Document level: Trustwide (TW) Code: HR2.6 Issue number: 3 Annual leave and bank holiday policy Lead executive Director of Nursing Therapies Patient Partnership Author and contact number Head of Human Resources 01244 852 301 Type of document Target audience Document purpose Policy All CWP staff The purpose of this policy is to provide managers and employees with guidance on the application and management of all annual leave and bank holiday entitlements Document consultation Approving meeting Workforce and OD Sub Committee 18-Jun-12 Ratification Document Quality Group (DQG) 19-Jun-12 Original issue date Feb-05 Implementation date Jun-12 Review date Jun-17 CWP documents to be read in conjunction with HR6 Trust-wide learning and development requirements including the training needs analysis (TNA) Training requirements Financial resource implications There are no specific training requirements for this document. No Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) Initial assessment Yes/No Comments Does this document affect one group less or more favourably than another on the basis of: Race No Ethnic origins (including gypsies and travellers) No Nationality No Gender No Culture No Religion or belief No Sexual orientation including lesbian, gay and bisexual people No Age No Disability - learning disabilities, physical disability, sensory impairment and mental health problems No Is there any evidence that some groups are affected differently? No If you have identified potential discrimination, are there any exceptions valid, legal and/or justifiable? N/A Is the impact of the document likely to be negative? No If so can the impact be avoided? N/A What alternatives are there to achieving the document without the impact? N/A Can we reduce the impact by taking different action? N/A Where an adverse or negative impact on equality group(s) has been identified during the initial screening process a full EIA assessment should be conducted. Page 1 of 10
If you have identified a potential discriminatory impact of this procedural document, please refer it to the human resource department together with any suggestions as to the action required to avoid / reduce this impact. For advice in respect of answering the above questions, please contact the human resource department. Was a full impact assessment required? What is the level of impact? No Low Document change history Changes made with rationale and impact on practice 1. Appendix 1 amended and updated. External references References 1. Monitoring compliance with the processes outlined within this document Please state how this document will be monitored. If the document is linked to the NHSLA accreditation process, please complete the monitoring section below. Page 2 of 10
Content 1. Introduction...4 2. Purpose...4 3. Policy statement...4 4. Scope...4 5. Responsibilities...4 5.1 Responsibility of the Human Resources Team...4 5.2 Responsibility of the Manager...4 5.3 Responsibility of the Employee...4 6. Principles...5 6.1 Leave year...5 6.2 Entitlements...5 7. Term-time Working...5 8. Procedure...6 Appendix 1 - Agenda for change annual leave entitlement for complete years (inclusive of bank holidays - 8 days = 60 hours)...7 Appendix 2 - Annual leave approval form...9 Appendix 3 - Leave approval form (other than annual leave)...10 Page 3 of 10
1. Introduction All contracted staff are entitled to a period of paid annual leave and eight bank and public holidays per annum. The individual entitlement is dependent upon the employee s length of service and working hours. On the completion of Agenda for Change Pay Modernisation all annual leave entitlements will be calculated in hours. It is expected that leave will be taken in half days or more in any one period. 2. Purpose The purpose of this policy is to provide managers and employees with guidance on the application and management of all annual leave and bank holiday entitlements to ensure that all staff take adequate rest away from work whilst maintaining the needs of the service. 3. Policy statement Employees should take the full annual entitlement each year and managers should endeavour to ensure that the workloads of employees do not prevent any employee from taking their entitlement to annual leave. It is the policy of CWP to ensure that the application and management of annual leave and bank holiday entitlements, is applied fairly to all staff irrespective of their sex, race, belief, religion, disability, age or sexual orientation. Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is committed to Improving Working Lives and as such does not expect any staff to fulfil working commitments during periods of annual leave. Annual leave should enable a member of staff to take time away from work to relax and enjoy a break. If staff feel pressured into fulfilling work commitments during annual leave they should seek advice from their line manager or from the human resources department. 4. Scope This policy will apply to all staff employed by the trust with the exception of medical staff who should refer to the Terms and Conditions for Hospital, Medical and Dental Staff and Doctors in Public Health Medicine and the Community Health Service. Staff in post prior to 1 st October 2004 who opted out of Agenda for Change should refer to paragraph 6.2. 5. Responsibilities 5.1 Responsibility of the Human Resources Team To provide advice and support in the application of the policy and the management of individual cases; To provide where necessary, training and ongoing support for all managers in dealing with the management of annual leave and bank holidays. 5.2 Responsibility of the Manager To ensure that this policy is applied fairly to all, in line with Trust policy; To ensure that employees are made aware of the procedure for requesting annual leave within their own department and to ensure that each employee is aware of their own entitlement; To keep accurate annual leave records for all employees in their department and to monitor the uptake of annual leave to ensure that employees are taking regular breaks away from work. Data to be recorded in Electronic Staffing Record (ESR). 5.3 Responsibility of the Employee To be aware of the this policy; To request annual leave in line with departmental procedures. See appendix 2 for standard application form; To manage their annual leave in a reasonable way, thus ensuring full entitlements are taken over the leave year and requests for leave are submitted in good time and in accordance with local procedures. Page 4 of 10
6. Principles 6.1 Leave year The leave year runs from 1 st April 31 st March. Staff should ensure that they take their full entitlement of annual leave in consultation and agreement with their line manager. In exceptional circumstances, with prior agreement of their manager, an employee s leave may be carried into the next year subject to a maximum of 1 week, pro rata to the number of hours/days per week worked. This will include staff who take maternity leave or as a consequence of sick leave, wish to carry forward any leave. Where staff have been prevented from taking their leave, a request to carry forward leave up to 2 weeks in total will be considered. 6.2 Entitlements An employee s annual leave entitlement is determined by the length of aggregated NHS service, leave entitlements increasing on the completion of 5 and 10 years aggregated NHS service. Full-time employees will receive an entitlement exclusive of 8 days public holidays as set out in the table below. Length of service Annual leave General public holidays Total entitlement On appointment 27 days (203 hours) 8 days (60 hours) 35 days (263 hours) After 5 years service 29 days (218 hours) 8 days (60 hours) 37 days (278 hours) After 10 years service 33 days (248 hours) 8 days (60 hours) 41 days (308 hours) Under Agenda for Change Pay Modernisation all annual leave entitlements are calculated in hours for all part-time and full-time employees, rounded up to the nearest full hour. 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 that has been worked in the NHS, 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 spent in a highly relevant role in organisations other than the NHS, may be counted as aggregated service, e.g. Social Services. Locum agency service will not count. Where staff work standard shifts other than 7½ hours excluding meal breaks, annual leave and general public holiday entitlements should be calculated on an hourly basis to prevent staff on these shifts receiving greater or less leave than colleagues on standard shifts. Part-time workers bank holiday entitlement shall be added to their annual leave entitlement, and they shall take bank holidays they would normally work as annual leave. Part-time workers will be entitled to paid bank holidays no less than pro-rata to the number of bank holidays for a full time worker, rounded up to the nearest half day, as set out in appendix 1. Staff not covered by Agenda for Change and who choose to stay on local contracts will be entitled to annual leave as described in their contract and/or local department policy. 7. Term-time Working Special arrangements apply in relation to the calculation of annual leave and bank holidays for staff working term-time only. Page 5 of 10
8. Procedure Employees must ensure that all annual leave has been approved by their line manager before they take their leave. If any employee takes a period of annual leave without prior approval then the Trust may consider that the employee has taken unauthorised absence and this may be unpaid. Employees who wish to take more than 2 weeks leave in any one block should discuss their request with their line manager well in advance to ensure that adequate cover is maintained in all departments in accordance with the needs of the service. If any employee falls ill during a period of annual leave, and wishes their annual leave to be recorded as sickness, they must comply with the Trust s sickness absence reporting procedure and produce a medical certificate to cover the period of sickness. In the absence of a doctor s medical certificate the period of absence will continue to be recorded as annual leave and retrospective cancellations of leave will not be agreed. For the purposes of new starters to the Trust, leavers from the Trust and any changes in employment all annual leave will be calculated in accordance with completed months service. New starters and employee changes will be calculated with effect from the first of the following month. Managers must ensure that all employment forms are completed fully to ensure that annual leave is recorded accurately to ensure any payments are paid in full. Employees who are on sick leave, adoption leave and maternity leave will continue to accrue annual leave in accordance with the relevant policies. All requests for annual leave should be made on an annual leave request form, as set out in appendix 2. Other types of leave should be noted and agreed on the request form as set out in appendix 3. Employees should not commit themselves to any holiday plans until they have received approval from their line manager to avoid disruptions to the service and to avoid any potential disputes. The employee s annual leave record should be updated and recorded by the Clinical Management Unit or Department. Page 6 of 10
Appendix 1 - Agenda for change annual leave entitlement for complete years (inclusive of bank holidays - 8 days = 60 hours) Weekly basic On appointment After 5 years service After 10 years service contracted hours 35 days 37 days 41 days 37.5 263 278 308 37.0 260 274 304 36.5 256 271 300 36.0 252 267 293 35.5 249 263 292 35.0 245 259 287 34.5 242 255 283 34.0 238 252 279 33.5 235 248 275 33.0 231 245 271 32.5 228 241 267 32.0 224 237 263 31.5 221 234 259 31.0 217 230 255 30.5 214 226 251 30.0 210 222 246 29.5 207 219 242 29.0 203 215 238 28.5 200 211 234 28.0 196 208 230 27.5 193 204 226 27.0 189 200 222 26.5 186 197 218 26.0 182 193 214 25.5 179 189 210 25.0 175 185 205 24.5 172 182 202 24.0 168 178 197 23.5 165 174 193 23.0 161 171 189 22.5 158 167 185 22.0 154 163 181 21.5 151 160 177 21.0 147 156 173 20.5 144 152 169 20.0 140 148 164 19.5 137 145 160 Formula is Weekly contracted hrs X No. of days entitlement 5 Page 7 of 10
Weekly basic On appointment After 5 years service After 10 years service contracted hours 35 days 37 Days 41 days 19.0 133 141 156 18.5 130 137 152 18.0 126 134 148 17.5 123 130 144 17.0 119 126 140 16.5 116 123 136 16.0 112 119 132 15.5 109 115 128 15.0 105 111 123 14.5 102 108 119 14.0 98 104 115 13.5 95 100 111 13.0 91 97 107 12.5 88 93 103 12.0 84 89 99 11.5 81 86 95 11.0 77 82 91 10.5 74 78 87 10.0 70 74 82 9.5 67 71 78 9.0 63 67 74 8.5 60 63 70 8.0 56 60 66 7.5 53 56 62 7.0 49 52 58 6.5 46 49 54 6.0 42 45 50 5.5 39 41 46 5.0 35 37 41 4.5 32 34 37 4.0 28 30 33 3.5 25 26 29 3.0 21 23 25 2.5 18 19 21 2.0 14 15 17 1.5 11 12 13 1.0 7 8 9 0.5 4 4 5 Formula is Weekly contracted hrs X No. of days entitlement 5 Page 8 of 10
Appendix 2 - Annual leave approval form 201 / 201 Name Job title Grade / Band Annual leave - bought forward (hours) Years service (aggregated) Annual leave entitlement (hours) *Total hours: First day Last day No. of Hours Balance remaining Employee s signature Manager s signature Date * Please note total hours includes bank holidays. Page 9 of 10
Appendix 3 - Leave approval form (other than annual leave) 201 / 201 Name Job title Grade / Band First day Last day No. of Hours ** Reason for leave Employee s signature Manager s signature Date ** Study leave / special leave Page 10 of 10