ANNUAL LEAVE AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS POLICY

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1 ANNUAL LEAVE AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS POLICY Introduction This document contains the Trust s Annual Leave and Public Holidays Policy. The rules in this policy apply to all employees. Purpose This policy is designed to clarify the Annual Leave and Public Holiday entitlement for staff. Policy General Principles It is the Trust s approach that: the taking of annual leave is important to the health and wellbeing of employees employees should be encouraged to take the annual leave to which they are entitled the booking and taking of annual leave needs to be managed in order to minimise disruption to the Trust s business The policy set out here is designed to ensure that these standards are met. Entitlement A full time employee s annual leave entitlement is 20 days plus eight bank holidays (pro rata for part time employees) unless otherwise stated in the employee s contract. For the purpose of this policy: 'Statutory Leave' means the statutory minimum period of paid holiday to which all employees are entitled under the Working Time Regulations 1998 (currently 28 days or 5.6 weeks for a full time employee which includes the normal public and bank holidays Contractual Leave means any additional paid holiday leave that the Trust grants over and above the Statutory Holiday Annual Leave means Statutory Leave entitlement and Contractual Leave entitlement After one year s service you will accrue one extra day of annual leave entitlement each year of additional service up to a maximum of 25 days annual leave unless otherwise stated in your contract of employment. Your annual leave entitlement can be summarised as follows:- Up to 1 year s service 20 days From 1 to 2 years service 21 days From 2 to 3 years service 22 days

2 From 3 to 4 years service 23 days From 4 to 5 years service 24 days Over 5 years service 25 days This will be pro-rated for new employees joining part way through the year. Accrual In an employee s first year of employment, Annual Leave entitlement accrues at the rate of 1/12 th of their annual entitlement per month on the first day of each month. Employees may not take Annual Leave until it has accrued during the first 12 months of their employment other than at the discretion of their manager. Holiday Pay Holiday pay is calculated on the basis of the employee's current basic rate of pay (ie excluding any overtime, bonuses, commission, etc). There will be no payment in lieu of any leave untaken (except on termination). The Holiday Year The holiday year runs from 1 st January to 31 st December. For the purpose of calculating the amount of Annual Leave only complete calendar months will count. Entitlement for the Year in which an Employee Joins the Trust In the holiday year during which employment starts, the Annual Leave will be calculated on a pro rata basis rounded up to the nearest complete day for each complete month worked. Entitlement Due for an Employee Who Leaves During the Year If an employee resigns or is dismissed, and the employee has not taken their full accrued Annual Leave, they will be paid for the entitlement pro rata up to the date of termination of their employment. If an employee has taken more holiday than their accrued Annual Leave entitlement at the date of termination, the Trust reserves the right to deduct the value of the days taken in excess from any monies owed to the employee. The Trust may require employees to take any accrued outstanding Annual Leave during their notice period. Carrying Annual Leave Forward All leave must be taken in the holiday year in which it accrues. There is no discretion to allow Statutory Leave entitlement to be carried forward to the following holiday year. However, if you have written authorisation from your manager, and your entitlement is more than 28 days including bank holidays, you may carry over up to three days into the next holiday year. All carried forward leave must be taken by 30 th September.

3 Public Holidays The Trust recognises eight public holidays each year (pro rata for part time employees/flexible workers). These are: New Year s Day Good Friday Easter Monday May Day Spring Bank Holiday Late Summer Bank Holiday Christmas Day Boxing Day The above public holidays are included in the total Statutory Holiday entitlement of 28 days. Where a public holiday falls on a working day employees will be required to take this as holiday unless confirmed otherwise by their manager, and this will count towards the employee s Statutory Leave entitlement. If an employee is required to work on a public holiday there will be no extra pay but it will not count towards the employee s Statutory Leave entitlement and an additional day in lieu can be taken at another time as approved by your manager. Part time employees will receive pro-rata the number of public holidays. Time Off for Religious Holidays or Festivals (other than the Public Holidays listed) Employees, who wish to observe religious holidays (other than or in addition to the public holidays listed above) or require time off to celebrate festivals, or attend ceremonies, are required to reserve sufficient days from their Annual Leave entitlement. Requests for days off for such purposes shall always be considered sympathetically. An employee must apply for this leave to their manager using the normal holiday application process, specifying the religious holiday for which they wish to seek leave. The employee may, in addition request unpaid leave in a calendar year for the observance of religious holidays. This entitlement will be at the discretion of the Community Director. Sickness Whilst on Holiday If an employee falls sick whilst on holiday, as a general rule no further or alternative period of annual leave will be granted at another time. However, if an employee is prevented by sickness or injury from taking a holiday, or falls seriously ill, or sustains a serious injury whilst on holiday, the Trust may, at its discretion, decide to treat some, or all of the booked holiday as sick leave.

4 This would be subject to the employee complying with the requirements of the Sickness and Absence Procedure notification process, as well as providing medical evidence to the Trust s satisfaction. In such a case the employee may be permitted further paid or unpaid leave later on in the holiday year. Accrual of Holiday during Sick Leave Contractual Leave entitlement will accrue during any paid or unpaid period of sick leave except at the entire discretion of the Trust. Christmas Closure You will receive up to three days additional paid holiday each year to cover any Christmas/New Year shutdown period should the office close and should the Trust so request it. These additional days may only be taken at this time and can not be carried forward. You will be notified in advance of such a closure Further Information The Trust will review policies and procedures periodically to reflect changes in legislation and good practice. Policy Issue Date: 1 st August 2012

5 ANNUAL LEAVE AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS PROCEDURE Introduction When an employee is considering booking a holiday, they must comply with the following conditions: Holiday period booked cannot be more than 2 weeks. If an employee wishes to take a longer period of leave, they can request an extension which may be considered at the discretion of the Trust Employees are required to obtain approval for the holiday dates from their manager before committing to any booking, flight reservations or any other arrangements Employees are required to apply for holiday leave giving at least twice amount of notice as required for the holiday using the appropriate authorisation procedure Holiday Booking Procedure All applications for holiday must be made using the holiday application form which may be obtained from, and should be returned to your manager. You should not assume that your holiday has been granted until confirmation is received from your manager. Further Information The Trust will review policies and procedures periodically to reflect changes in legislation, good practice etc. Issue Date: 1 st August 2012