Discretionary leave policy Who this policy applies to Policy statement This policy applies to all Skanska UK Plc employees. Skanska UK Plc understands there are occasions when employees may need to be absent from work other than sickness and holiday. Such occasions may include taking care of necessary family/health responsibilities or attending to urgent personal business. Recognising that sometimes these needs have to be met during working hours, the company allows managers to grant discretionary leave. Paid or unpaid leave in these situations is given at the manager's discretion. This policy is non-contractual and the company reserves the right to amend or withdraw it at any time. Policy scope The purpose of this policy is to set out the employee's entitlements and obligations with regards to: Compassionate leave Medical, dental, optician appointments Personal/family appointments Adverse weather elective surgery sporting events Religious observance and holidays Domestic emergency Reserve forces. There is a separate Dependants leave policy which covers the right to unpaid leave to care for a dependant in the event of an emergency. Full details of this policy can be found on the company intranet under the HR option, or by contacting hrdirect on 01923 423600 or via hrdirect@skanska.co.uk. Purpose of compassionate leave Compassionate leave is granted primarily to help employees come to terms with the death, serious illness or injury involving an immediate family member, or provide a reasonable amount of time to resolve personal relationship problems of a serious nature. An immediate family member is defined as the employee's spouse, civil partner, partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent or parents-in-law. Compassionate leave does not apply in cases of domestic emergency and the company s approach to domestic emergencies is set out below. In the event that an immediate family becomes deceased, the employee should inform their line manager at the earliest opportunity and request compassionate leave. Each case will be viewed sympathetically and the amount of leave granted will depend on the individual circumstances, e.g. the employee s relationship with the deceased, their domestic responsibilities and circumstances, e.g. their proximity in terms of distance. Employees in these circumstances may be granted a maximum of up to five days' paid compassionate
leave for each separate instance of bereavement involving an immediate family member. Where another, non immediate relative, becomes deceased, for example an aunt, uncle, cousin or close friend, then paid compassionate leave is not granted, although the employee may request unpaid or annual leave to attend the funeral. Compassionate leave is also available to come to terms with severe personal problems or the injury or critical illness of an immediate family member. The employee should inform his/her manager of the need to take compassionate leave as soon as reasonably practicable. Each case will be viewed sympathetically and on its individual merits. The manager will take into account factors such as the nature of the incident and, if applicable, the nature of the family relationship. If the employee wishes to take additional leave, beyond that granted as compassionate paid leave, then he/she should request annual or unpaid leave in the usual way. Absence on compassionate leave must be recorded online via mydetails. If you are unable to access this, you should complete Absence Recording Form (Non-Sickness). medical, dental, optician appointments Employees should, where possible, attempt to arrange medical, dental and optician appointments outside their normal working hours. If this is not possible, the employee should endeavour to arrange the appointment at a time that will cause the least disruption to his or her work, for example at the beginning or end of the working day, or on a day of the week when the workload tends to be less intense. There is a reasonable expectation that employees granted time off without loss of pay will make up the lost time, especially where there is an operational need for doing so. Any employee who requires time off to attend a medical, dental or other similar appointment must provide his or her line manager with reasonable prior notice to enable cover to be arranged and, at the same time, seek approval for the time off. The line manager may, at his or her discretion, ask the employee to produce evidence of the appointment, e.g. an appointment card. For reasons of practicality, the appointment card may be provided subsequent to the actual appointment. The line manager reserves the right to ask the employee to reschedule an appointment if its timing would cause unreasonable disruption to the running of the particular department or the completion of vital or urgent work. However it is expected that line managers will make every reasonable endeavour to grant the time off required. Should an employee abuse this policy by requesting or taking time off work for a medical or similar appointment which is found to be not legitimate, they will be liable to action under the company s disciplinary procedure. The company reserves the right, however, to not pay an employee for time off for medical or dental appointments if the employee has failed, without good reason, to provide proper or reasonable advance notification to his or her manager of the need for time off, or has failed without good reason to produce an appointment card on request. ante-natal care Where time off work is required by an employee for ante-natal care, all reasonable time off work will be paid for and the employee will not be required to make up for any of the time spent at appointments, or travelling to and from appointments. Similarly, eligible employees can accompany their partner, who is an expectant mother, to up to two ante-
natal appointments. Please see the Maternity leave policy for full details. All absences due to medical, dental, optician and ante natal appointments must be recorded online via mydetails. If you are unable to access this, you should complete Absence Recording Form (Non-Sickness). personal/family appointments Adverse weather & disruptions to public transport Employees will be required to arrange visits to solicitors, schools or other appointments on family business outside of working hours. If this is not possible employees will be required to use their annual leave entitlement. The company recognises that employees may, from time to time, face difficulties attending their place of work and returning home during periods of severe weather conditions or when there are disruptions to public transport, e.g. industrial action by transport workers. While the company is committed to protecting the health and safety of all of its employees, it must ensure that disruption caused to its services remains minimal. Employees should use all reasonable endeavours when expected to attend work. However, the company recognise that employees should not put themselves at unnecessary risk when trying to attend work during adverse conditions. For those employees living close to their usual place of work it is reasonable to expect that they will do their best to get into work on foot. Failure to do so, without reasonable justification will result in the absence being regarded as unpaid. If the employee finds it impractical to reach their place of work, their line manager must be informed at the earliest opportunity, normally this will be prior to the usual start time. Failure to fulfil this obligation, without reasonable justification, may result in the absence being regarded as unpaid. Similarly, if the employee was due to attend a location which is not their normal work location, e.g. a site office or a supplier/client office, they must inform the person they were due to meet as soon as possible. Failure to do so, without reasonable justification will result in the absence being regarded as unpaid. Where it is possible to work from home employees may do so, having first obtained their line manager s permission. Failure to do so, without reasonable justification will result in the absence being regarded as unpaid. Where appropriate, employees will be allowed to leave early to avoid getting stranded unnecessarily, or encountering an unreasonably long journey back home, particularly where weather conditions are forecast to worsen during the working day. Any absence caused as a consequence of adverse weather or transport disruption must be notified to the employee s line manager and permission for absence obtained. It should subsequently be properly recorded. Additional situations Where the following circumstances apply: Schools or other local authority care provisions are closed at short notice, then these situations should be dealt with in accordance with the Dependants leave policy
Where transport is operating, but with a reduced schedule, and the employee fails to arrive punctually, having made all reasonable attempts to do so, then they will be deemed to have attended for the full day Where transport is running and an employee is not able to work from home, but stays away from work, they will be required to take either a day's holiday, or treat the day as unpaid leave. Annual or unpaid leave must be booked in the normal way to ensure records are accurate. Elective surgery Where employees decide to undergo elective surgery, defined as having taken place at the patient s choice, rather than having been prescribed for medical reasons, then such leave must be taken as holiday leave, or unpaid leave and been applied for in the appropriate manner. Absence due to elective surgery must be recorded online via mydetails. If you are unable to access this, you should use the appropriate absence reporting form. In the event that there are unforeseen medical consequences emanating from the elective surgery, then upon receipt of the appropriate medical certificate the employee will be treated in accordance with Skanska s Absence management policy. sporting events The purpose of this section is to provide guidance to managers and employees on time off for employees to watch major sporting events, such as the Olympic Games, or Football World Cup which take place during working hours. Employees who wish to take time off on such occasions must comply with the procedure below: Employees need to adhere to the Holiday leave policy when requesting time off Employees are advised that the company monitors sickness absence more rigorously during major sporting events, where interest is known to be high amongst employees. The company will not unreasonably refuse a request for annual leave but employees should note that business needs must be prioritised and sufficient cover maintained to ensure a safe and efficient operation at all times. The safety of our employees and the wider public must never be compromised. It may not prove possible to grant all leave requests, where demand is high, even when submitted in advance Preference will be given to those applications received on a first come, first served basis to avoid potential disputes Employees who are absent without permission on the day of a major sporting event and who are not able to provide medical evidence or a sound explanation for their absence, if sought, may be subject to the company s disciplinary procedure Employees who are absent without authorisation will not be paid in respect of days not worked and will likely face disciplinary action.
During special events, the company may, if it is possible to do so without creating safety or operational difficulties, introduce temporary start and finish times that enable employees to attend/view the major event concerned. This will be on the basis that any lost time will be made up by arrangement with the employee s line manager. Such arrangements will also be agreed on a first come, first served basis. The company may, at its discretion, provide access to a television and/or radio in the event of a major match or tournament. The company s IT networks/internet must not be used for viewing sporting events. This is to protect our servers and business systems. Employees are reminded that no one is permitted to consume alcohol on Skanska premises or be under the influence of alcohol whilst there. Employees should be warned that consuming excessive alcohol, whilst off duty but prior to their next shift may cause them to be in contravention of the company s Drug and alcohol policy which will be strictly enforced. Religious observance & holidays It is the company's policy to respond reasonably to requests from employee's to alter their working pattern so that breaks can be granted at times that coincide with needs for religious observance. The company will also endeavour to grant employees reasonable time off during working hours for religious observance insofar as this is possible and practicable, taking into account the needs of the business, to make sure sufficient cover is maintained to ensure a safe working environment at all times. Due account will also be taken of whether such arrangements might cause disturbance or disruption to other members of staff and/or their work or work patterns. All employees, irrespective of their religion or beliefs, will be treated equally in respect of requests for time off for religious observance or requests for alterations to their working patterns for religious reasons. Any request will be subject to the agreement of the employee s line manager and the employee will be required to record any time taken as part of their annual leave entitlement. Domestic household emergency The company recognises that employees may from time to time experience unforeseen household emergencies, such as flood, fire or burglary. This policy provides a consistent approach to dealing with such situations, but does not apply to planned events such as domestic repairs, refurbishment, building or trades work, installation of appliances, home deliveries, etc. In the event of a domestic emergency arising, the employee should notify his/her manager as soon as it is reasonably practicable (either face-to-face if the employee is at work or otherwise by telephone), explaining the nature of the emergency and how much time off work the employee thinks he/she will need. It is the company's policy that such absence be taken as either holiday, unpaid leave, or the employee agrees to make-up the time where this can be reasonably accommodated. Once the immediate emergency has been addressed, the employee is expected to return to work. If further time off is necessary, the employee must arrange to take it as paid or unpaid holiday, subject to the agreement of his/her line manager.
Reserve forces This policy sets out how the company supports staff who are reservists. The reserve forces include the Army Reserve, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Marines Reserve and Royal Auxiliary Air Force. So that Skanska can support reservists, the company require that new recruits who are existing reservists or current employees who subsequently become reservists inform their line manager to facilitate operational planning. Reserve forces training Skanska UK Plc employees who attend training for the reserve forces will be paid leave of absence up to a maximum of two weeks per calendar year. Reasonable prior notice should be provided by the employee to their line manager. Where more than two weeks leave of absence is required, this should be scheduled when convenient to the business where ever possible and this time will be deducted from their annual leave entitlement. While the company will do its best to accommodate any requests to use this extra leave, the company cannot guarantee that reservists' extra leave requests will be given priority. To avoid reservists being unable to take time off when needed, they should apply for this extra leave as soon as possible after they are informed that they need to take time off. This offer is available only to employees who provide evidence that they need to take the time off as a reservist (for example, a letter from their commanding officer) at the time when they are booking absence for the purpose of doing the reservist activities. The offer cannot be used for days when the reservist is not undertaking reservist activities (for example, to recover from the physical demands of a weekend away with the reserve forces). All leave dates must be approved in advance by the reservist's line manager. It is important that reservists follow the procedure for requesting leave, which is that they provide the maximum notice to the company by producing the to their line manager the notification from the Ministry of Defence (MoD) as soon as is reasonably practicable. The company will endeavour to agree to such requests, but reserves the right to turn down requests where operational needs dictate. Time spent on reserve forces training must be recorded as Territorial Army/Volunteer Reservists on the Absence Recording Form (Non-Sickness). Call-up for active service Reservists may be called out for military operations, with notice typically given 28 days before mobilisation, which can last up to 12 months. On being called out, the reservist should present his/her mobilisation papers, typically together with a letter from the MoD to the company, outlining the date, and possible duration, of his/her mobilisation. The MoD may also contact the company independently. Where the period of leave requested is on account of a call-up for full-time military service, employees' pay and other benefits will cease on commencement of the period of absence.
No employee will be dismissed or subjected to any detriment on account of being a member of the reserve forces or following any call-out for active duty. Time spent on active service must be recorded as Territorial Army/Volunteer Reservists on the Absence Recording Form (Non-Sickness). A note should also be made on the form that this time was spent on call-up for active service with reserve forces. Reservists' demobilisation Regardless of the length of the military action, the mobilised reservist has the right to be reinstated in his/her former job within six months of demobilisation, on terms and conditions that are no less favourable to him/her than those that would have been in place but for the enforced absence from the company. If it is not reasonably practicable to reinstate the reservist to his/her former role, following a period of extended absence, then the company will re-engage the employee on the most favourable occupation and on the most favourable terms and conditions that are reasonable and practicable in the circumstances. To exercise the right to be reinstated, the reservist must write to the company no later than the third Monday after demobilisation confirming his/her intention to return to work within the following 13 weeks. The initial 13-week period may be renewed for a further 13 weeks if circumstances such as illness or injury prevent the reservist's return during the initial period. However, the reservist forfeits his/her right to return to work with the company if he/she fails to do so within 26 weeks of demobilisation. Continuity of employment The continuity of the reservist's period of employment is not broken by a period of mobilisation, if he/she is reinstated to his/her former employment within six months of demobilisation. However, when calculating the employee's total period of continuous employment, the company will discount the number of days falling in the period between the date on which the reservist is called up for military operations and the day immediately preceding the day on which he/she returns to work.