HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIAL LEAVE POLICY

Transcription

1 HUMAN RESOURCES SPECIAL LEAVE POLICY Policy Manager Sheraz Afazal Policy Group Policy Established Last Updated Policy Review Period/Expiry December 2013 This policy does / does not apply to Medical/Dental Staff (delete as appropriate) UNCONTROLLED WHEN PRINTED

2 Special Leave Version Control Version Number Purpose/Change Author Date 1.0 Version Control was introduced in July 2011 and the previous versions of this policy, prior to this date, are available in the Electronic Document Store. Sheraz Afzal

3 NHS TAYSIDE - POLICY APPROVAL CHECKLIST This checklist must be completed and forwarded with policy to the appropriate forum/committee for approval. POLICY AREA: (See Intranet Framework) POLICY TITLE: SPECIAL LEAVE LEAD OFFICER: JOHN COWIE Why has this policy been developed? Has the policy been developed in accordance with or related to legislation? Please give details of applicable legislation. Has a risk control plan been developed? Who is the owner of the risk? Who has been involved/consulted in the development of the policy? Has the policy been assessed for its impact in terms of discrimination: To amend the existing special leave policy to include provision for planned special leave N/A N/A HR Forum Has the policy been assessed not to disadvantage people from the following groups: Racial Gender Age Disability Religion/Faith Sexual Orientation Minority Ethnic Communities (Includes Gypsy/Travellers, Refugees & Asylum Seekers) Women and Men Religious/Faith Groups Disabled People Older People Children and Young People Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Is there an implementation plan? YES NO Which officers are responsible for implementation? Line Managers and Head of HR When will the policy take effect? June 2005 Who must comply with the policy? How will they be informed of their responsibilities? All Line Managers Through PIN/HR Training awareness programmes & the Intranet Is any training required? YES NO If yes, has any been arranged? YES NO Are there any cost implications? YES NO If yes, please detail costs and note source of funding Who is responsible for auditing the implementation of the policy? What is the audit interval? Who will receive the audit reports? When will the policy be reviewed and by whom? (please give designation) Minimal will be enhanced in departmental budgets Will be addressed by the Staff Governance Self Assessment Audit Tool Yearly APF & Staff Governance Committee June 2007 Name: Date:

4 1. Purpose and Scope 2. Statement of Policy 3. Role and Responsibilities PURPOSE AND SCOPE 1.1 Special Leave can be defined as arrangements granted when staff need to be absent from work in circumstances not covered by other types of leave or flexible working arrangements. Special Leave is of two types: - Unforeseen Special Leave - a short-term solution to help employees balance the demands of work and home responsibilities. This type of leave recognises that from time to time employees may require to be absent from work to cope with unforeseen, pressing and important domestic circumstances. These circumstances may by nature be wide ranging in definition, however examples could include burglary, flood, or fire damage. The intention in making this form of leave available is to avoid any delay or discussion about the formalities of approving leave at short notice so as to allow the employee to deal with the situation immediately. Planned Special Leave planned special leave is authorised in advance for specific purposes for which annual leave may not be appropriate. There are many circumstances that would warrant approval of this form of special leave but some of the more common examples are jury service, attendance at appointment committees, attendance at court as a witness, canvassing as a candidate at Local, Scottish or parliamentary elections, training with the reserve forces or meetings of Children s Panels. 1.2 The policy is open to all employees directly employed by the NHS within Tayside, regardless of grade, length of service and hours worked and the leave can take the form of paid or unpaid leave according to individual circumstances. STATEMENT OF POLICY UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES 2.1 Unforeseen Special leave will normally be short term and employees will be eligible for up to 3 consecutive working days paid leave in each circumstance where an example of special leave arises. In cases of exceptional difficulty then the leave can be extended by a further 5 days. It is up to the discretion of the manager as to whether the further period of special leave is paid or unpaid. Annual leave and/or unpaid can also be utilised following this further period of 5 days. 2.2 In exceptional circumstances, an employee may be facing longer-term difficulties. If this does arise then the organisation may consider other options to enable the employee to meet their domestic responsibilities. This may include a longer period of unpaid leave, reduced hours or a different shift pattern. However, discussion with the Human Resources Department should occur before any decision of this nature is taken.

5 2.3 The line manager should agree with the employee arrangements for keeping in contact throughout the period of special leave and wherever possible this should be done when the special leave is first approved. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY PLANNED SPECIAL LEAVE The amount of planned special leave required for different purposes will vary from a few hours to several weeks. Line managers have full discretion to authorise planned special leave of up to five days per annum for individual employees. Amounts in excess of this or any proposal to use combinations of unpaid leave and planned special leave should be referred to the relevant Head of HR for advise before being approved. 4. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 4.1 Employees should personally contact their immediate manager at the earliest opportunity, to advise of the need for special leave. It is of course recognised that in many cases of unforeseen special leave this will not be possible in advance. The employee should discuss the situation with the manager and the number of day s special leave, which may be required. The manager will then agree with the employee the number of days that they can take. If it is not considered appropriate to take special leave then annual leave or unpaid leave may be utilised depending on the needs of the service. The leave must be recorded on a notification of absence form. 4.2 Whilst each case requires to be looked at individually on its merits it is important that consistency is maintained and that the cultural and social diversity of the workforce is recognised when assessing the merits of specific requests. 4.3 Further advice, support and guidance can be obtained from the Human Resources Department as required.