Annual Leave Policy and Procedure

Transcription

1 Annual Leave Policy and Procedure

2 Annual Leave Policy and Procedure Doc. Ref. No. HR001 Title of Document Annual Leave Policy and Procedure Author s Name Jude Champion Author s job title Senior HR Business Partner Dept / Service Human Resources Doc. Status Version 3 Based on Not applicable Signed off by Quality and Assurance Group Publication Date April 2014 Next review date March 2016 Distribution All staff Check list for Governing Body/approving committee Has an Equality Impact Assessment been Yes completed? Has legal advice been sought? No Have training issues been addressed? Yes Are there financial issues and have they Yes been addressed How will implementation be monitored Through the SWCSU HR Team How will the policy be shared with: Via the Bristol CCG internet site and Staff dedicated communication to Bristol CCG Patients employees. Public Are there linked policies and procedures

3 Contents 1 Introduction Who is entitled to annual leave? When should I use my annual leave? How much annual leave am I entitled to? When is the annual leave year? How is my annual leave calculated? Am I entitled to any statutory leave days? Religious Leave / Leave for other Religious Festivals What happens to my annual leave if I am sick whilst on annual leave? 5 10 What happens to my annual leave if I am on maternity leave? What happens to my annual leave if I leave one NHS organisation to start work at Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group? How much annual leave can I take at one time? How much notice of my intention to take annual leave should I give?.6 14 How do I apply for annual leave? Guidance around booking holidays/events What can I do if my annual leave request is refused? Statement of Compliance with the Equality Act Counter fraud Review...7 Appendix 1: Annual Leave Entitlement Chart...8 Appendix 2: Bank Holiday Entitlement...10 Appendix 3: Annual Leave Record Card...12

4 1 Introduction This policy summarises the annual leave that all CCG employees are entitled to during their employment and details of how to calculate and request annual leave. 2 Who is entitled to annual leave 2.1 Who does this policy apply to? This policy applies to all staff employed by the organisation with the exception of: Bank staff see separate provisions in section 2.2 Medical staff Agency staff Self-employed contractors 2.2 Bank Staff Bank workers receive a pro-rata annual leave allowance according to the number of hours they work. This is paid as an additional payment on top of the normal hourly rate of pay rather than as a separate annual leave payment. 3 When should I use my annual leave? The CCG actively encourages staff to take annual leave in blocks throughout the year to ensure that there is a sufficient break away from work and to enable a good work life balance. Annual leave should not be substituted for sick leave, maternity leave, compassionate leave, special leave, paternity leave, adoption leave, parental leave or domestic/carer leave. If you need leave for any of these situations please speak to your Line Manager in the first instance or HR. There are separate policies that cover these leave arrangements. 4 How much annual leave am I entitled to? Your annual leave entitlement, including leave for bank holidays is incorporated into your contractual terms and conditions of employment. See Appendix 1 for annual leave entitlements. Your entitlement to annual leave will increase with your aggregated length of reckonable service. Reckonable service for the purpose of annual leave entitlement is set out within the Reckonable Service Policy. All full time staff will receive the following entitlement to annual leave: On appointment: After 5 years aggregated service: After 10 years aggregated service: 27 days + 8 days statutory holiday 29 days + 8 days statutory holiday 33 days + 8 days statutory holiday Page 1

5 The 8 days statutory holiday is the average number of statutory holidays per year; however please note that in some years this will either be less or more, depending on the leave year in which the Easter break falls. In these situations, Bank Holiday leave will be adjusted to ensure that staff take the appropriate amount of Bank Holiday leave. This entitlement will be pro-rated for part time staff and will be calculated in hours. Staff who are not on Agenda for Change, i.e. Very Senior Managers and Medical staff, will retain their annual leave entitlement as detailed in their current terms and conditions. 5 When is the annual leave year? For all staff the organisation s annual leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Employees who start part way through the annual leave year will need to pro rata their leave entitlement. 5.1 What if I start part way in to the annual leave year? Only full months service are counted towards annual leave entitlement. New entrants to the organisation shall be entitled in the leave year of entry to annual leave proportionate to the completed months of service during that year. 5.2 Can I carry any annual leave days into the next annual leave year? You should endeavour to take all your annual leave allowance between 1 April and 31 March or during your allocated annual leave year. If you cannot take all your annual leave during this time it may be possible in exceptional circumstances for you to carry up to five days (pro rata for parttime staff) annual leave into the next leave year. If you wish to carry annual leave days into the following year this should be mutually agreed with your line manager. The request should be made in writing to your line manager, at least six weeks before the end of the current leave year. If you are unhappy with your line manager s decision you have the right to appeal. Please see the Bristol CCG Grievance Policy for details regarding this. 5.3 What happens if my leave entitlement changes part way through the leave year due to aggregated NHS service? If your length of NHS service changes part way through the Annual Leave year, you will receive a pro-rata amount of leave at your previous service entitlement (in complete months), and a pro-rata amount of leave at your new service entitlement (in complete months). For example: If on 20th August your aggregated service changes from 5 years to 10 years, the following calculation would apply: Full Year with 5 years service = 29 days Full year with 10 years service = 33 days Page 2

6 You would get April August (5 months) inclusive at 29 days pro rata (which would be 29 / 12 x 5 = 12.1 days. You would then get September March inclusive (7 months) at 33 days pro rata (which would be 33 / 12 x 5 = 19.3 days. Added together, you would receive a total of 31.4 days which rounds up to 31.5 days to the nearest half day for a full time member of staff. If you are part time, this amount would be pro rata according to your contracted hours. 6 How is my annual leave calculated? If you are a member of staff working full time over 5 days your annual leave will normally be calculated in days, however in order to allow flexibility it may be calculated in hours. This would need to be in agreement with your line manager. If you are working a flexible working week your annual leave will be calculated in hours. Please see the Work Life Balance policy for guidance. In accordance with the Part-time Workers (prevention of less favourable treatment) Regulations if you work part time your annual leave will be calculated in hours on a pro-rata basis. See Appendix 1 for further details. 7 Am I entitled to any statutory leave days? You are entitled to statutory days in the form of bank holidays. There are normally 8 statutory holiday days in a year. These are as follows: New Year s Day Good Friday Easter Monday May Day Spring Bank Holiday Monday Late Summer Bank Holiday Monday Christmas Day Boxing Day Part-time workers are entitled to paid bank holidays at a pro-rata amount to the number of bank holidays for a full time worker, rounded up to the nearest half-day. If you work part time your bank holiday entitlement in hours should be added to your annual leave entitlement in hours to give a total leave entitlement in hours. Formula for part time calculations: Annual Leave + Statutory Holiday leave (hours) = Annual leave in days (A) Page 3

7 Average working day (hours) A is then rounded up to nearest half day (in days). Example 1: If you have five years NHS Service and you work 18 hours per week over three days your annual leave entitlement will be worked out as: From the table at appendix 1, annual leave = hours. From the table at appendix 2, statutory holiday = 29 hours. These are added together to give a total of hours per year. Work out how many hours there are in the average day, by dividing the hours worked each week by the number of days worked each week. In this example, the average working day is 6 hours. Then divide the total hours of leave by the average working day in hours. In this example / 6 = days of leave per year. This is then rounded up to the nearest half day i.e days. Using the formula this is shown as = hours / 6 = days. Rounded up = 22.5 days. Example 2: If you have ten year s service and work four days per week of 4, 4, 4 and 8 hours per day totalling 20 hours per week. From the table at appendix 1, Annual leave = 132 hours. From the table at appendix 2 statutory holiday = 32 hours. These are added together to give a total of 164 hours per year. Work out how many hours there are in the average day, by dividing the hours worked each week by the number of days worked each week. In this example, the average working day is 5 hours ( divided by 4 = 5). Then divide the total hours of leave by the average working day in hours. In this example 164 / 5 = 32.8 days of leave per year. This is then rounded up to the nearest half day, which in this case is 33 days. Using the formula this is shown as = 164 hours. 164 / 5 = 32.8 days. Rounded up = 33 days. Notes: If you work full time over less than five days per week you must calculate your allowance in hours but no rounding up is possible, as this would lead to you having more than a full time allowance. The amount of leave taken is the normal working hours for the particular day leave is taken. 7.1 What happens if I am a Part time member of staff and my department closes on a Bank Holiday? Page 4

8 When a bank holiday occurs on a day you would normally work, you should deduct the number of hours that you would have worked on that day from your total leave entitlement (annual leave entitlement + bank holiday entitlement). 7.2 What happens to my statutory days if I have to work on a bank holiday? If you are required to work on a statutory or public holiday you are entitled to another day off with pay in lieu. If you work part time and are required to work on a statutory or public holiday you are entitled to the equivalent time off with pay in lieu. 8 Religious Leave / Leave for other Religious Festivals Managers should be sympathetic to staff requests for annual leave to celebrate a religious festival whilst also ensuring service requirements are met. Managers can contact Human Resources for further guidance if necessary. 9 What happens to my annual leave if I am sick whilst on annual leave? If you fall sick during your annual leave you should contact your line manager and complete a self-sickness certification form (Day 1 7) or obtain a GP Fit Note (7 days +) to that effect. You will be regarded as being on sick leave from the date of your certificate. You may then rearrange the affected annual leave days with your line manager. Likewise previously arranged annual leave, which occurs during a period of sickness, can be recovered and taken at a later date. If you are sick on a statutory holiday you will not be able to rearrange this leave. 9.1 Am I entitled to accrue annual leave if I am on long-term sick leave? Yes. During your paid sick leave you will accrue annual leave at the normal rate, and during any unpaid sick leave you will be entitled to accrue statutory annual leave. Statutory Annual Leave entitlement is currently 28 days pro rata per annum (inclusive of Bank / Public Holidays). You will be entitled to take any annual leave you have accrued at the end of your sick leave, even if this falls in the next leave year. Please note that you cannot carry over any annual leave you have accrued prior to being off sick; you will only be entitled to the leave that you accrued while on sick leave. You will not be entitled to take any annual leave whilst on either paid or unpaid sick leave. 10 What happens to my annual leave if I am on maternity leave? You must discuss your annual leave entitlement fully with your line manager before your maternity leave commences. If you are intending to return to work, you will continue to accrue annual leave throughout your maternity leave. This will include bank holidays, (accrued on a pro-rata basis if you are part time). If you are returning to work, the carry over rules apply as per Maternity Leave policy. Page 5

9 11 What happens to my annual leave if I leave one NHS organisation to start work at Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group? Annual Leave is calculated according to aggregated service as set out in the Reckonable Service Policy for recognised NHS service as opposed to continuous service What happens to my annual leave if I leave Bristol Clinical Commissioning Group to start work at another NHS organisation? You will be entitled to annual leave proportionate to the number of completed months of service during that year. In normal circumstances any outstanding annual leave will be paid in to your final salary packet. If you have taken more leave than you are entitled to at your leaving date, this will be deducted from your final salary What happens to my annual leave if I retire from the organisation? If you are retiring from the organisation you will be entitled in the leave year of your retirement date to annual leave proportionate to the number of completed months of service during that year. If for some reason this allowance is not taken you will be entitled to payment in lieu of annual leave. 12 How much annual leave can I take at one time? Two to three weeks annual leave will normally be granted providing service requirements can be met. Requests over three weeks will only be granted if service requirements will not be adversely affected and you can substantiate your reason for wanting more than 3 weeks annual leave. Please note all leave must be through prior agreement with your line manager. Managers reserve the right to refuse requests for annual leave. 13 How much notice of my intention to take annual leave should I give? If you require a week or more annual leave you should aim to give your manager as much notice as possible. In exceptional circumstances requests for annual leave of less than a week can be made at short notice but these will only be agreed if service requirements can be met. In all cases, annual leave must be agreed with your manager in advance of the leave being taken. If you intend to take more than 2 weeks annual leave you will be required to request this via your Line Manager at least 8 weeks in advance. 14 How do I apply for annual leave? For annual leave complete your annual leave form (see Appendix 3) and pass it to your line manager for authorisation. If the request is permitted your line manager will inform you and confirm this on your annual leave form. 15 Guidance around booking holidays/events Employees should not book any external commitments (e.g. holidays etc) until their Line Manager has approved their leave request. Managers should not be Page 6

10 pressured into approving annual leave solely on the basis that the individual has already booked a holiday/commitment. Managers may still refuse annual leave even if the individual has already booked external commitments if the leave requested will adversely affect the delivery of the service. The CCG will not be responsible for any financial detriment the individual suffers through not getting their annual leave signed off by their manager and it subsequently being refused. 16 What can I do if my annual leave request is refused? If your annual leave request is refused you are entitled to a full explanation from your line manager as to why it has been refused. If you are unhappy with this explanation you are entitled to appeal using the organisation s Grievance procedure. 17 Statement of Compliance with the Equality Act 2010 All relevant persons are required to comply with this document and must demonstrate sensitivity and competence in relation to the nine protected characteristics as defined by the Equality Act The Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage/civil partnership, pregnancy/maternity, race, religion/belief, sex or sexual orientation. It also means that each manager or member of staff involved in implementing the policy must have due regard to the need to: eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation; advance equality of opportunity between those who share a protected characteristic and those who do not; and foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and those who do not. If you, or any other groups, believe you are disadvantaged by anything contained in this document please contact the Document Lead (author) who will then actively respond to the enquiry. 18 Counter fraud The CCG is committed to the NHS Protect Counter Fraud Policy to reduce fraud in the NHS to a minimum, keep it at that level and put funds stolen by fraud back into patient care. Therefore, consideration has been given to the inclusion of guidance with regard to the potential for fraud and corruption to occur and what action should be taken in such circumstances during the development of this procedural document. 19 Review This policy will be reviewed every 3 years but can be reviewed at any time if the CCG deems it necessary to do so or a review is requested by management or staff. Jude Champion Senior HR Business Partner March 2014 Page 7

11 Appendix 1: Annual Leave Entitlement Chart AGENDA FOR CHANGE: ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT FOR COMPLETE YEARS EXCLUSIVE OF BANK HOLIDAYS WEEKLY BASIC ON AFTER 5 AFTER 10 CONTRACTED APPOINTMENT YEARS YEARS HOURS SERVICE SERVICE 27 DAYS 29 DAYS 33 DAYS HOURS EQUIVALENT: Page 8

12 AGENDA FOR CHANGE: ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT FOR COMPLETE YEARS EXCLUSIVE OF BANK HOLIDAYS WEEKLY BASIC ON AFTER 5 AFTER 10 CONTRACTED APPOINTMENT YEARS YEARS HOURS SERVICE SERVICE 27 DAYS 29 DAYS 33 DAYS HOURS EQUIVALENT: Page 9

13 Appendix 2: Bank Holiday Entitlement AGENDA FOR CHANGE: CALCULATION OF BANK HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT HOURLY ENTITLEMENT HOURLY ENTITLEMENT HOURLY ENTITLEMENT WEEKLY HOURLY FOR FULL FOR FULL ON EACH BASIC ENTITLEMENT LEAVE YEAR LEAVE YEAR BANK CONTRACTED FOR FULL 2012/ /2016 HOLIDAY AS HOURS LEAVE YEAR ONLY ONLY IT OCCURS (8 BANK (9 BANK (10 BANK HOLIDAYS) HOLIDAYS) HOLIDAYS) Page 10

14 WEEKLY HOURLY HOURLY ENTITLEMENT HOURLY ENTITLEMENT HOURLY ENTITLEMENT BASIC ENTITLEMENT FOR FULL FOR FULL ON EACH CONTRACTED FOR FULL LEAVE YEAR LEAVE YEAR BANK HOURS LEAVE YEAR 2012/ /2016 HOLIDAY AS ONLY ONLY IT OCCURS (8 BANK (9 BANK (10 BANK HOLIDAYS) HOLIDAYS) HOLIDAYS) Page 11

15 Appendix 3: Annual Leave Record Card ANNUAL LEAVE RECORD/REQUEST CARD Employee Name Department Band Agreed aggregated service Leave Year Annual Leave entitlement (days/hours) Leave carried over from previous year (days/hours) Bank Holiday entitlement (days/hours) Total entitlement (days/hours) N.B. rounded up to nearest half day for part-time workers Leave requested To From No. of days or hours Cover Arrangements Remaining balance Date of request Employee signature Managers signature Date of approval or date and reason for refusal Page 12

16 You can carry over a maximum of 5 days pro-rata in exceptional circumstances with agreement from your line manager. Page 13