ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY. Human Resources Service

Transcription

1 ANNUAL LEAVE POLICY Human Resources Service NB. This policy is available on the University of Cumbria website and it should be noted that any printed copies are uncontrolled and cannot be guaranteed to constitute the current version of the policy. POLICY SCHEDULE Policy title Annual Leave Policy Policy owner Human Resources Service Policy lead contact Human Resources Service Approving body Employment Policy Committee Date of approval 18 February 2017 Date of implementation 1 March 2017 Version no. Related Guidelines, Procedures, Codes of Practice etc. Working Time Regulations, Employment Rights Act, Part Time Workers Regulations, Sickness Absence Policy and Family Friendly Policy Review interval 2019/20 1

2 Contents 1. Introduction Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement Scope Principles Annual Leave Entitlement Annual Leave Requests Leaving or Joining Part Way through the Year Annual Leave Carry-over Discretionary University Closure Days Accrual of Annual Leave during Absences from Work Annual Leave during prolonged Sickness Absence Sickness during Annual Leave Introduction The University recognises the importance of supporting its employees in a way which promotes and sustains positive, productive and safe working environments, directly relevant to this is the provision of annual leave. 2. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement The University values equality and diversity and is committed to maintaining an environment where its employees, students and visitors are treated fairly and with respect at all times. It aims to ensure that its actions and working practices comply with both the spirit and intention of the Human Rights Act (1998) and the Equality Act (2010) which relates to the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage & civil partnerships, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. 3. Scope This policy applies to all University employees. 4. Principles 4.1 The annual leave year runs from 1 September to 31 August. 4.2 For health, safety and well-being reasons employees should, wherever possible, take their annual leave entitlement during the relevant leave year. 4.3 In accordance with the Part-Time Workers Regulations employees who work on a part-time or less than 52-week basis are treated equally and comparative to fulltime employees. Annual leave entitlement (including public holidays) is pro-rata for employees working on a part-time and/or part year basis, as a proportion of a full-time equivalent contract. 4.4 Employees should be given suitable opportunities to take their annual leave throughout the leave year and local arrangements for requesting and approving annual leave will be communicated to employees. 2

3 4.5 Calculators are available on StaffNet to assist with calculating employees annual leave and public holiday entitlements. Any queries concerning annual leave calculations should be discussed with HR Annual leave can only be taken subject to agreement with the appropriate line manager, so before any firm commitments are made, employees should discuss any requests for annual leave with the appropriate manager to ensure that the dates are mutually convenient. 4.7 Once approval for annual leave has been given it will not normally be withdrawn (unless in highly exceptional circumstances and only after discussion with the staff member). 5. Annual Leave Entitlement 5.1 Entitlement to annual leave is set out in the terms and conditions of employment and is calculated as follows: Grade of employees Apprentices Grades 1-6 inclusive & Interns Grades 7/Ac2 and above No of days (hours) annual leave for full time employees 20 days (140 hours) 33 days (231 hours) 35 days (259 hours) 5.2 In addition to the above annual leave entitlement are the public holidays (bank holidays). Public holidays are as determined by the Government, a full list is available at Annual leave and public holiday entitlements will be calculated on a pro rata basis for employees working different hours each day or less than a full time equivalent and in these circumstances entitlements will be calculated in hours. 5.4 If an employee changes their normal working hours (e.g. from full-time to parttime or vice versa), their leave entitlement, taking into account working hours across the whole relevant leave year, will be re-calculated from the date the change takes effect. 5.5 Employees on annualised hours contracts and/or less than 52 weeks per year contracts will be informed of their annual leave entitlement at the outset of their employment and will usually be expected to discuss and agree their leave dates and out of contract dates with their manager before the beginning of each leave year. 6. Annual Leave Requests 6.1 Employees should give as much notice as possible when requesting annual leave, taking into account local arrangements for managing annual leave, e.g. restrictions of taking leave during clearing etc. 6.2 Annual leave requests should be recorded and managers should respond to requests for annual leave as soon as practicable. 3

4 6.3 Managers will ensure that they make the necessary provisions for adequate coverage for any peak holiday request periods and identify, in discussion with the team, times of the year when annual leave requests will be difficult to approve. 6.4 There may be occasions that requests for leave will not be granted because there are specific pieces of work which need to be done by the employee during the period in question, other employees have already requested and had leave approved, the request was at short notice or it would be too difficult to re-plan the work that was due to be carried out. 6.5 Where managers do refuse requests for leave, they should discuss alternative options with the employee at the earliest opportunity. 7. Leaving or Joining Part Way through the Year 7.1 Employees starting or leaving the University part way through the leave year will have their annual leave entitlement calculated on a pro-rata basis (including for part-months). 7.2 Employees leaving the University are expected to take any outstanding annual leave entitlement during their notice period. However, if this is not possible due to the constraints of the service, they may receive payment for any outstanding annual leave; this should be agreed in advance with their manager. 7.3 Equally, if an employee has taken more leave than their entitlement at the time of leaving, they will be required to pay back the hours/days above the entitlement. Such amounts will be calculated and will usually be paid with or deducted from the final salary/pay. 8. Annual Leave Carry-over 8.1 For health, safety and well-being reasons the University encourages employees to take all their annual leave entitlement within the relevant leave year. However, when an employee has outstanding annual leave at the end of the leave year, a maximum of 10% may normally be carried forward. 8.2 Approval would need to be sought from the appropriate manager to carry forward more than 10%. 8.3 Exceptional circumstances may include: Where the manager has confirmed the employee cannot use their remaining leave entitlement due to business/operational reasons. Where the employee has been absent from work for a prolonged period due to sickness or maternity/adoption/shared parental leave and was unable to take their leave due to that absence. 8.4 The University will not pay employees for leave not taken as an alternative to carrying it over to the next leave year. 4

5 9. Discretionary University Closure Days The University may, in the interests of efficiency or for other reasons, close on occasions, and employees will be informed in advance accordingly. Any employees contracted to work on a Closure Day, but unable to work due specifically to the closure, will be granted paid leave. 10. Accrual of Annual Leave during Absences from Work 10.1 Annual leave is accrued when employees are absent from work during periods of: maternity leave, adoption leave, paternity leave, shared parental leave, paid special leave, paid or unpaid sickness absence and unpaid parental leave Annual leave does not accrue during periods of: unpaid special leave, unauthorised absences, and career break/sabbatical Where an employee is on a career break/sabbatical or on secondment to another organisation, advice should be sought from HR when calculating annual leave entitlement Public Holidays and Discretionary University Closure Days For any such days which occur during maternity, adoption, paternity and shared parental leave no substitute days will be given. 11. Annual Leave during prolonged Sickness Absence 11.1 Where an employee is absent from work due to sickness for a prolonged period and has subsequently gone onto either half pay, or nil pay, they may request a period of paid annual leave, so long as they still have some annual leave remaining for the current leave year In these circumstances, the employee will be paid their normal pay for the period of annual leave they wish to take Where managers receive a request for annual leave in these circumstances, they should notify HR to ensure that appropriate payments are adjusted Annual leave can also be used to maintain normal salary levels during a phased return to work following a period of sickness absence. 12. Sickness during Annual Leave Where an employee has an authorised period of annual leave, but subsequently falls ill for part or all of that annual leave period, the days on which they are unwell may be recorded as sickness absence so long as the employee follows the same reporting requirements, as if they were due to attend work for that period. They should also obtain a fit note if within the UK or an appropriate certificate/evidence completed by a medically qualified suitable person if overseas. Without a fit note/medical certificate the absence will be recorded as annual leave (rather than sickness absence) irrespective of the illness. 5

6 UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA POLICY DOCUMENT CONTROL SCHEDULE All University of Cumbria Policies must include a completed Policy Document Control Schedule consisting of the Policy Schedule (see front cover) and Review Schedule and (see below) which should be completed as appropriate. REVIEW SCHEDULE Version no. Review interval Reviewed by Approved by Date of Approval V /2010 HR EPC/JNCC October 2006 V02 01/03/ /2014 Denice Mace EPC/JNCC 24 February 2011 V03 01/11/ /2016 Nicky Allen EPC/JNCC 22 October 2013 V04 01/03/ /20 David Owen EPC/JNCC 18 February