidance in partnership under the arrangements for implementation of Agenda for Change and through the Joint Consultative and Negotiating Committee (JCNC). 15. Acknowledge This Guidance has been produced with the assistance of Agenda for Change Early Implementer Sites. 14

15 Appendices WEEKLY BASIC CONTRACTED HOURS Appendix 1 Agenda for Change: Annual Leave Entitlement for Complete Years Exclusive of Bank Holidays ON APPOINTMENT 27 DAYS AFTER 5 YEARS SERVICE 29 DAYS AFTER 10 YEARS SERVICE 33 DAYS WEEKLY BASIC CONTRACTED HOURS ON APPOINTMENT 27 DAYS AFTER 5 YEARS SERVICE 29 DAYS AFTER 10 YEARS SERVICE 33 DAYS

16 Appendix 2 Agenda for Change: Calculation of Bank Holiday Entitlement Based on 8 Bank Holidays WEEKLY BASIC CONTRACTED HOURS HOURLY ENTITLEMENT FOR FULL LEAVE YEAR (8 BANK HOLIDAYS) HOURLY ENTITLEMENT ON EACH BANK HOLIDAY AS IT OCCURS WEEKLY BASIC CONTRACTED HOURS HOURLY ENTITLEMENT FOR FULL LEAVE YEAR (8 BANK HOLIDAYS) HOURLY ENTITLEMENT ON EACH BANK HOLIDAY AS IT OCCURS

17 Appendix 3 Agenda for Change: Calculation of Proportion of Leave to be given to New Starters and Leavers (excluding Bank Holidays) WHOLE WEEKS LEFT IN A/L YEAR NEW STARTER ( x ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT) LEAVER ( x ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT) WHOLE WEEKS LEFT IN A/L YEAR NEW STARTER ( x ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT) LEAVER ( x ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT) Leave entitlement needs to be rounded up or down to the nearest 0.5 Bank Holiday entitlement should be administrated separately, as and when they fall. 17

18 Appendix 4 Annual Leave Record Length of service On appointment to NHS Annual leave + General Public Holidays (GPH) in days 27 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year Annual leave + General Public Holidays (GPH) in hours (for 1 WTE) hours + 60 hours GPH per calendar year NHS Start Date (aggregated where gaps in service) After 5 years NHS service 29 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year hours + 60 hours GPH per calendar year After 10 years NHS service 33 days + 8 days GPH per calendar year hours + 60 hours GPH per calendar year) Balance should be filled in hours for all staff and where appropriate this can be translated into days. Balance Balance Name: (In Hours) (In Days) Current Year Job Title: Entitlement (Inc Bank Holiday) Leave Carried Manager: forward Leave Year: Total Bank Holiday (Please fill in dates where they occur and hourly entitlement where appropriate) Date Entitlement to be taken Date Entitlement to be taken (1) New Year s Day (5) Spring Bank Holiday (2) Good Friday (6) August Bank Holiday (3) Easter Monday (7) Christmas Day (4) May Day (8) Boxing Day 18

19 Annual Leave Complete Shaded area only, and pass to Line Manager for Approval First Day (Inclusive) Last Day (Inclusive) No of Days No of Hours Approved Recorded Balance (Hours) Balance (Days) Starting Balance (Minus Bank Holiday Entitlement) 19

20 Appendix 5 Policy Impact Assessment Screening Tool Name of Directorate: Corporate & HR Date of Assessment: 14/04/08 Policy being assessed: Annual Leave Guidance Assessment Carried out by: Andrew Stewart POLICY TITLE Annual Leave Guidance Who is affected Statutory requirements Full Assessment Needed Yes / No All employees whose annual leave is covered under Agenda for Change Terms and conditions 24 days annual leave, In line with agenda for change terms and conditions. Respecting annual leave requests for religious festivals in order to avoid claims of discrimination. Yes Priority High / Medium / Low Low 20

21 Appendix 6 Policy Impact Assessment Full Assessment Tool Name of Directorate: Corporate & HR Date of Assessment: 14/04/08 Policy being assessed: Annual Leave Guidance Assessment Carried out by: Andrew Stewart 1. What consultation process will be undertaken? 2. Where will records of this consultation be kept? 1. The policy was submitted to May 2008 JCNC for approval and was agreed in principle. 2. As part of the JCNC minutes. 1. What existing monitoring arrangements are in place? 2. Are these sufficient? 3. Are any additional arrangements required 1. The guidance will be reviewed bi-annually. HR support given as and when needed in individual cases. 2. Yes as guidance is in line with old policy 3. Not at this time. 1. How will the results of the assessment be published? In the outcomes of JCNC and governance committee. 21

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23 POLICY AIMS AND OUTCOMES Evidence for assessment Difference in Outcomes Assessing Impact Proposed action To ensure responsibilities of managers, employees and HR are followed 24 days annual leave, In line with agenda for change terms and conditions. If grievances are raised against managers application of annual leave Dependant on the outcome of the grievance disciplinary action may be taken in line with failure to comply with a reasonable request to follow instructions. Review grievance out come and disciplinary action taken as a result in line with the guidance being reviewed. Review guidance as and when issues occur. As the guidance is in line with Agenda for Change. Respecting annual leave requests for religious festivals in order to avoid claims of discrimination. 23