Annual Leave Policy

Aim and Purpose

This policy applies to all employees who are employed on NHS Terms and Conditions of Service. This policy is not applicable to Medical Staff for whom separate provisions apply.

To provide a framework for managers and staff in relation to the taking of annual leave and to ensure that staff are treated fairly and consistently in relation to leave while ensuring service provision.

Entitlement

The Trust policy is to determine annual leave entitlement in hours not days for all staff regardless of whether the employee is full-time or part time. The benefit for all Trust employees in calculating entitlement in hours is that this ensures equity for all by ensuring that staff who work variable hours/shifts do not receive either more or less leave than colleagues who work a standard pattern.

The calculation of annual leave pertaining to all staff is contained in Appendix 1, Tables 1 to 3. Hours have been rounded up or down to the nearest 0.5 decimal point (i.e. the nearest ½ hour).

In addition to annual leave entitlement, employees are entitled to the number of paid General Public holidays in the financial year. In the case of all part time staff this entitlement is pro rata to the full time allowance. The calculation of this entitlement is always proportional to the number of basic contracted hours worked. In this way all employees have a fair and equitable, static entitlement rather than eligibility based solely on the normal days of work which would result in some part-time employees never receiving the benefit of General Public Holidays unless they fall on their normal days of work. Similarly, the calculation based on the number of weekly contracted hours removes any potential for inequity in the case of staff whose working days vary.

Policy Details

See also:

• Sickness Absence Policy
• Flexible Working Policy
• Maternity Leave and Fertility Treatment Policy
• Shared Parental Leave Policy
• Special Leave Policy
• Career Break Policy
• Buying and Selling Annual Leave Scheme