Human Resources. Employment Break SOP. Document Control Summary

Transcription

1 Human Resources Employment Break SOP Document Control Summary Status: Version: Author/Title: Owner/Title: Approved by: Ratified: Related Trust Strategy and/or Strategic Aims Implementation Date: Review Date: Key Words: Associated Policy or Standard Operating Procedures Replacing Employment Break Policy H/BLU/la/04 v1.0 Date: November 2016 Jonathan Wright, HR Advisor Alyson Sargeant, Head of Recruitment and Resourcing Policy and Procedures Date: 23/03/2017 Policy and Procedures Date: 23/03/2017 Recruiting, retaining and developing a skilled and flexible workforce May 2017 May 2020 Career break, sabbatical, leave of absence Special Leave Policy 1

2 Contents 1. Introduction Purpose Eligibility Length of an Employment Break Terms and Conditions of Employment Process Keeping in Touch Return to Work Process for Monitoring Compliance and Effectiveness References Change Control Amendment History Version Dates Amendments 1. Introduction South Staffordshire & Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust ( the Trust ) recognises that retaining skilled and experienced employees is central to the achievement of its business goals and objectives. The Trust is committed to considering flexible and supportive family friendly practices and arrangements which enable all employees to balance their work and careers with their other commitments and responsibilities, whilst also balancing these needs with the Trust s business aims. This SOP explains what an employment break entails and sets out the conditions of the scheme for both the Trust and its employees. 2. Purpose The aim of the employment break scheme is to provide an opportunity for employees to take prolonged periods of leave, during which they will maintain contact with the organisation and after which they may resume their career. 2

3 3. Eligibility An employment break may be requested by all employees of the Trust who have a minimum of 12 months continuous service with the Trust (or previous organisation in case of a TUPE transfer) and have a commitment to returning to the Trust to continue their career. Immediately prior to the break, employees should demonstrate satisfactory attendance, performance and disciplinary records. However, managers cannot discriminate towards employees when considering their eligibility to apply for an employment break. Further advice regarding this is available from HR. Applications will be considered on their own merits on a case by case basis in line with operational need, however reasons for an employment break may include the following (not exhaustive); Childcare Elder care Care for another dependant Further training or study Work abroad, including charity or voluntary work Protracted period of travel abroad Temporary relocation of partner Employment breaks are not permitted to enable staff to take up paid employment with another employer, except where, for example, work overseas or charitable work could broaden the experience, knowledge and skills of the individual. In such circumstances, written explicit consent from the Trust is necessary. 4. Length of Employment Break The minimum length of an employment break is three months and the maximum is five years although it would be unusual for an employment break to be for more than two years. The length of the break should balance the needs of the applicant with the needs of the service. Breaks can be taken either as a single period or over more than one period, however the total length of all periods of absence must not exceed five years per employee, during employment with this Trust. 5. Terms and Conditions of Employment 5.1 Continuous Service A period of absence on an employment break will not be regarded as a break in service and will count as continuous service for statutory purposes. Furthermore, employees do not have to resign in order to take a break. 3

4 However additional benefits, depending on length of service such as contractual redundancy payments and annual leave entitlements etc. will be suspended and will not accrue for the period of the break and will recommence on the return to work. 5.2 Pay and Annual Leave There will be no salary, no contractural or statutory sick pay and no annual leave paid during the period of the employment break. All accrued annual leave must be taken before commencement of the employment break. No payment in lieu of outstanding leave will be made nor any carry over of leave allowed. 5.3 Pension At the start of the employment break unless the employee chooses otherwise, the Trust will suspend pensionable service until the employee returns to work. However, where the employee chooses to do so, they can remain pensionable for a period of up to 6 months. In such cases both the Trust and the employee would continue to make pension contributions for the first 6 months of the employment break period (for the employee this would be by the means of a monthly direct debit payment to the Trust). The employee can also choose to continue to pay pension for a further period of 18 months. However, should the employee choose to take this further option, they would be solely responsible for paying both the employer and employee contribution. To request estimated costs of making contributions to the pension scheme during an employment break, staff should contact the ESR & Pay Services Department. Where an employment break is agreed, the employee is required to contact the Payroll Team and ensure that they complete the relevant pension forms prior to the employment break commencing. 5.4 Professional Registration Employees taking an employment break who are required to hold a professional registration to practice in their role must ensure that they maintain their relevant professional registration during the period of the break in line with the Trust Professional Registration Policy. This includes complying with the requirements of professional registration such as CPD and revalidation. Failure to do so will result in action being taken under, but not limited to, the Trust Disciplinary Policy. 5.5 DBS Disclosure Where the post involves a DBS Check and the employee is registered with the DBS Up-Date Service they must ensure they complete the annual renewal process whilst on career break to avoid expiry of the DBS Certificate. In circumstances whereby they allow this to expire then the employee must complete and submit a new DBS Check prior to re-commencing in the workplace and in these circumstances they will be responsible for the cost of the new DBS Check and the cost of registering with the DBS Up-date Service. 4

5 5.6 Lease Car Employees with a lease car will be entitled to retain the lease car for private use until the expiry of the lease, or alternatively, employees may return the car. They will, however, be liable to pay for the early termination of the lease. If employees choose to retain a car, they will be responsible for the total cost including the contribution which would have been made by the Trust. Employees will also undertake to meet any excess costs at the end of the lease contract period. 5.7 Trade Union Membership Employees can continue membership of a trade union and would still be subject to the benefits of membership, providing that subscriptions are kept up to date. Arrangements would have to be made between the employee and the trade union as to how subscriptions should be paid. 6. Process 6.1 Request Employees are required to complete their request in writing using the application form (Appendix A) and submit this to their line manager. The application form is available on the Trust website. The line manager will be required to meet with the applicant to discuss the request within 14 calendar days of receipt. The decision as to whether to grant the request for the employment break must be notified to the applicant in writing within 7 calendar days of the meeting. Should the request for the break be rejected, the reasons for the rejection must also be included in this letter. If agreed, the terms of the employment break should be agreed through discussions between the manager and the applicant and laid down in an Employment Break Agreement (see Appendix B). This may be amended at a future date should circumstances change and again this must be by mutual agreement between the manager and the applicant. Once agreed, copies of both Appendix A and Appendix B should be forwarded electronically to the relevant HR Advisor. The line manager should also complete a Change Form to be submitted to Payroll. 6.2 Notice period to commence an Employment Break Applications must be submitted at least 3 months before the intended start date regardless of the length of the employment break. (3 months notice may be waivered in emergency situations). 6.3 Appeal Where a request for an employment break is declined, if the employee wishes, they may appeal the decision by submitting their appeal in writing to the next level of management, 5

6 within 10 working days of receiving the decision in writing clearly setting out the grounds of appeal. 6.4 Maternity and Adoption Leave An employee may apply for an employment break immediately following a period of maternity or adoption leave; however if, following the employment break, the employee does not return to NHS employment for a period of at least 3 months, they will be liable to repay any Occupational maternity or adoption pay they received. 6.5 Departmental and Organisational Change Should the line manager of the department change during the course of an employment break, employees taking a break should be informed of the change at the earliest opportunity and details of all employees taking breaks should be passed on to the new manager. The new manager should arrange to meet or, if this is not possible, at least make contact with employees in their team taking breaks at their earliest convenience, in order to maintain the link between the individual and the Trust. Should organisational change processes affect the employees substantive post during an employment break, the employee must be consulted with in accordance with the Trust s Organisational Change Policy. 7. Keeping in Touch during an Employment Break Employment break participants may request up to ten days paid Keeping in Touch Days per year (pro rata for breaks which have a duration of less than 12 months) in order to keep abreast of changes and developments in the Service. This may include training courses and professional updating. The line manager should notify Payroll by with the dates of the Keeping in Touch days. The key to a successful employment break is maintaining regular and effective communication between the employee and the manager. The methods and regularity of communication between the two parties should be agreed between them, prior to the commencement of the break and should form part of the employment break agreement (see Appendix B), and as an example, should involve the manager sending the following to the employee; Team Briefs The Trust newsletter (epod) Invitations to departmental social events Details of relevant training courses Any other information relevant at the time, either relating to the whole organisation or the individual department Details of any departmental and/or organisational change Employees must also inform their manager of any changes in personal circumstances, for example change of name, address and other contact details etc. and should contact their 6

7 manager on a regular basis for the duration of the break, either by telephone, or in person. It is expected that this would be contact at least every 6 months. It must be recognised and understood by both parties that an employment break will only work with mutual commitment to these objectives. 8. Return to Work The manager should submit a Change Form to advise of the employee s confirmed return date. 8.1 Notice periods to return after an employment break Employees are required to give 2 months written notice to return to work if the break is less than 12 months and 6 months written notice if the break is more than 1 year. 8.2 Changing the date of return to work Where an employee currently on an employment break wishes to extend the period of that break, this must be applied for to their line manager in writing, either 2 months (for break of initially up to one year in duration) or 6 months (for longer breaks) prior to the end of the break. Alternatively if the circumstances of the employee change and an earlier return to work is desired, this will be fully considered by the line manager, but cannot be guaranteed. Again this must be requested to the line manager in writing. 8.3 If the employee no longer wishes to return If any employee wishes to resign from their employment with the Trust, rather than returning to work at the end of the break, they must submit their resignation to their line manager in writing in the normal manner, giving the amount of notice stipulated in their contract of employment. The manager then submits a Termination form to Payroll Services. 8.4 Upon return to work If the break is under one year, the employee will return to work at the equivalent salary level and receive an increment if applicable. If the employee returns to work within one year, the same job will be available as far as reasonably practicable. If the break is longer than one year, the employee will not receive increments and may be able to return to a similar job but returning to the same post cannot be guaranteed. In these circumstances, the Trust s Redeployment Policy will be followed. 8.5 Performance & Conversation (appraisal review) During an employment break, as the employee will not be attending work no performance and development conversations (appraisals) will be carried out. On the employee s return, there will need to be a documented conversation with the employee about the role they are returning to, the key duties and responsibilities of the role (using the job description, person specification and where relevant the KSF outline) and to identify key performance and development objectives for the year ahead. 7

8 As the employee will have been absent for a period of time, and/or the role they are returning to may or may not be the same as previously held, the manager must ensure the employee is re-introduced to the workplace and undertakes any relevant mandatory or job specific training for the role. An induction and personal development plan will therefore need to be agreed and implemented. The employee s return to work may or may not fit in with the Trust s annual timeframe (April to June) holding appraisals, however the conversation must still take place using the relevant parts of the appraisal documentation. Ongoing performance and development conversations should take place through regular supervision meetings and the annual performance and development conversation (appraisal) in line with the Trust timeframe. 9. Process for monitoring compliance and effectiveness The SOP will be implemented through dissemination to managers within the Trust through Directorate DMT Reports. Line Managers will be responsible for communicating the SOP to their staff. This SOP will be reviewed every three years or before if there are legislation changes. The monitoring of this SOP includes an annual audit that comprises of the following table. Where non-compliance is identified an action plan will be drawn up and monitored at the Workforce &. Where remedial action can be taken immediately, the action must be recorded appropriately. Aspect of compliance or effectiveness being monitored Application forms must be submitted within 3 months of the intended start date. Outcome letters must be sent within 7 working days of the meeting confirming the outcome of the request for an Employment Break. Change forms must be sent to payroll, and payroll must update the electronic system, ensure pay is withheld for duration of break, and that the intended return to work date is recorded. Monitoring method Individual/ department responsible for the monitoring Frequency of the monitoring activity Group/ committee/ forum which will receive the findings / monitoring report Review Directorates Annual Workforce & Review Directorates Annual Workforce & Review Directorates / Payroll Annual Workforce & / individual responsible for ensuring that the actions are completed Workforce & Workforce & Workforce & 8

9 10. References This SOP should be read in conjunction with the following: Special Leave Policy Managing Attendance Policy Flexible Working Policy 9