Annual Leave Policy

1. Policy Statement

The University recognises the importance of supporting its employees in a way which
promotes and sustains positive, productive and safe working environments. Directly
relevant to this is the provision of Annual Leave, where the University offers in excess of the

statutory provision for most employees, and expects employees and their managers 1 to
ensure that full use is made of individual leave entitlements to support a positive work-life
balance.

The University provides Annual Leave which meets the requirements of current employment
legislation, and in most cases, exceeds those requirements. No University employees will be
given an annual leave allowance which falls short of the statutory requirements.

2. Scope and Purpose

This policy applies to all those University employees who are provided with a specific
Annual Leave entitlement through their contract of employment.

The purpose of this policy is to:

Ensure employees understand their own responsibilities in relation to using Annual

Leave

Ensure that managers understand their responsibilities in managing leave within

their teams or work area and helping their employees achieve a positive work-life
balance

1 For the purposes of this policy the term 'manager' will be defined so as to include the nominated or line
manager or another designated person of suitable seniority and responsibility within the relevant work unit or
group

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 Provide general guidance for dealing with instances where specific requests
for Annual Leave cannot be accommodated.

3. Principles

The following principles will apply to this policy:

All employees will be informed of their contractual entitlement to paid Annual

Leave at the outset of their employment

Employees must make every effort to take their full Annual Leave entitlement during
the leave year for which it is given

Managers will make every effort to enable their employees to take their full
contractual Annual Leave entitlement during the year for which it is given, and
will ensure that work plans for the year are developed taking into account the full
Annual Leave entitlement for their employees

Local arrangements for requesting and approving Annual Leave will be put in place,
and communicated to all relevant employees

Requests for Annual Leave will be made in writing, or electronically, and recorded
by managers to ensure that accurate records are available

All requests for Annual Leave will be fully considered and decisions reached on a
fair, equitable, objective and justifiable basis within the context of the academic,
business and operational needs of the University

Employees should give as much notice as possible when requesting Annual

Leave, taking into account local arrangements for managing Annual Leave

Managers will respond to requests for Annual Leave as soon as practicable, in line
with legislative requirements

Managers will endeavour to accommodate requests for Annual Leave where

short notice has been given, taking into account the needs of the University

Managers will regularly review the outstanding Annual Leave entitlements for their
employees in an effort to ensure that all leave entitlement is used each year.

4. Entitlement to Annual Leave

4.1 Contractual Annual Leave

The University’s Leave Year runs from January to December.

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The Annual Leave entitlement for all employees is set out in their terms and conditions of
employment. These can be found here: www.ed.ac.uk/schools-departments/human-
resources/policies-guidance/conditions-service

In addition to Annual Leave entitlement the University recognises four designated public
holidays. These are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and the 1st and 2 January (or the alternative
nominated public holiday dates)

The University continues to have a Winter/Christmas closure over the Christmas/New

Year period during which only some services operate. Employees who are not required to
work during this closure period are required to use normally four days (some years only
three days will be required) of their Annual Leave to cover this period (this may be less if
they work part time). The specific dates and number of closure days will be agreed
centrally within the University each year and communicated to employees via managers
as far in advance as possible.

4.2 Calculation of Leave for Employees with non-standard working patterns / hours

Entitlement to Annual Leave is calculated on a pro-rata basis:

For part-time employment (including full-time employment for part of a year e.g.
term-time)

For employees working compressed hours (e.g. 35 hours a week over 4 days a week) For
employees whose normal working week is more than 35 hours or more than five

days, unless their contract of employment states otherwise

Where an employee has a working pattern which involves working different hours
on different days

Where there are period(s) an employee is not under contract to the

University during the leave year (e.g. on a career break).

The University has a ready reckoner for Annual Leave which can be accessed through the
following link:
www.docs.csg.ed.ac.uk/HumanResources/Annual_Leave_Ready_Reckoner.XLS

Those employees who have Guaranteed Hours [GH] contracts will be informed at the outset of
their employment about arrangements for their Annual Leave. Generally, employees with

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GH contracts will be paid an additional amount on top of their hourly rate for all hours
worked to compensate them for the Annual Leave and Public Holiday entitlement
they would otherwise have received had they been working full time hours.

Those employees on Annualised Hours contracts will be informed of their Annual Leave
entitlement at the outset of their employment, and will usually be expected to take their
leave in line with the requirements of this policy. However, there may be circumstances
where this would not apply, and again each case would be considered on the basis of the
specific circumstances involved.

4.3 Incomplete leave years

Where employees start work, or resign during a leave year their Annual Leave entitlement
will be calculated on a pro rata basis.

Where an employee changes their employment within the University they will not
be required to use any accrued leave before taking up their new appointment.

4.4 Changes to working hours or Leave Entitlement

If an employee changes their normal working hours (e.g. moving from full-time to part-
time), or their entitlement to Annual Leave increases during a leave year in line with their
employment contract, their leave entitlement will be re-calculated from the date the change
takes effect.

4.5 Accrual of Annual Leave during Absences from Work

Annual Leave is accrued when employees are absent from work in the following
circumstances:

During periods of Ordinary and Additional Maternity Leave, where the employee
has a statutory right to these

During periods of Ordinary and Additional Adoption Leave, where the employee has
a statutory right to these
During periods of Paternity Leave

During periods of Shared Parental Leave

During periods of paid Special Leave

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 During periods of paid or unpaid sickness absence (where the relevant medical
certification is provided when necessary)
During periods of unpaid Parental Leave.

Where a public holiday falls during one of the periods listed above, these also accrue
and can be taken on return to work.

Accrual of annual leave does not take place:

During periods of unpaid Special Leave

During periods of unauthorised absence
Whilst the employee is on a career break.

Where an employee is on a sabbatical or on secondment to another organisation, advice

should be sought from local College / Support Group HR Teams when calculating Annual
Leave entitlement for the period of absence.

4.6 Annual Leave during Prolonged Sick Absence

Where an employee is absent from work due to sickness for a prolonged period and has
subsequently gone onto either half pay, or nil pay, they may request a period of paid annual
leave, so long as they still have some Annual Leave remaining for the current leave year.

In these circumstances, the employee will be paid their normal pay for the period of
Annual Leave they wish to take.

Where managers receive a request for Annual Leave in these circumstances, they should
discuss the matter with their local College / Support Group HR Team.

4.7 Sickness during Annual Leave

Where an employee has an authorised period of Annual Leave, but subsequently falls ill for
part or all of that Annual Leave period, the days on which they are ill may be classed as
sickness absence, so long as the employee follows the same reporting requirements as if
they were due to attend work for that period. They should also provide the appropriate self
certification or medical certification as stipulated in the University’s Absence Management
Policy.

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In these circumstances, occupational sick pay will be paid in line with the employee’s
contractual entitlement. The Annual Leave entitlement which the employee would
otherwise have used should be taken at a later date as Annual Leave.

5. Requesting Annual Leave

Requests for Annual Leave should be made in writing or electronically, and as far in advance
as possible so that managers can attempt to re-organise work or cover where necessary.

Local arrangements for requesting leave may be in place within different parts of the
University, and employees will be expected to adhere to these arrangements at all
times. These arrangements should specify how requests should be made, e.g. via email
or on a locally agreed form (an example is attached at Appendix A).

As a minimum, employees should normally request leave by giving notice which is twice as
long as the period of leave requested. For example, employees wishing to take one week’s
holiday should request it two full weeks before the first day of leave requested. Managers
should respond to requests as soon as possible, and where possible, giving notice of
approval or refusal which is at least as long as the period of leave requested.

Employees are advised not to make arrangements to travel, or for activities on their
proposed days off work, until their request for leave has been approved. In circumstances
where employees have incurred costs for an activity / excursion during their requested time
off, and their request is subsequently refused, the University will not be liable for any loss
incurred by employees where they need to cancel arrangements made or paid for.

5.1 Unused Leave at the end of a Leave Year

Carry-forward of annual leave

Managers should encourage employees to take all their leave within the current leave year.
Where an employee has outstanding leave at the end of a leave year, normally only five days
may be carried forward.

In exceptional circumstances, employees may be able to carry forward more than five days
Annual Leave to the following leave year where they have been unable to take the leave
within the current year. This should usually only be for one of the following reasons:

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 Where the manager has confirmed to the employee that they cannot use their
remaining leave entitlement for business reasons, e.g. pressure of work, or
shortage of staff

Where the employee has been absent from work for a prolonged period due
to illness and was unable to take their leave due to that absence

Where the employee went on Maternity / Adoption / Shared Parental Leave earlier
than expected, and they were unable to take their leave entitlement before their
period of Maternity / Adoption / Shared Parental Leave began

Where it is not possible for the employee to take leave accrued within the leave
year because their return to work following Maternity / Adoption / Shared Parental
Leave or Paternity Leave is in the final months of the year.

Where managers believe that a request to carry forward Annual Leave should be refused,
they should contact their College / Support Group HR Team for advice before confirming a
decision to the employee. Managers must be satisfied that they have made every effort to
encourage employees to use their leave before a decision is made to refuse carry-over.

Any leave which has been carried forward to the following leave year must be booked at
the time the approval for carry over is given, and should be taken within the first three
months of the new leave year.

Before agreeing to any request for carrying over leave, managers must ensure that the
employee has at least taken the statutory minimum amount of leave in the current leave
year.

6. Approval of Leave

Requests for Annual Leave should usually be made through line managers, unless
local arrangements specify alternative procedures.

Granting requests for Annual Leave will always be subject to business needs. This means
there may be occasions where requests will not be granted because either cover is needed
at work, there are specific pieces of work which need to be done by the employee during the
period in question or, because of short notice, it would be too difficult to re-plan the work
that was due to be carried out.

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Where a manager is considering refusing a request for leave, they must ensure that
the employee has at least taken their statutory entitlement for the year.

Local arrangements will be put in place which will specify the number of employees in a
team or work area who are permitted leave at any one time, and will also specify how leave
requests will be managed where not all requests can be granted.

Managers should seek advice from their College / Support Group HR Adviser if they are
considering refusing a request for leave where the request is for reasons related to
religion, faith or belief.

Where managers do refuse requests for leave, they should discuss alternative options with
the employees at the earliest opportunity.

Managers, or the appropriate designated person, should keep records of all approved
Annual Leave. Employees should also maintain their own record of leave taken.

7. Cancellation of Leave

Following approval of a request for Annual Leave, employees may choose to cancel their
period of leave for a variety of reasons. Managers will usually allow for the leave to be
cancelled, however, there may be circumstances where a request for cancellation cannot be
accommodated, for example:

A formal contract to provide cover for the employee’s absence has been put in
place, and the University would incur costs if that contract were to be cancelled

There is no other time within the current leave year when the leave could be
taken by that employee without affecting business continuity

Where a manager is considering refusing a request to cancel a period of leave, they should
seek advice from the College / Support Group HR Adviser.

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There may be occasions where, for business reasons, managers ask an employee to cancel a
period of approved Annual Leave, for example, where the unplanned absence of other
employees may affect the service provided by the work area.

In these circumstances, managers will discuss all options with the employee concerned,
before making a decision, and will also consult with their local College / Support Group HR
Adviser. If leave is to be cancelled by managers, the University will reimburse the employee
for any reasonable costs incurred as a result, less any costs which can be recovered by the
employee.

8. Compulsory Leave

There may be occasions where managers need to instruct employees to take their Annual
Leave on specific dates. This could include situations where the employee has not taken all
of their annual entitlement, where access to the workplace is restricted on those specific
days, or there is no requirement for work to be carried out on those days and there is no
other work that the employee may reasonably be asked to carry out.

In these circumstances, managers should speak to their College / Support Group HR Adviser
before confirming a decision on compulsory leave to their employees.

9. Termination of Employment

By their last day of service, employees are usually required to have taken no more and no
less than the amount of annual leave to which they are entitled. This means that they must
try to take all outstanding annual leave before their last day of service.

If they resign or retire, they will, if possible, be allowed to fix their last day of service so as to
enable them to take all such leave. However, if on the last day of service, leave taken does
not correspond to entitlement then one of the following applies:

a) more annual leave taken than service entitles – employees are required to repay the cash
value of the excess leave taken. This payment will be deducted from the employee’s final
pay.

b) less annual leave taken than service entitles - the untaken leave will be paid for through
the employee’s final pay.

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 10. Policy History and Review

This policy was approved by CJCNC on 16 March 2011 and takes effect from 1st January 2011.

In the event of any significant change to the legal position on Annual Leave, any relevant
statutory requirements or any other related matter, this policy will be subject to immediate
review in consultation with the Trade Unions. In the absence of such a change, the policy
will be reviewed by December 2019.

10.1. Change control record:

No. Approval date: Amendment made: Approved by:

1. 25 May 11 Minor textual amendment at Section 5 on the period HR Policy Development Working
of notice required for requesting leave. Group on behalf of CJCNC.
2. 24 Aug 2011 Minor textual amendment at Section 4.7 to include HR Policy Development Working
process to follow if falling ill whilst on annual leave. Group on behalf of CJCNC.
3. 28 Apr. 15 Minor textual amendment at Section 4.2 to remove HR Policy Development Working
references from HTBN in favour of Guaranteed Hours Group and CJCNC.
contracts.
4. Apr. 16 Legislative amendment at Section 4.5 to remove HR Policy Development Working
references of Additional Paternity and replace with Group on behalf of CJCNC.
Shared Parental Leave

11. Alternative Format

This document can be provided in alternative formats on request by email to

UHRS@ed.ac.uk or by calling 0131 650 8127.

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 Appendix A

Example Annual Leave Record

Employee Name: Manager’s Name:

Leave Year – Jan to Dec _______ Annual Entitlement ______ (days / hours)

Date from: Date to: Days / Hours Days / Hours Approved

Requested Remaining (initials)

Opening
Balance

Closing
Balance

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